With the wrap-up of summer and the freshness of fall,we at Celebration! Church Ottawa thought we would take the opportunity to reintroduce ourselves. Just in case we have never connected with you at a community BBQ, the Main Event, the Celebration! Station booth at the Farmers Market, one of our services in the park or any of our other events, here is the gist of who we are and what we’re about.
Celebration! Church Ottawa originally consisted of university students who came together to start a unique church. Over its first few years, the identity, mission and make-up of the church developed and grew to include a mix of students, young adults and families. Today, C!C continues to be a place where people from many backgrounds and stages of life come to explore faith and join together for worship and community. We still maintain a significant connection to Ottawa campuses. We have developed a thriving children’s ministry. And we have had dozens of couples join together in marriage and start new families. Now, we are beginning to talk about what developments are on the horizon for the next five to 10 years.
Even though we are a group that embraces the changing nature of life, we strive to be flexible in adapting to the needs of individuals, families and the community. There are four key parts of our identity as a church that don’t change. We are a group of people who want to SEE, BE, GIVE, and GO.
‘SEE’ refers to how we gather each week to worship. Currently we meet in room L121 at Saint Paul University at 10 a.m. on Sunday. Through songs sung with our band, teaching time from the Bible, prayer, and growing relationships, we connect in small ways with God.
‘BE’ refers to how our attitudes and behaviours change when we make choices that make life better. We honour God, enjoy our families and other relationships more and are equipped to make the world around us better. We meet in small groups throughout the week around the city.
‘GIVE’ is our answering the call to serve. We desire to be people motivated by faith to make a big impact around us. So we look for opportunities to meet people’s needs and provide help. We do so with open minds and open hearts, without expectations, obligations or manipulations. Our church’s children’s booth at the Farmers Market each Saturday is an example of how C!C people ‘GIVE’ back to the community.
‘GO’ is a heartfelt extension of ‘GIVE.’ We can’t turn a blind eye to needs around the world. Part of our mission is to be globally minded in everything from social justice issues to spreading good news of our faith. We have partnerships all over the planet that seek to liberate oppressed people, meet desperate needs and teach how to maximize innate potential.
At C!C, we are normal, unremarkable people. We welcome and embrace those who are searching for answers to tough questions, or who are just ‘checking things out.’ Our gatherings are a safe place for this kind of exploration. Wherever you are in your faith journey, we hope you will drop in on us sometime. We’re glad to be part of the neighbourhood. We hope to have an opportunity to serve you or see you around. More information at www.celebrationchurch.ca .
