Two thousand years ago, early Christians called themselves “people of the way.” They were onto something entirely new – a movement that was evolving from a memory and an experience. They had all known Jesus, a young Jewish teacher, their friend, who offered hope, health and compassion to those he met. Love God with your whole heart, mind and soul,” he said, “and your neighbour as you love yourself.”

They suffered the terrible loss of this deeply spiritual mentor-friend. Jesus challenged the religious authorities of his day and exposed their hard-heartedness, all the while inviting them to what was essential:loving God, loving others – a simple, radical message that offended many and in the end got him executed.

Shortly after his death, though, his followers began to experience his presence again. They remembered a promise in the holy books about a Messiah, a Saviour, a Christ, and came to believe it referred to Jesus.

Christians still experience him. In times of despair or when new life stirs again they remember him when they see in ways they’ve never seen before, they recognize him when they encounter assurance and calm in the midst of storms, they feel his presence when they extend compassion and understanding as he did, they honour him. Sometimes we call this the work of the Holy Spirit, sometimes simply God.

Christianity continues in the people who study Jesus’ words and try to live as he lived:loving God, loving others. Many pause privately each day or gather publicly in churches each week to help one another and remember and experience him as if he were still here today, walking among us.

Written by Rev. Ralph Milton, author of This United Church of Ours

Worship and Sunday School

We gather together at St. James United Church every Sunday of the year and at special times on other days to pause and worship God, give thanks for all of life’s blessings, share joys and sorrows, healing and renewal and search for and find the reality of God’s love in our lives. Jesus promised that whenever two or more were gathered in his name, he’d be among them. When we are together in church, the spirit of Jesus is with us.

It’s all part of worship.

Every worship service at St. James is different. But usually there will be music and song, stories from the Bible, prayers and a message, all of them often expressed in different ways and in styles that reflect our widely varied downtown congregation. Everyone participates as they are willing and able. There is always a prayer for peace and the gift to visitors of an origami crane and a peace candle, symbols to take away with them. And afterwards we always share refreshments. Children are important to us too, not just in Sunday School but in the sanctuary and in the life of the congregation. Worship and Sunday School occur every Sunday at 11:00 am.

Holy Communion

Communion is one of two central rituals or “sacraments” of our faith. It is a holy act, a symbolic meal that is open to everyone, a reminder of Jesus’ last supper with his followers and a continuing sign of God’s enduring love. At St. James, it is always served in worship on the first Sunday of the month. It also happens on other occasions throughout the year.

Baptisms of children and adults

The sacrament of baptism is the single rite of initiation into the Christian community, the church. It is neither a requirement for God’s love nor a magic charm for life. It uses the symbols of water, oil and a candle to say that God's love surrounds us from the moment we’re born and continues throughout the course of our years. At St. James, we believe that the gift of God’s love doesn’t depend on our ability to understand it so we baptize people as infants or as adults. And the ceremony takes place during a regular Sunday service.

During baptism, the parents, godparents and the entire congregation all promise to support and watch over in their Christian life the person being baptized. At St. James the person being baptized is first named and presented to God and the congregation. We take water from the tap, put it in bottles and pass them from hand to hand. When everyone present has warmed the water with their hands and their prayers, the entire community has prepared the holy water for baptism. This is an important part of the ritual. That’s why Baptism always occurs at St. James in a worship service.

Weddings

Marriage is grounded in love – public and private. There is God’s love for humanity and the love between life-partners that is based on trust, mutuality and commitment. There is also the love of caring communities – families, friends and churches – that support, nurture and honour such relationships.

A wedding ceremony is a chance for a couple to openly declare their commitment for each other before God and the community. St. James United Church is a fine place to begin a committed life together in marriage even if you have never attended our church.

We believe God intends loving relationships to be faithful, responsible, just, healing and sustaining for the couple and those around them. These relationships we celebrate in marriage may be between a woman and a man or between people of the same gender. We also marry and welcome previously divorced people and couples of different religious backgrounds.

Weddings arranged through our church office can be either traditional or contemporary services and are performed throughout the year. They can take place in the St. James sanctuary or off-site in a residence, reception hall, garden or hotel etc. And on the Sunday following a wedding that is closest to Valentines Day – February 14th – we invite all the couples married during the previous year back to St. James to celebrate their love with our community.

Funerals

The Bible uses mysterious language to describe death. It speaks of a great banquet at which we’ll gather to feast on God’s abundant love. It speaks of a new heaven and a new earth where every tear will be wiped away. Though no one can say exactly what it’s like in death, the Bible is clear about this. God’s love continues to hold and care for us in death as always. It reminds us that God’s love endures – even in grief, even in death.

At St. James United Church we recognize the need for family and friends to gather and remember loved ones and those who mourn them. We hold a special service of worship during which people remember honestly, healing tears are shed and the person’s life is celebrated.

Funerals are conducted either in the St. James sanctuary or at the funeral home or complex. And on the Sunday after a funeral closest to All Saint’s Day – November 1st – those who mourned and celebrated the lives of someone lost in the previous year are invited to join us in worship and to mark the loss of the person mourned and celebrated.

All of the above are available in English or French. To make specific arrangements, telephone the church office at 514-288-9243. For comments or questions, email us at james@qc.aibn.com.