Our Values
As an Affirming congregation of the United Church of Canada, we are shaped by the commitments of the denomination.
These are the core statements that guide our community life.
Our logo
Our logo, created in 2012, is an important visual statement of this community. The tagline that accompanies it—“Feed your spirit, fulfil your purpose, feel at home”—speaks of what we continue to hope people will find themselves able to do as part of this community.
Our Identity and Values Statement, our Covenant for Harmony and our Community Compass
These serve as guideposts for our life in community and our decision-making processes.
Our Identity and Values Statement
We are an open faith community seeking to keep Jesus’ message relevant and real in our complex world—a message of an abundant life for all.
We value a contemporary Christian theology that works through our lives.
We are a place for people to seek and find God.
We value worship that connects with real life.
We share inspiring messages and music that challenge us to live in God’s way.
We value spiritual growth.
We are seekers of understanding and provide a safe environment for exploring faith and spirituality
together.
We value inclusivity and harmony, honesty and respect in our relationships.
We are an affirming ministry that values diversity of all kinds, including sexual orientation and
gender identity.
We value the balance and wholeness that comes through healing.
We promote healing and wholeness in many ways, including through our Healing Pathways and pastoral care ministries.
We value being a community without borders, a church without walls.
Nurturing talents and gifts, we make connections through outreach to the wider community by means of our programmes, music, and ministries.
We value social and global justice.
We strive to connect faith with action, recognizing that partnerships make a difference in engaging the world.
We value the God-given gift of our home, the Earth.
We recognize the need to adapt our thinking and our actions in order to restore and sustain our environment.
Our Covenant for Harmony
Commitment to Community
We are a community of Christians who seek to live together in loving covenant following Jesus and his teachings.
We live and exercise this participation within the governance and the spirit of the United Church
of Canada.
Equality
We recognize that everyone has wisdom and talents to offer. We will work to create a culture of inclusiveness.
We will strive for full participation.
Respect
We will treat each other the way we would like to be treated, and so:
• We commit to caring for the well being of this community and invite persons to speak for
themselves with honesty.
• We commit to providing a safe environment where ideas can be nurtured and discussed.
Openness
We will respect diversity of opinion.
We will ensure that all voices have the opportunity to be heard. We will use nonjudgmental language and behaviour.
We will strive to understand the other person’s view.
We will commit to open communications between and among individuals and groups.
Commitment to Process
The Congregational Board, ministries and committees will work in good faith for the best interests of the whole Church.
Our processes will be transparent.
Our community recognizes that conflict will arise and we all commit to caring resolution. We will create a culture of talking directly to the person or group we disagree with.
We will contribute to the decision-making process and support the decisions once they have been made.
Community Compass (2024)
The Community Compass serves to chart Cedar Park United’s journey forward, being a progressive beacon, offering radically welcoming, vibrant, creative and relevant Christian ministry to all its members, participants, visitors, and neighbours wherever they are, onsite or online. For a more complete description and links, visit the Community Compass page.
Be a progressive beacon
We want to be a trusted and consistent voice for progressive Christian thinking, spiritual practice and action, and maintain and grow our voice in ways that have impact in our communities onsite and online to counter a culture of increased fear, exclusion and division.
Serve as a radically welcoming caring community
We aim to be a truly welcoming community, exercising understanding and empathy for persons not like us, being non-judgmental and self-forgiving, and taking people as they are. We seek to be a safe place for those who are seeking shelter from abuse or discrimination – not a complete resource, but a spiritual one. We look out for and extend support to those in need within our community.
Nourish and challenge through worship and spiritual life
We centre our common life in worship that is creative, contemporary, relevant and deeply grounded in the liveliness of God, and in programmes for spiritual growth which are reflective of our progressive, affirming theology and faith in action.
Support our ministries with the sustainable use of our resources
We work together to ensure that the community communicates effectively and has sufficient financial stability, physical resources, and people willing to dedicate their skills, time and energy to continue to live out its vision.
