Frequently Asked Questions

 "Bethel Congregational UCC is church that does God’s work in the  world, nurtures spiritual growth, and helps to build a loving  community.”  

We offer a variety of ministries, including worship, music, children's and youth programs, small groups, outreach and missions, prayer and pastoral care, and more.

You can donate to Bethel Congregational Church online through our website, or in person during our services. Your donations help us continue to serve and minister to our community. One of the best ways to send a donation to us is by using ZELLE through your online banking app. Our ZELLE email is info@betheluccontario.org.  If you prefer to use Paypal, CLICK HERE

Yes. Our Pastor can help you by officiating for your special life events.  Email Pastor Sylvia for more information.

Yes. Our Pastor can help you by officiating for your special life events. All families are welcome. A people are loved by God.  Email Pastor Sylvia for more information.

  You will be truly welcomed and affirmed.  As a denomination, the UCC has been at the forefront of being Open and Affirming (ONA) to the LGBT community. What this means is that all people welcome in the FULL life and ministry of a UCC Church.

Bethel UCC Ontario is an Open and Affirming Congregation.   

Our Open and Affirming Statement: 

"We  declare ourselves to be open and affirming. With God's grace, we seek  to be a congregation that includes all persons, embracing differences of  sexual orientation, gender, marital status, age, mental and physical  ability, as well as racial, ethnic, or social-economic background.  We  welcome all to share in the life and leadership, ministry, and  fellowship, worship, sacraments, responsibilities and blessings of  participation in our congregation." .

  A: Bethel is an open kind of place where you are free to believe what you believe and think what you think and everyone else is free to do so as well.

Now, this doesn't mean that individually our members aren't concerned with beliefs or are wishy-washy. Indeed, just the opposite: for us, belief is too personal and important for it to be the type of thing that we could ever hope to all be in agreement about. As such, we talk about beliefs in ways that challenge each others thinking, but ultimately, the right interpretation is between you and God.   

  A: While we are people grounded in a faith that is 2000 years old, we are always searching for new ways of understanding and interpreting scripture in light of 21st century experience and knowledge. We take the Bible seriously but not necessarily literally. In our tradition, we take it so seriously that we take the time to study the social and historical context in which it was written. So you will hear us talk about the history of the Jewish and Christian people, as well as the work of modern scholars. We believe that God intentionally planted the word in the middle of history and culture, and therefore that background is part of the story we need to learn. We believe that the Bible is God’s own holy word passed down to us through fallible human beings.

We believe in the Bible so much that we think it deserves our best questions. We believe that the Bible is the opening of a conversation in which God is still speaking. We do not think the Bible will shrivel up and die because we dare to question why it says what it does. We believe that the Bible has withstood similar questions for thousands of years and that in asking the questions together, in communities of faith, over time, we are part of a life-changing conversation that will go on forever.

We honor the word so highly that we do not take one phrase out of context and fling it around. We do not use phrases as stand-alone weapons to  prove our point or to injure another person. Rather, we read the phrase as it has been nested in the text. We read the story around it.

We are not afraid to notice and point out places where scripture disagrees with itself. We know that we are not the first generation to notice these things. Those who carefully put the Bible together over the early centuries wrestled to decide which books should be included and which left out. In their wisdom, they left us a collection of holy words that offer a rich variety of descriptions of God.

Come join us at Bible Study and learn more!