Absolutely! We encourage anyone and everyone to come and see if Ladner United feels like a good fit for you and offers what you’re looking for in a faith community. We have people who have been involved here all their lives and others whose involvement began more recently; some who have grown up in other denominations, and others with little to no experience of church at all. You do not have to pass any kind of test – just come!

We also offer Hybrid worship, so if you’d rather check us out through Zoom before coming in-person (or if Zoom worship is a better fit for you), please contact our church office to receive the online worship link.

You can check out the weekly sermons on our SoundCloud too: https://soundcloud.com/ladnerunitedchurch

We have one hybrid service at 10:00am each Sunday. People can attend online (via a Zoom link sent out by the church office) or in-person. We follow a somewhat predictable pattern for our worship services, although we do change it up depending upon the church season, intergenerational services, or just for the fun of something different!

• When you arrive, someone will greet you, welcome you to our space, and invite you to sit anywhere you’d like in the sanctuary.
  
  
• People participate in worship at their own comfort level. If you have not been to a Sunday church service before, things may seem strange. Feel free to participate as you are able and as you feel comfortable (that includes sitting and standing).
  
  
• During our service we have a time when the minister invites us to share with our neighbour their answer to a particular topic or question. The minister will typically begin by sharing their own response to the question and then inviting you to share on your own. If you’re in-person for worship, you’ll be invited to gather in groups of 2 or 3 (either with people nearby or you can move to somewhere else in the sanctuary). If you’re on Zoom, the recording will be paused and you’ll be able to unmute your microphone and discuss the question or type your response in the chat box. Whether in-person or on Zoom, you can also take a moment of silent contemplation or prayer; we ask that you cross your arms over your chest to show others that you’d rather be alone for that time. The Question period can be intimidating and this practice is one many of us are still learning ourselves. To get to know one another requires risk and vulnerability, but we’re committed to connect, deepen, and engage in relationship with one another in order to develop authentic community. Again, you are welcome to participate in this portion of the service, or you take your time in silence – no one will mind if you don’t share.
  
  
• At the end of the service, we sometimes have a coffee hour in the Celebration Centre (our church hall) with coffee, tea, snacks, and conversation. You are welcome to join or you can leave once the service is over. On Sundays when we don’t have coffee hour, you are still welcome to mingle and chat with people after worship.
  
  
• Depending on the Sunday, we may have communion (typically on the first Sunday of the month), or we might have an intergenerational service (where the children and youth stay with us for the whole service), or we may intersperse the service with interactive activities or prayers.

The worship space has about 175 seats and none of them are reserved. Please feel free to sit anywhere. No one owns a seat. In fact, we don’t have pews. We have comfortable padded seats and some with arm rests in chase you need a bit of steadying to get up.

Occasionally, due to a baptism or special services, certain rows will be indicated as reserved for family so that they may sit together.

People wear the kind of clothing and style they are comfortable in; everything from jeans and a sweatshirt to a suit and tie, dress, or other more formal clothes. Summer brings some folks in wearing sandals, shorts, and a t-shirt. What’s important is that you are worshipping and comfortable – we are not focused on what you’re wearing.

Children are an integral part of Ladner United church and they are always welcome. At the beginning of the service children sit with the adult(s) they came with until the person leading the young one’s time invites them to be together up front for a story time. Sometimes this is more like a conversation and sharing time. This is not a time for children to entertain us, so we don’t laugh at things children say so they do not feel embarrassed.

After the time up front, they are led out to Church School by the teachers, if they wish to participate. They meet in the Church Hall for stories, and activities until you pick them up after the worship service. Your children are welcome to stay with you in worship if they wish, as are babies. Nursing is well accepted within the worship space or you are welcome to use our Quiet Room for your comfort, if that’s preferred.

You can accompany your children up front during the story time in worship and when they go to Church School. Our teaching with children centres on biblical stories, along with prayer, activities, and awareness of the world they live in. There are always two adults present during the children’s program. All our church volunteers who lead any programs undergo a criminal record check and are known to the leadership of the church community.

Your child may stay in church, even if their body is busy and they want to speak to you about something. If they or you need a break from sitting and listening, the Quiet Room is available – as is the Church Hall – for running around in.

The United Church of Canada practices an “open communion table” where all who seek to live as Jesus would have them live, regardless of denomination, age, gender identity, race, or sexual orientation, are welcome to receive communion.

The Sacrament of Holy Communion (also called the Eucharist, the Lord’s Supper or ‘the meal’) is a remembrance of the “last supper” that Jesus shared with his disciples before his death and resurrection. It is remembered through the sharing of bread and wine (we use grape juice) and it’s a sacred act connecting us with God and with each other.

We celebrate communion during Sunday worship, typically on the first Sunday of each month (sometimes on other Sundays or at different worship services instead). We use bread/rice crackers and grape juice. Instruction is always given as to how communion is to be served (either while sitting in your pew or by coming to the front if you are able).

A weekly “free will” offering of money is accepted through “Offering Boxes” at the back of the sanctuary. If you’d like (although you don’t have to), you can leave your donations in these boxes as you enter or leave worship on Sundays.

The word “free will” is the key. You don’t pay to go to church. Giving is a response of gratitude to God for God’s grace and love. If you wish to make an offering – that choice is up to you and no one will judge you either way. For guests and newcomers, there are one-time envelopes available on the table near the entrance if you would like one. The person who greets you can show you where they are.

For more information on donating to the church, visit our “Donate” page: https://ladnerunited.org/donate/

The New Creed is part of four complementary creeds that build upon one another and outline the Statement of Faith for The United Church of Canada. For more information about the United Church of Canada and to read the United Church’s other creeds, including our most recent creed “A Song of Faith”, please visit www.united-church.ca.

A New Creed
We are not alone,
we live in God’s world.

We believe in God:
who has created and is creating,
who has come in Jesus,
the Word made flesh,
to reconcile and make new,
who works in us and others
by the Spirit.

We trust in God.

We are called to be the Church:
to celebrate God’s presence,
to live with respect in Creation,
to love and serve others,
to seek justice and resist evil,
to proclaim Jesus, crucified and risen,our judge and our hope.
In life, in death, in life beyond death,
God is with us.
We are not alone.

Thanks be to God.

Our facility is accessible to get into and is welcoming to our diverse congregation that includes those with a variety of support needs.

• Our sanctuary seating and walkways are easily accessible for those with traditional and electric wheelchairs. The church is easily accessible by wheelchair from our 48th Avenue entrance.
• Support animals are welcome!
• We have a quiet room with adjustable audio in direct view of the sanctuary for those with sensory sensitivities who would like to participate but in a way they feel comfortable.
• We have a wheelchair available on-site and have an accessible washroom with a change table.
• AED & Naloxone kits with trained staff/volunteers are available on site.
• We have a children’s space in the sanctuary where children are welcome to sit with their parents and play in lieu of joining the children’s program, if that is what suits your family best. There is also a children’s play area with toys, play equipment, etc. in the church hall.

There is free street parking around the church and in the public parking lot across the street, on the north side of 48th Ave.