Who are we?

A progressive theology

St. George’s Anglican Church Lowville espouses a “progressive theology” (also called a liberal theology) within the Anglican tradition.  By this, we mean that we see ourselves as God’s people, created in the divine likeness by a loving Creator.  Our progressive theology inspires the goal of developing our parish as a loving community of disciples of Jesus Christ. Coming to church on Sundays should be a joy, not a duty.  Therefore we make our Sunday worship joyful, not gloomy.  We reject the belief that we were all born sinful, awaiting and expecting punishment from a vengeful and judgemental God. After all, Jesus himself imagined the Heavenly Father to be like an idealized earthly parent.  That is why he taught his disciples to pray, “Our Father”.

We are all part of God’s Creation

We are not outsiders, looking in on God’s Creation.  Instead, we are vital parts of both the living and the inanimate worlds.  Our belief that God created the world and everything in it as ‘very good’ [Genesis 1: 31] is integral to our progressive theology.  That supports our baptismal covenant, which inspires us to care for the Creation, and to respect the dignity of every member of humanity.  St. George’s Lowville is proud to have won an award from the diocesan ‘Greening Niagara’ program, as part of our commitment to Creation.

Preaching

Our preaching style is Bible-based in the sense that we base our homilies on the day’s Scripture readings, most often from the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  However, our progressive theology means that we believe that our homilies should examine the relevance of Scripture to our own time and place. This liberal approach to Christianity urges us to use our powers of reason to complement the words of the Bible and the traditions that we have received from the past.  We accept that Scripture is not ‘one size fits all’, in which everyone must interpret the Bible in the same way.  Our members hold a wide variety of Christian belief; our progressive theology understands diversity in faith perspectives as a source of strength not division.

Joyful Worship

Coming to church at St George’s is a joy, not a duty. Our Sunday worship is joyful, not gloomy, but still respectful, affirming our belief that God deserves our thanks and praise. (See our most recent service leaflet.) The service has two main parts, the Word, where the Bible is read and explained, and the Sacrament of the Eucharist, also known as Holy Communion,  Mass or the Lord’s Supper.

All are welcome

Everyone is welcome at St. George’s Anglican Church Lowville.  As we write in our weekly service bulletin:

Whoever you are, and wherever you are in your journey of life, you are welcome in this place.

As part of that commitment, we have made sure that our building is fully accessible, including an elevator from our foyer to the worship space and to the parish hall.  Our washrooms include a separate handicap facility. From the worship perspective, we welcome everyone at the Lord’s Table.  We encourage you to partake in the sacrament of Holy Communion, whether or not your background is Anglican. 

Children’s program

Children are important to us, as indeed they were to Jesus (Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs). We welcome children and encourage them to take Holy Communion at St. George’s from whatever age their parents think it appropriate.  In other words, this is a family decision. There is a brief children’s time at the beginning of our Sunday worship, after which we offer Sunday School aimed at children up to 10 years old throughout the year. We encourage children to participate fully in the service, should they wish to, in roles such as taking up the collection, reading Scripture, and serving at the altar.