THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN CANADA
The Presbyterian Church in Canada (PCC) historically hails from our Scottish founders who came across the Atlantic in the 1600s. While the roots of our church are Scottish, the PCC today has about 1,000 congregations with members coming from many national and racial backgrounds. Within our denomination there are many different languages and styles of worship. There are congregations that worship in English, French, Chinese, Taiwanese, Hungarian, Spanish and Portuguese, and over 20 distinct Korean congregations. We welcome people of all backgrounds and walks of life.
GOD
Belief in the Trinity — God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit — is central to our faith. God is the Father to whom we come, the Son through whom we come, and the Spirit by whom we come.
The doctrine of the Trinity teaches belief in one God who exists as three “persons” with the word “person” and arises from all that the Bible tells us about God as the Creator, the Redeemer, and the Sustainer. The New Testament writers portray Jesus through his words and actions as divine and the Son of God. (John 1:1-3,14; Colossians 2:9, and Hebrews 1:1-3.)
THE BIBLE
At Erskine, we read the Bible each Sunday. To make our messages relatable and contemporary, we use a modern English translation, the New Century Version. We believe the Old Testament records God’s interaction with the people of Israel. We study it from August to December each year. The New Testament tells us of Jesus and the growth of the early church. Erskine spends January to Easter studying one of the gospels (accounts of Jesus’ life), then spring and summer reading through the stories of the early church from the New Testament.
We also believe the Bible has been given to us by the inspiration of God to be the rule of faith and life. It is the standard of all doctrine by which we must test any word that comes to us from church, world, or inner experience. We subject to its judgment all we believe and do. Through the Scriptures the church is bound only to Jesus Christ its King and Head. He is the living Word of God to whom the written word bears witness (Reference: 2 Timothy 3:16).
The Holy Spirit gives us inner testimony to the unique authority of the Bible and is the source of its power. The Bible, written by human hands, is nonetheless the word of God as no other word ever written. To it no other writings are to be added. The Scriptures are necessary, sufficient, and reliable, revealing Jesus Christ, the living Word.
Both Old and New Testaments were written within communities of faith and accepted as Scripture by them. Those who seek to understand the Bible need to stand within the church and listen to its teaching (Reference: John 14:26).
The Bible is to be understood in the light of the revelation of God’s work in Christ. The writing of the Bible was conditioned by the language, thought, and setting of its time. The Bible must be read in its historical context. We interpret Scripture as we compare passages, seeing the two Testaments in light of each other, and listening to commentators past and present. Relying on the Holy Spirit, we seek the application of God’s word for our time.
WORSHIP
At Erskine we have a lively and modern praise team. We love to worship God with drums, guitars, piano, and the occasional traditional song with our organ. To enjoy a sample of our worship, please click here.
The church lives to praise God. We have no higher calling than to offer the worship that belongs to God day by day, Sunday by Sunday.
Through the preaching of the Word and the celebration of the Sacraments, in praise, prayer, teaching and fellowship, God sustains the life of the church. We worship God as Lord offering ourselves in the service of Christ, rejoicing that we have been brought from darkness to light.
Worship draws us into the work of Christ. Even now he intercedes for the world to which he came and for which he died. In union with him, the church prays for the healing and the salvation of the world.
Blessing and honour and glory and power be to our God for ever and ever! (Reference: 1 Chronicles 16:23-31)
BAPTISM
Baptism is a sign and seal of our union with Christ and with his church. Through it we share in the death and resurrection of Christ and are commissioned to his service.
In Baptism, water is administered in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. The water signifies the washing away of sin, the start of new life in Christ, and the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Baptism is also an act of discipleship that requires commitment and looks towards growth in Christ. Those baptized in infancy are called in later years to make personal profession of Christ. What is born may die. What is grafted may wither.
Baptism assures us that we belong to God. In life and in death our greatest comfort is that we belong to our faithful Saviour Jesus Christ (Matthew 28:19-20, 1 Peter 3:21, Luke 3:16)
COMMUNION
At Erskine, everyone is welcome to the communion table. We believe it is first and foremost the Lord’s table, not our own. Children, in consultation with their parents, are also welcome to join the church family as we participate in communion.
We believe in breaking bread and drinking wine Jesus told us to remember him. In this action called by many names; Holy Communion, Lord’s Supper, or Eucharist, Christ offers himself to us and we present ourselves to him in worship and adoration.
The Lord’s Supper is a joyful mystery whereby Jesus takes the bread and wine to represent his atoning sacrifice, deepening our union with himself and with each other, giving us of his life and strength. Here Christ is present in his world proclaiming salvation until he comes– a symbol of hope for a troubled age.
Those who belong to Christ come gladly to his table to make a memorial of his life and death, to celebrate his presence, and together as his church offer him thanks (Reference: Luke 22:19-20, 1 Corinthians 11:17-34).
REACHING & SERVING
We believe the Christian church exists for others. We believe that our faith is alive through our actions of service (James 2:14-26). In Presbyterian churches we find evidence of activities that build community and reach out to serve others.
We believe that Jesus came into the world to demonstrate God’s concern for the world and its people. We recognize Jesus’ challenge to follow him (Luke 9:23) and his final commission to us (Matthew 28:19). In our church, people of all ages learn to heal and care for each other. We are active in mission and worship beyond our own walls. As Christians, we go into the world and try to make it more like God’s kingdom.
We believe God interacts with all aspects of our lives. One of the clearest messages for us in our daily living is found in Micah 6:8, “What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” To live this out we open our doors to many programs designed to help the most vulnerable amongst us; such as Out of the Cold and Steps to Health.
APOSTLES’ CREEDS & LORD’S PRAYER
Each Sunday at Erskine we recite the Lord’s Prayer. Every communion service we proclaim our faith by reciting the Apostles’ Creed.
The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father in heaven
Hallowed be your name,
Your kingdom come, your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven
Give us this day our daily bread
And forgive us our sins
As we forgive those who sin against us
And lead us not into temptation
But deliver us from evil
For yours in the kingdom, the power and the glory
Forever, amen.
Apostles’ Creed
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and he will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. AMEN.
Our full Statement of Christian Belief, can be found here, “Living Faith”
