Programs

Something For Everyone

 Children, Youth & Family Programs 

Children's Ministry

Children’s Ministry

We take joy in providing Church School for children three years old and up during our 10:00 am Sunday services. Children are an integral part of Ladner United Church. They are always welcome, whether you choose to have your children stay with you during service or attend Church School.

We follow the Sparkhouse “Whirl” Church School curriculum which imaginatively engages scripture through activities, discussion, current events, and the arts so that your children can go into the contemporary world to test, share, and live out their faith.

Please join us as we share Bible stories, have fun with crafts and activities, play music and prepare for special church events.

We also have “Intergenerational Worship” every few weeks, which means everyone stays in the Sanctuary for an interactive and different way of approaching scripture and worshipping together! These services are designed with our children and youth in mind and are for all-ages

 

Kids Space & Quiet Room

For children who decide to stay in the service rather than attend Church School, we have two areas where they are welcome to play (in addition to being able to sit with their parents or guardians too!). We have a “Kids’ Space” right in the Sanctuary where children are invited to colour, draw, read some books, or do a puzzle. This space is off to the lefthand side as you enter the sanctuary, complete with a table, chairs, bookshelf, and rug.

We also have a Quiet Room, to the left of the Front Entrance to the church, where there are more toys, books, etc. for kids who want a bigger space to play during worship. This space has a couch and some chairs for parents and lots of toys for children. There is a big window in this room that looks out into the Sanctuary, so parents and kids can still feel connected to worship. 

Finally, for children who want to stay with their parents, we also provide clipboards and crayons with some drawing pages.

We want our children and families to feel welcome at LUC, so come how you are and worship wherever you feel comfortable!

 

Youth & Families

On Sunday mornings, our youth are welcome to either stay in the sanctuary or join the children in Church School. Our Church School is intergenerational and caters to a wide range of ages.

We do also have “Intergenerational Worship” every few weeks, which means everyone stays in the Sanctuary for an interactive and different way of approaching scripture and worshipping together! These services are designed with our children and youth in mind and are for all-ages.

Every quarter or so, we strive to host a “Family Night” where all types of families (and individuals) are welcome to join in games, movies, an activity, etc. The theme and style always changes!

 

 Adult Involvement & Spiritual Growth Programs 

Parish Health Ministry

Parish Health Ministry

The Parish Health Ministry emphasizes the wholeness of body, mind and spirit rooted in the vision of Christ as our healer. The Parish Health Ministry is a key expression and embodiment of our three key words (Connect, Deepen and Engage) and five directions:

  • Be a place where people make connections
  • Be a community services hub
  • Be a place of family accompaniment
  • Practice participative leadership
  • Think creatively and strategically about all our resources and gifts

It is made up of dedicated volunteers who formalize quarterly meetings to organize programs and health-related workshops for the community.

The Parish Health Ministry has offered meditation workshops, healing prayer, chronic pain self-management, a SafeTALK suicide prevention program, and a home visiting program that enables us to keep in touch with those who are ill or can no longer attend church.

Book Studies

Book Studies

Several times a year, we host an online Zoom book study that is open to anyone and everyone! These studies often meet once a week for anywhere between 4 to 9 weeks and about 1 to 1.5 hours at a time.

In the past, we’ve read and discussed: Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer, The Gifts of Imperfection by Brené Brown, The Other Side of Chaos: Breaking Through When Life is Breaking Down by Margaret Silf, When God is Silent by Barbara Brown Taylor, The Liturgy of the Ordinary: Sacred Practices in Everyday Life by Tish Harrison Warren, and 21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act by Bob Joseph, among others.

Our book studies also become bible studies sometimes when we read things like: Light of the World: A Beginner’s Guide to Advent by Amy-Jill Levine or The Last Week: What the Gospels Really Teach About Jesus’s Final Days in Jerusalem by John Dominic Crossan & Marcus Borg. In these studies, we’ll often take time to pull out our Bibles and discuss parts of scripture as we read from the book about the context, characters, and theology present.

Contact the Church Office for information on the next upcoming study.

START: Seeking Truth and Reconciliation Together

START: Seeking Truth and Reconciliation Together

START began in the fall of 2020 when a small group of people gathered to consider our congregation’s response to racism. We quickly decided to focus on reconciliation with Indigenous people over their grossly unjust treatment since the establishment of Canada in 1867, actions and attitudes concerning Indigenous people which reflected the assumed moral and cultural superiority of our Victorian founders. There is a wealth of information on this topic and we learned about the Doctrine of Discovery and the racism enshrined in The Indian Act. The Doctrine of Discovery, based on several Papal declarations that non-Christians are to be denied the right to claim the lands they occupied as legitimately theirs, authorized Christian European monarchies to occupy and claim sovereignty over the lands and people they “discovered.”

“The Indian Act is the primary law the federal government uses to administer Indian status, local First Nations governments and the management of reserve land. First introduced in 1876, the Act subsumed a number of colonial laws that aimed to eliminate First Nations culture in favour of assimilation into Euro-Canadian society. The Act has been amended several times, most significantly in 1951 and 1985, with changes mainly focusing on the removal of discriminatory sections. It is an evolving, paradoxical document that has enabled trauma, human rights violations and social and cultural disruption for generations of Indigenous peoples.” (The Canadian Encyclopedia.)

The government of Canada used powers granted under the Indian Act to establish Indian Residential Schools.

We are a group that continues to learn more and more about the history of colonization in Canada and what this means for Indigenous Peoples. We also strive to offer learning opportunities to the congregation each year, whether in the form of workshops, events, or worship services. If you’re interested in learning more about this group or being a part of START, please reach out to the Office for more information. And take a look at our social media for upcoming reconciliation-related events and offerings!

Image: The Two Row Wampum is one of the oldest treaty relationships between the Onkwehonweh (original people) of Turtle Island (North America) and European immigrants. The treaty was made in 1613 between the Dutch and the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) as Dutch traders and settlers moved up the Hudson River into Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk) territory. The wampum belt symbolizes two paths or two vessels, travelling down the same river together. One, a birchbark canoe, will be for the Indian People, their laws, their customs, and their ways. The other, a ship, will be for the white people and their laws, their customs, and their ways. We shall each travel the river together, side by side, but in our own boat. Neither of us will make compulsory laws nor interfere in the internal affairs of the other. Neither of us will try to steer the other’s vessel.

Embodied Prayer

Embodied Prayer

Embodied Prayer is a contemplative practice where participants are invited to move in “free form,” allowing the whole self to respond to the music in whatever way is accessible to each person. We let the rhythms in the music “inhabit” us by responding with whatever gestures and movements come to the surface. In this way our capacity to live more fully can expand as the physical, mental, and soulful beings God created us to be. Embodied Prayer can be fun, meaningful, energizing, deeply spiritual, and more!
Each session of movement is followed by a short silent sitting time for, “nothing quiets the mind faster than moving the body” (Gabrielle Roth).

A time of sharing is provided for to actively listen to whatever may want to be expressed about the journey we are on together.

This practice is inspired by the work of Gabrielle Roth, who identified 5 archetypal rhythms or energies we experience in living and are expressed in various music styles. Each has its unique feel: Flow, Staccato, Chaos, Lyrical, Stillness…

Please know that this practice is available to all those who inhabit a physical body. No level of physical fitness or dance experience is required. If you can feel the music and are open to the presence of the Holy then you can experience Embodied Prayer from sitting, lying down or standing in place.

In the past Embodied Prayer has been offered in person and online for 6 – 8 week periods at different times throughout the year. Please watch for the next Embodied Prayer offering.

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The next Embodied Prayer series Using themes from Colett Lafia’s book: The Divine Heart: Seven Ways to Live in God’s Love
 
Receptivity    Delight    Expansiveness    Acceptance    Vulnerability    Mystery    Gratitude
 
As we move into a different kind of living from the past three years Colette writes, “listen to the longing in your heart and allow yourself to embark on a spiritual renewal, a journey into the Divine heart, into unity, connection, and belonging. God is in us and we are in God, and there is an unfolding intimacy between us…”

This series runs every Wednesday April 16, 2023 to June 14th (excluding May 24th) from 6:30pm to 7:30pm in the MP2 room. To register please contact the church office. 

Healing Touch

Healing touch

Healing Touch has been offered at Ladner United Church for over a decade. Healing Touch is a Christian adaptation of Therapeutic Touch. It is a spiritual energy-based approach to healing.

Healing Touch sessions are open to the community and are offered by request. Currently, due to Covid-19 safety restrictions, sessions are offered by distance over zoom. Fees are not charged for a healing session as this ministry is a part of the Parish Health Ministries of Ladner United Church and All Saints Anglican Church.

For more information or to arrange an appointment please contact the Ladner United Church office at 604-946-6254 or email healingtouchministry4u@gmail.com 

Drop-In Coffee

Coffee hour

All are welcome – the coffee is on! Join us after worship in the Celebration Centre for coffee, conversation and a chance to connect. Treats are provided and there is no charge. Sunday Coffee Hours are held one or twice a month and dates can be found on our social media pages or keeping connected by joining our weekly newsletter. Thursday drop-in coffee hour is held once a week in our Celebration Centre. 

Day

Thursdays

Time

2:00 pm – 4:00 pm

Location

Celebration Centre

Silent Prayer & Prayer Labyrinth

Silent Prayer & Prayer Labyrinth

If you’re interested in coming to the church for some time of silent prayer, the sanctuary is available throughout the week during our church office hours. Please check with the church office first, if you’re interested in stopping by.

In our Celebration Centre, we also have a Prayer Labyrinth which is a small path that leads, via a circuitous route, to the center of an intricate design and back out again. It is used to facilitate prayer, meditation, spiritual transformation, and global unity. Prayer labyrinths have been used in a wide variety of cultures for thousands of years. If you’re interested in coming in to use the Prayer Labyrinth, please check with our church office for days and times that are available.

Choir & HandChimes

Choir & HandChimes

Music has the power to touch and move us, empower and connect us in a way no other creative medium can, and in recognizing this, we consider it an integral part of worship and community life at Ladner United Church. Along with the preaching and liturgy that are integral to our worship services, music helps to connect one part to the next, weaving together the creation of a unified and communal offering to God each time we meet.

The Ladner United Church Choir, also known as the “Voices of Vision,” are a dedicated and community-minded group of individuals who offer their voices in song to assist congregational singing for our services. Each choir member comes from a very diverse vocal background, some have had vocal training and some can’t read music, but they strive to build each other up to achieve their best individual potential. All are welcome to sing in the choir, no audition is necessary, the only requirement is the wish to worship God with your voice! Rehearsals are Thursday nights from 6:15-7:45 pm

If singing isn’t your gift, perhaps ringing is, and we have a HandChime choir that rehearses weekly, also assisting in worship on a regular basis. No audition is required for this group either, and they meet Thursdays from 4:45-6pm.

There are many other ways in which you can offer whatever musical talents you might have – just talk to Marcus, our Minister of Music, for possible opportunities to offer your gifts and talents.

Sunday @3!

Sunday @3!

Watch for a concert every month! Normally on the first Sunday of each month (September through June) at 3pm, we have a different musician or musical group in to perform for the community at a reasonable price. This is our way of giving back to the community in the form of quality music and an opportunity for friends and family to spend time together!

All are welcome, so please pass on the word to friends and family. Admission is $10 each. For the latest concert info, check out our social media or contact the church office.

Christmas Village Bazaar

Christmas Village Bazaar

Every year we have a Christmas Village Bazaar on a Saturday near the end of November from 10am to 2pm. What can you expect? A fabulous silent auction, home baking, collectibles, crafts, and a delicious lunch! We always have live Christmas music playing and people chatting and connecting all over the church building. It’s an event you won’t want to miss and the major fundraiser for the church! For specific details, please contact the church office.