Living Faith Report

MOVED BY THE SPIRIT OF GOD

To many, the presence of St. Paul’s United Church at the western edge of Milton’s Main Street business district is a sign of strength and stability. Markers integrated into the building’s stonework—1853, 1890, 1962 and 2010—recall significant additions to the physical structure over the years, underscoring the growth of one of Milton’s founding Christian faith communities.

A closer look behind the solid walls of St. Paul’s, however, tells the story of a community continually inspired by the Spirit and by a strong sense of passion and mission. It was the Spirit that led a young Wesleyan-Methodist community to seek a dedicated place of worship in 1882, choosing to leave their Anglican and Presbyterian neighbours to break ground on the current site. In 1890, the Spirit once again moved through this growing community, inspiring the erection of a new sanctuary for worship. In 1925, the community was called to accept the invitation to become part of the newly-established United Church of Canada and, in so doing, joined in the vision for greater unity among the nation’s Christian denominations. Again, in 1962, a desire to respond to the need for additional Church School space led to a plan for a Christian Education Centre that provided space for a more vibrant Church life.

A destructive act of arson that impacted the Sanctuary in the summer of 2010 forced the community to make some difficult decisions on maintaining the current structure or finding a new home. Although the decision-making process alienated some and saw the loss of a portion of the membership, the Spirit continued to challenge the remaining community, strengthening its resolve and resulting in a renewed vision for worship, education and outreach.

Most recently, the COVID-19 pandemic crisis has forced us to look for new ways to connect with each other but it has also given us a chance to pause and rethink who we are as a community of faith, resetting our minds on the vision and mission of our church, so that we may better serve our faith community and the Milton community in the years ahead. There is substantial room for the Spirit to, once again, move as a creative and creating energy for the people of St. Paul’s.

To be sure, the story of St. Paul’s has been one of a strength and resilience that holds us together as a community, but it is also the story of an openness that has allowed us to recognize the need for a new vision for a changing world as well as the grace required to seek bolder opportunities to respond to the call of God’s Spirit. It is against this backdrop that we have undertaken to write our Living Faith Story.

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.

—from A New Creed, 1968

WE CELEBRATE GOD’S PRESENCE

We are the young, our lives are a mystery;
We are the old who yearn for your face. (Gather Us In by Marty Haugen)

Sunday worship remains a centrepiece of our faith life at St. Paul’s, allowing us to gather in prayer, to celebrate in prayer and song, to deepen our understanding of the Word of God, and to experience the support and fellowship of a strong community.

We currently have two opportunities for gathering on a Sunday morning: a more traditional style of worship takes place in the Sanctuary space with choir, organ and piano, and includes the familiar elements of a United Church service and a more contemporary service takes place in the community room.

Our rebuilt Christian Education Centre has allowed us to re-imagine a more contemporary form of worship, catering mainly (but not exclusively) to families with young children and youth. This ‘Annex’ service allows room for more creativity in designing worship elements, including the inclusion of refreshments during service, opportunities for greater musical diversity, the inclusion of multimedia elements in the presentation of the Word, and an opportunity for participant discussion as part of the service. A growing Sunday School program, sparked by the engagement of a Christian Education leader, has also been part of this dynamic.

While a large number of St. Paul’s members are retired, it is widely acknowledged there is a need to minister to younger families and their growing children. Looking outside the walls of St. Paul’s, the largest demographic in Milton are residents between the ages of 35-39, very slightly outnumbering those in the 5-9 age group. While 64% of the town still identifies as Christian, 20% claim no church affiliation. The largest growing part of Milton’s make-up is South Asian, with significant communities of Muslims, Hindus and Sikh being identified.

As we lean into the future, we understand that we are being called to continue to serve and minister to the needs of all of our members, no matter where they are in their life journey . We also realize that our future growth is going to come from the younger parts of our community and we must find ways of listening to the needs, the challenges and yearnings of our young people and families and develop new and creative ways of involving them in the power of gathering around the Word of God and the life of Jesus.

As a uniting Church, St. Paul’s must continue to listen to the Spirit and consider how other dimensions of the wider community might become part of our dynamic and mission.

WE LIVE WITH RESPECT IN CREATION

Not in the dark of buildings confining
Not in some heaven light years away
But here in this place the new light is shining
Now is the kingdom, now is the day (Gather Us In by Marty Haugen)

We believe in a creative and creating God who is constantly calling us to renew our lives and the world in which we live. The first scriptural images that we receive in the book of Genesis are of a world in right alignment—perfectly in tune with the Spirit of God.

We know that the world inhabited by early settlers of Milton is in a different state than the world in which we now live. We are witnessing first hand the devastating effects of over-consumption, extraction, pollution and gradually removing ourselves from the rhythm of God’s creation.

Many of these issues are on the minds of citizens of all ages, offering an important opportunity to engage in deeper reflection on what it means to say that we live in God’s world.

We also have a unique opportunity to use the natural beauty that surrounds our community to engage in some powerful place-based prayer and worship experiences. Milton is still home to many areas of rural farmland as well as several natural conservation areas. Looking beyond the walls of St. Paul’s, connecting with God’s creation in new ways and even accessing the traditional Indigenous wisdom and knowledge of local elders could breathe new life into our understanding that “we live in God’s world.”

WE LOVE AND SERVE OTHERS

At the end of every worship service, we are blessed and commissioned to go out into the world to love and to serve. We are sent forth to be Christ in the world. The St. Paul’s community is steeped in a mission to serve each other and the wider community. In fact, most of our current ministry could accurately be gathered under the call to “love and serve”.

A strong Mission & Outreach (M&O) Committee works to educate and increase the awareness of our congregation related to the needs and the mission of the church locally, nationally and internationally. We have endeavored to develop and maintain a liaison with mission projects, administer our benevolent funds through the generosity of the Crozier Estate and investigate ways in which St. Paul’s can serve the needs of the local community.

We currently provide support to:

• St. Paul’s Benevolent Fund – Food For Life – Halton Women’s Place
• Salvation Army Food Bank – Darling Home for Kids – Wesley Urban Ministries
• Milton Transitional Housing – Recovery House – Toonies for Tummies
• Christmas Community Dinner – United Church Mission and Service Fund
• Milton Auxiliary for Patient Comfort

Over the past few years, we have developed partnerships with the ReSoul Youth Centre, St. Paul’s rental groups, local minister’s’ group, and services at Milton Christian School. We have also supported multi-faith events like Coldest Night of The Year (for Milton Transitional Housing), Winter Clothing Giveaway (held at St. Paul’s), and the Community Christmas Dinner for Salvation Army patrons (held at St. Paul’s).

In telling the story of their experience of St. Paul’s, many of our members refer to participating in these experiences as being particularly powerful for them. In fact, many will identify that, beyond Sunday worship, the real power of the St. Paul’s community lies in its commitment to reaching out to the wider Milton community.

A substantial portion of St. Paul’s operating revenues comes from the rental of the modern, accessible space to a wide variety of organizations including:

Moving into our future, we have a real opportunity to strengthen our relationship with these organizations and work to better integrate them into the life and vision for St. Paul’s. Eric Law, in his work on Holy Currencies, would encourage us to look for ways to view these organizations and the work that they are doing as a valuable part of the St. Paul’s ecosystem. More than just tenants, the mission of many of these organizations point to the needs that exist in the wider community and offer us new ways of integrating these needs into our own mission to love and serve others.

WE SEEK JUSTICE AND RESIST EVIL

Not in the dark of buildings confining
Not in some heaven light years away
But here in this place the new light is shining
Now is the kingdom, now is the day (Gather Us In by Marty Haugen)

Over the years, St. Paul’s has been a vibrant place for community outreach, support and leadership. Our members have taken the call to serve to heart and this desire to respond lovingly to the needs of the community to continue to define a great deal of who we are and want to continue to be.

We also understand that there are social issues and inequities that are active in our very midst that call for a different type of ministry and outreach. These are universal issues, but we need not look beyond our Milton borders to find the impacts of climate change, economic disparity, unemployment and precarious work, racism or the need for reconciliation with Indigenous people.

We believe that, as a Church community, we are called to do more than name these injustices. We are also commissioned to give voice to the individuals and families affected by these issues, minister to their needs, but also actively work to impact the conditions that are at the heart of these important issues. This is courageous work, but an important part of our call to work for justice in our time.

WE PROCLAIM JESUS, CRUCIFIED AND RISEN

Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men,[d] put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. (Acts 2)

When Peter stood up before the crowds in the city of Jerusalem on that first Pentecost Sunday, he started a tradition of evangelization that involved preaching, teaching and living in the way of Jesus.

The St. Paul’s community is led by the same Spirit that inspired those first apostles to go out into the world and carry the message and love of Christ to the world.

Faith formation and teaching has always been part of the dynamic of St. Paul’s. The addition of the Christian Education Centre in 1962 and the commitment to rebuild and expand it after the fire of 2010 is a strong testament to that.

We recognize the need for strong programs of learning and exploration for the younger and older members of our congregation. A new energy around Sunday school programming and offerings for teenagers and young adults is building, offering us new opportunities to reach beyond our current community and connect with other youth organizations and schools.

Adult bible studies, discussion and support groups continue to flourish at St. Paul’s but there are always opportunities to explore new ways.

As our Milton community grows in size and diversity, we understand that we are called to resist the comfort and safety of the Upper Room and find new and exciting ways to move out into the community and proclaim the Gospel through our words and our actions.

During this pandemic we have been presented with new ways to hold our community together. We know that these same technologies can help us to creatively follow the call to proclaim. There are some very exciting opportunities here for us to explore and we stand at an opportune time to begin that exploration.

WE ARE NOT ALONE. WE LIVE IN GOD’S WORLD

Gather us in and hold us forever
Gather us in and make us your own
Gather us in, all peoples together
Fire of love in our flesh and our bones (Gather Us In, Marty Haugen)

The St. Paul’s United Church family has a strong and resilient history in the Milton community. Admittedly, the past decade has presented the community with some very visceral challenges. A devastating fire, a major commitment to rebuilding, and the recent COVID-19 pandemic have forced us to ask some very crucial questions about who we are as a community. In addition, the huge increases in population—coupled with the diversity of that increase—have also forced us to ask who we are called to be for the wider community.

Accompanying these challenges, however, are great opportunities. We are inspired by the same Spirit that led the original members of our community to gather, to grow and to continually find new ways of being Christ in the town of Milton, and in the larger world.

We know from our consultations that the current Church family possesses the gifts and talents to continue our work together. We have a great appreciation for what has been built here but are also excited about moving into the future, open to new opportunities, new ways of gathering, learning and serving one of the country’s fastest growing communities.

Our faith story is a living testament to that Spirit, our ability to lean in and listen carefully to where we are being led and to respond to the future with confidence, courage and love.

In life, in death, in life beyond death,
God is with us.
We are not alone.
Thanks be to God.

POSITION DESCRIPTION

Position Title Full-Time Equivalent Minister

Position Profile Full-time, Solo

Position Summary Welcome to St. Paul’s United Church!

St. Paul’s is a church community with a deep rooted past and part of the Milton fabric since 1853.   With our Living Faith story eagerly embraced by our congregation, we have a desire to move forward as a community of faith, pushing ourselves outside of traditional boundaries to be an integral part of the Milton community through our faith. We desire to lead by example as disciples of Christ through community outreach, by attracting young families/youth and building on the strong foundations that have held us together over the years.

 St. Paul’s United Church, Milton, is seeking a full-time minister with the ability to lead the congregation with two tracks of worship – a contemporary approach designed to resonate with families with children and youth, and a more traditional service. This role is dependent upon a strong leader who has the ability to understand how different worship styles nurture all of our congregation. The minister will be an inspirational, spiritual leader who challenges the congregation to recognize the need for a new vision in a changing world as well as the grace to seek bolder opportunities to respond to the call of God’s Spirit.

Autonomy in Decision Making

Working in conjunction with council and committees, the minister will provide leadership, direction and support on the spiritual growth and programming of the church community. The minister will work collaboratively with the worship committee and the music director, but will have autonomy over the worship service including choosing hymns.  (The music director will provide prelude, postlude, soloists and musical reflection).

Administration

Position responsibilities will be assisted by (but not limited to) Music Director, Church Administrator, part-time Children and Youth Coordinator, part-time Contemporary Music Leader, Council, Committees and Lay Leaders.

Community Outreach and Social Justice

The Minister will:

• Support existing forms of community outreach (see Living Faith Story for a current summary)
• Work with congregation to develop new forms of community outreach that meet the needs of the growing Milton community
• Help to establish a stronger response to social justice and equity issues (see Living Faith Story) including, but not limited to, racism, poverty, environmental sustainability, employment and education.

Continuing Education

The Minister will pursue personal, vocational, and professional goals for continuing education in consultation with the M&P committee

Denomination and Communities

The Minister will:

• Be actively involved in the life of the Regional Council and/or General Council
• Actively work to build strong relationships with other faith-based groups and community organizations in the region
• Develop strong relationships and connections with organizations who rent space in the St. Paul’s building
• Work with the St. Paul’s Church family to imagine new approaches to community outreach and development

Faith Formation and Christian Education

The Minister will:

• Encourage and support the Children and Youth Coordinator and the Christian Development Committee to foster Christian education programs for children and teenagers
• Provide opportunities for adult Christian development programs and/or provide support, resources and encouragement for lay leadership of adult Christian development programs
• Conduct youth and adult confirmation classes as needed

Leadership

The Minister will:

• Inspire, motivate, and encourage the Church family to recognize and share the gifts and talents they possess, enabling them to continually find new ways of being Christ in the town of Milton and in the larger world
• Work with the St. Paul’s community to identify specific areas of need and potential approaches to outreach and community development

Pastoral care

The Minister will:

• Provide pastoral care and visitation to members and adherents as needed
• Provide counselling (e.g. bereavement, divorce, mental health) to members and adherents when requested or refer those in need of support to the appropriate agencies when a situation is beyond the Minister’s skill or expertise.
• On a rotational basis with Ministers of other local churches, lead mid-week worship services at Birkdale (retirement home) and Allendale (LTC facility) when/if these services resume
• Support and encourage the Pastoral Care Team with its ongoing programs such as visiting the sick and homebound, providing extended table communion to those unable to attend church; mentor the Pastoral Care Team in establishing new programs to support the community and suggest contacts for training/workshops in these new endeavours

Self Care

The Minister will set goals for ongoing self-care by maintaining a healthy balance of their own physical, emotional and spiritual well-being to include rest, recreation, and professional development and collaborate with the M&P committee to meet these goals

Worship

The Minister will:

• Prepare and lead two separate Sunday worship services: a traditional service and a contemporary (Annex) service mainly aimed at families with younger children
• Work with worship committee to plan services that are engaging, reflective and meaningful to congregation
• Work with music ministry staff and volunteers as well as child and youth leader to plan meaningful and relevant worship experiences
• Lead regular Communion services for both worship forms
• Lead Baptism services as requested
• Be available for marriage and funeral requests for members, adherents and members of the wider community
  

Required Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Strong biblical and theological knowledge
• Knowledge of the history and unique charism of the United Church of Canada
• Recognized and in good standing with the United Church of Canada
• Management and administrative experience
• Strong sensitivity to issues of equity, diversity, culture, race and gender
• Ability and willingness to support the development of lay leadership within the community
• Willingness to build strong relationships with other faith-based groups and community organizations
• Comfortable in working across a variety of worship styles
• An imaginative, innovative mindset