“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”
Colossians 3:16
What to Expect in our Worship Services
For more information about the sacraments of Baptism and Lord’s Supper, please visit our What We Believe page.
Additionally, on some Sundays we hold Profession of Faith and Ordination services for Elders and Deacons, which typically occur once a year. While these are not sacraments, they are important elements of our regular worship and community life.
In addition to these Sunday services, we also hold special services on Christmas, Good Friday, Thanksgiving, and Ascension day.
More Questions? Near the bottom of the page you will find our FAQ section.
Every Sunday, we gather for two worship services—at 10:00 AM and 2:30 PM—to honour and glorify the Lord God, who made heaven, earth, and all creatures. He created everything, and still upholds and governs His creation.
God designed humanity to serve and glorify Him, the only true God. He desires to maintain a relationship with His people, and through His Word—the Bible—He calls us to meet with Him in worship. As we gather, we honour, praise, and glorify Him as the God who not only created us but also saves us by His grace. In His grace, God blesses us with wonderful gifts: the forgiveness of our sins, peace with Him, and His continued care over our lives.
The service will follow a set liturgy. Throughout a service you will find a back-and-forth interaction as God and his people come together and speak together.
As part of our regular worship, we celebrate the sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Baptism is conducted as requested, and the Lord’s Supper is observed once every other month. These sacraments hold a special place in our worship life. The liturgy for these services follows the same format, but will have Baptism either before or after the sermon, and Lord’s Supper after the sermon.
We recommend you arrive a few minutes early to feel comfortable and settle in. Greeters or ushers will welcome you at the door and will give you a bulletin to follow along with the service. They will also be able to help seat you and can answer questions you might have.
We have Bibles available for you to use, and Books of Praise which contain our psalms, hymns, confessions, and liturgical forms
Prior to the start of the service there is usually organ or piano music playing.
At 10 AM and 2:30 PM the deacons, elders, and minister enter the auditorium.
An elder will shake the minister’s hand as a sign of the consistory’s endorsement of the Minister of the Word.
The minister or preaching Elder recites the votum from Psalm 124:8: “Our help is in the name of the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. Amen!”
In response to God’s greeting, the congregation sings a song of praise. We use a song book which contains the 150 Psalms of the Bible put to music as well as 85 hymns based mostly on texts of Scripture.
After praising the LORD in song, we then listen to God again through the reading of his law, the Ten Commandments. This is an important part of the worship service, since the Ten Commandments show us how God wants us to live. They function as a mirror for our lives.
The congregation will stand and sing a musical rendition of the Apostles Creed, or will sit and listen to a reading of either the Apostles Creed, Athanasian Creed, or Nicene Creed.
After the reading of the law, or profession of faith, we unite in prayer, confessing our sins and seeking forgiveness on the basis of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. We also pray for the continuing work of the Holy Spirit, that we may live to the glory of our God.
The minister reads one or more passages from the Bible, often from both the Old and New Testaments that relate to the specific theme text of the Sermon.
The congregation stands to sing a psalm or hymn in response to the reading of God’s Word.
The Sermon text is read followed by a sermon approximately 30 minutes in length.
The morning sermon typically explores a specific Bible text, while the afternoon sermon is topical, often exploring a theological concept from the Heidelberg Catechism or Belgic Confession.
The congregation stands to sing a psalm or hymn in response to the good news of the Gospel.
The minister leads in prayer, thanking God for His goodness and bringing before His throne the petitions of the congregation and of Christians everywhere.
Near the end of of the service we hold a monetary offering (also called “collection”) This offering is given to show thankfulness to the Lord, and all the money is distributed to the poor and needy, whether in the congregation, community, or elsewhere in the world.
The congregation stands to sing a closing psalm or hymn.
The minister gives the blessing from the Lord, either from Numbers 6:24-26, “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace”, or from 2 Corinthians 13:14, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”
The handshake after the service shows that the elders approve of the sermon and agree with its message. It also represents the shared responsibility between the minister and the elders for the congregation’s spiritual care.
The minister, elders, and deacons will leave the sanctuary, followed by the congregation.
After the service, parents head downstairs to pick up their little ones from the nursery, while the rest of the congregation heads outside (weather depending) for a time of fellowship.
The Canadian Reformed Churches hold to the Bible as the supreme authority in all matters of faith and life. They also adhere to the Reformed confessions, including the Belgic Confession, the Heidelberg Catechism, and the Canons of Dort, which summarize key biblical teachings.
A more in depth explanation can be found on our “What We Believe” page.
Creeds and confessions have been a rich blessing to the church for centuries. Their purpose is to defend the Christian faith from teachings that are not found in the Bible. Because they explain the fundamentals of the Christian faith, they are a helpful tools in teaching and discipling new believers. The creeds and confessions do not possess the same authority as the Bible, because unlike the Bible, they remain human documents.
The Canadian Reformed Churches believe in two sacraments: baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Baptism is seen as a sign and seal of God’s covenant promises, and the Lord’s Supper is a means of grace, remembering Christ’s sacrifice and uniting believers with Him and each other.
More in depth information can be found on our “What We Believe“ page
Initially, the afternoon service was a public Catechism lesson where children answered questions from the Heidelberg Catechism, and the minister explained various Scripture passages. This practice offered both extensive teaching and worship. However, as Catechism instruction moved to separate classes during the week, the custom of children answering questions during the service ended. Gradually, the afternoon service started to mirror the morning service, with a full sermon focused on proclaiming the doctrine of God’s Word as summarized in the Heidelberg Catechism.
The Heidelberg Catechism is divided into 52 sections, so that a portion of it can be explained to the church each Sunday of the year. This structure ensures that every year, we hear from the pulpit the full extent of “our sins and misery,” “our deliverance,” and “our thankfulness,” faithfully fulfilling the call to “declare the whole counsel of God”
Linked here is an article by Dr. A.J De Visser describing the “Character of the Afternoon Service”
Near the end of of the service we hold a monetary offering (also called “collection”) Our deacons will come forward and pass bags around the pews for donations. This is not a payment for the service or the minister. This offering is given to show thankfulness to the Lord, and all the money collected is distributed to the poor and needy, whether in the congregation, community, or elsewhere in the world.
As a visitor, there’s no obligation to contribute. Feel free to simply pass the collection bag to your neighbour until you feel more comfortable with us. Our focus is on worship and community, and we appreciate your presence regardless of your participation in the offering.
You’ll notice that many people dress up for our Sunday worship services as a way to show honor and respect to the Lord. While you may see some of us in suits or dresses, feel free to wear whatever you’re comfortable in. Our focus is on worshiping God with reverence.
We warmly welcome children of all ages to join us in worship! It’s not unusual to see parents with newborns or small children in the sanctuary.
If you would like childcare for your littles, we have a nursery downstairs for infants and toddlers (age 0 to 3). We have plenty of toys, a crib room, change-table, and a private nursing area if you so desire.
Once children are able to sit in church (around 3 years of age) parents will begin to take them into the sanctuary. As a congregation with many young families and children, we understand that little ones might make small noises during the service—that’s normal and expected, and we embrace it! That said, here’s a little insider tip: in true Reformed church fashion, you might notice some candies being quietly passed around during the sermon—Mentos seem to be the candy of choice! It’s just a little trick we’ve picked up to help keep the kids (and maybe a few grown-ups) happily occupied.
You might have heard the Canadian Reformed Church referred to locally as the “Dutch church,” a nickname that stems from the 1950s when Reformed Dutch immigrants first established this church. However, that doesn’t fully capture who we are!
Our history traces back to the Reformation in the Netherlands, with influences from the Reformation movements in France and Germany during the 1500s. After WW2 many Dutch people immigrated to Canada, and took their Reformed faith with them. While they first tried to join existing Reformed Churches, key theological differences led to the establishment of the first Canadian Reformed Church in 1940, Lethbridge, Alberta.
While we cherish our Dutch heritage, and it is true that the majority of our members are descendants of these post-war immigrants, our desire is for all people to join us in worshipping our God. So if you’re not Dutch, great! We’d love for you to be part of our church community!
If you’re interested in more of the history, our Federation’s website features a detailed overview of the history of the Canadian Reformed Church