Get to know Robertson-Wesley
Please know you already belong here and you are welcome to participate in any of the activities of the congregation.
We are always delighted when someone decides they want to formalize their membership in Robertson Wesley’s ministry. Here is what is involved:
Let us know your name and phone number (use the yellow cards in the pews, if you wish) so we can add you to our pastoral care and mailing lists (you have the option to also sign up for our monthly e-newsletter).
One of the ministers will be in touch with you in a few days to welcome you and perhaps set up a visit.
To help you discover what membership means for you, we have membership classes (usually twice a year, sometimes more often). They can range from an evening a week throughout Lent to a weekend retreat. To begin, talk to one of the ministers. use the drop down Menu below For more details about membership (baptism, confirmation, membership transfer or reaffirmation.)
When you are ready to get involved as a volunteer (no need for formalized membership for this!), check our Volunteer Opportunities page, have a look at the volunteer sign-up lists posted in the Memorial Hall (where we have coffee after worship), or contact the church office.
On behalf of the members of Robertson-Wesley, we welcome you and look forward to sharing all the riches of our congregation with you, as well as sharing all that you have to offer as well.
Membership Classes
A SERIES FOR THOSE NEW TO R-W AND ANY WHO ARE SEEKING TO FORMALIZE, TRANSFER OR REAFFIRM THEIR MEMBERSHIP.
Offered each year, this course is designed to be a brief survey of the foundational elements of church membership with opportunity for discussion and exploration of our faith journeys.
This class is made for both newcomers, faith explorers and long time members. Rituals to celebrate your baptisms, confirmations and/or Re-affirmations will take place on Sundays.
Learn More about Membership
Content
God
We experience God in many different ways. So there is a vast diversity in our understanding of God. This exploration helps us to articulate our understanding of the Sacred.
Jesus
Jesus – himself as a person, as well as his life and teachings — is the centre-piece of our faith. This session is a chance to explore and to name the ways in which Jesus touches us and gives meaning to our lives.
Church
This session aims to help us better understand this church we are joining (or to which we already belong). In addition to Robertson-Wesley, we will also be looking at the United Church of Canada at both the regional and the national level, and the larger ecumenical circle of the church world-wide.
Spirituality
This is about being in touch with the sacredness of life in the midst of our everyday living. We use a “spiritual life inventory” to reflect on our own lives from a spiritual perspective and to identify some ways in which we can further cultivate the spiritual dimension of our everyday lives.
Mission
The word “mission” refers to what the church is for — what it is called to do. So we will be looking at what the church does in our society and in the world around us. How does the church make a difference and how can we be a part of it?
Worship
In this session, we look at the worship life of the church, including the typical order of worship for Sunday morning as well as the yearly cycle and the sacraments. We will also go through the details of the Confirmation service which will take place the following Sunday.
The CONFIRMATION circle will be for people who seek to affirm their faith for the first time as adults (as they prepare for baptism and/or confirmation of membership). If you are new to Christian faith or to the United Church of Canada this is for you!
The REAFFIRMATION circle will be for people who have been active in a church family, Robertson-Wesley or another, who seek to explore their faith and publicly re-affirm their faith.
a brief statement of what Christianity offers as a way of life for today
Emptiness in Our World
We live in a world that is so caught up in the externals, such as: possessions, prestige, success, security, approval, etc. Some people base their lives on the assumption that this is enough to make for happiness. But now that view appears increasingly bankrupt. There is a growing awareness of the heart of life, beyond the externals a center that is essential and without which we experience only a deep emptiness. Tragically, we are tempted to try to fill that emptiness with an array of addictions: alcohol, narcotics, work, consumerism, food, business, sex, entertainment, etc.; extreme- everything none of which satisfies in a lasting way.
The Beauty of Life
To live in Christ is to live in view of the heart of life. Jesus’ teaching is aimed at opening people’s eyes — the eyes of the soul — to see the inner sacredness of life. And in seeing the sacred heart of life, we experience the beauty of life, the presence of the sacred, the holiness of every moment, every person, every longing and every leaf.
It is an awareness that fills the soul with a desire to lift up all of life, to restore the dignity so often stripped away by the pursuit of the externals—in other words to make real the reign of God.
Sacred Presence
It is a thrilling experience, this encounter with the Sacred. But it can also be a fleeting experience. And so we gather as a faith community. Christian worship is simply a weekly gathering of those who share the longing. And we use the power of ritual to recreate the encounter with the Sacred, to reopen the eyes of the Soul, to reconnect us with a community of faith both local and global and to celebrate the presence of God in the midst of the world.
Experience of the Holy
Our experience of the holiness of life deepens over time, just as the experience of the Holiness of Life has deepened throughout the centuries giving us a heritage of spiritual practice and understanding. So today there is an opportunity for every individual to learn and grow and find support and direction on this marvelous, life-long journey of faith.
Mending the World
And the more deeply we touch this Sacred centre of life, the more fully we enter into the peace and joy of beholding the beauty of life, the more we long to reach out to the world around us, wherever there is hurting, suffering or injustice, and to touch the world with love, to be a part of the mending of the world. The faith community becomes a vehicle through which to make a difference in the world, as we experience the vision of justice and peace an expression of Divine will for all the human family.
Fullness of Life
So this is an invitation to Life in Christ: simply opening our hearts to the Sacred in all of life, and trusting the Spirit to guide and empower us on our way into the fullness of life for which we all long, and which is God’s will for all of us.