Affirming Ministry

Riverbend United Church became an Affirming Ministry of the United Church of Canada on March 3^rd 2019. Being an Affirming Ministry means that we are committed to, and made a public statement, explicitly welcoming people of all sexual orientations, and gender identities to grow and deepen their spirituality in an inclusive congregation. Furthermore, we embrace people of all ages, abilities, backgrounds, cultures, economic circumstances, sexual orientations, genders, and gender identities to join with us as we journey in faith together. You can find our full mission statement here. Our focus is to celebrate diversity and ensure that we continue to educate ourselves, and be advocates for, all those marginalized in society.

Our goal is two-fold:

• • • • to ensure that everyone in our family of faith, feels valued and comfortable enough to fully explore their faith through worship, leadership, and participation in the life of the church.
      • to offer a hand of friendship, and be a place of safety and acceptance, to both our family of faith and the wider community, no matter what.

As part of our commitment to ensure that the church is accessible to all we have several accessibility features, details of which you will find here.

Information on Affirming activities and educational opportunities can be found in our calendar of events.

If you would like more details on the process to become an Affirming Ministry, please visit https://affirmunited.ause.ca/  

You can find the United Church of Canada’s statement on relationship and inclusion here.