‘The people of Augustine United Church seek to live out God’s unconditional inclusive love in our worship, our care for each other in our communities and the world’

PROCLAMATION

Augustine United Church (AUC) will proclaim God’s inclusive love through regular worship, special services, prayers and acts of devotion throughout the week, either at our church or further afield. We will ensure our services move and inspire, offering moments of stillness, prayer, inspiration and celebration.

We will be a voice for Christian hope in our modern city, and will be outgoing in explaining our faith and doubt, with words and action. We will include new people who want to join our services and those who want to learn more about the Christian faith and we will provide opportunities for people to fully participate in and contribute to the worship. We will search for ways of leading worship and activities with children, young people and students.

We are open to other Christian traditions and broader forms of worship, and we welcome opportunities of sharing worship with other churches and inviting visiting ministers and lay-preachers and ordinary people to lead or be involved in our worship at AUC.

PASTORAL

AUC will follow Christ’s “new commandment” to “love one another” and to make this commandment the centre of our life and works. We will find new ways of improving pastoral care for our community, new and old. The Minister and Elders will work to address the personal and spiritual needs and spiritual development of members of our community, through prayer and conversation. In our services, we will bring before God the joys and sadness experienced by members of our congregation, in life’s journey. New members will be made welcome and their wishes and concerns will be listened to.

LOCAL

AUC will use its gifts, buildings and resources to support Church and local groups that work to promote peace, freedom of thought and freedom of expression. The work of these groups will be brought before the church regularly. We will maintain our building to allow these groups to continue to do their work using our facilities. AUC wants to break down the barriers that divide Christians, to see that we are all part of one Church. Therefore, we will consolidate our existing Ecumenical Partnership with other local churches while also supporting new partnerships and our fellow URC churches. We will celebrate the continuing contribution of church members to the local community, such as in ecumenical projects, and voluntary work supporting homeless people and those with mental illnesses and vulnerable people in our community. We will publicise our activities and our distinctive, counter-cultural identity to the local community.

WORLD

Christ asks us to love our neighbours as ourselves and, in so doing, AUC will stand together with poor and oppressed people in the majority world as well as the developed World.

We will continue to do this with organisations that offer direct help and also to those that campaign for a change to world systems that maintain poverty, division between peoples and cause damage to the environment. We will give thanks for the achievements of our own church members who work to support world development organisations. AUC will work with and learn from the wider World Church and other faith groups.

We will run our affairs with transparency and professionalism to the glory of God. We hope that new people passing through our doors will be inspired by our services; feel valued and cared for; and be made aware of opportunities for joining us to work for a better world.