Our Holy Manners
(these are read at the beginning of our church meetings)
As leaders of the Christian community of
(one of) Knox United Church/Fariview United Church/St. Andrews By-The-Sea United Church
OR
Manitowaning, Tehkummah and South Baymouth United Church Pastoral Charge,
We agree, with the help of God, to relate to each other through Christ, and thus hold ourselves and each other to:
1. Invite Jesus to be a member of every gathering
2. Extend a warm welcome and Christian fellowship to all
3. Strive for what is best for our Church as a whole
4. Support our ministers, staff and elected ministry
5. Present ideas honestly, openly and completely
6. Seek as much to understand as to be understood
7. Acknowledge that conflict is a normal part of life
8. Allow disagreement without personal resentment
9. Speak only from first-hand knowledge
10. Raise issues and concerns through proper channels
11. Publicly support meeting or vote results, even if they don’t reflect our personal views
12. Give ourselves time to think about important issues before making decisions
13. Suspend judgments and act in a non-defensive, non-reactive way
14. Respect the privacy of those who confide
15. Challenge each other with the truth; be willing to confront when it is important
16. Deal directly with people with whom we disagree
17. Strengthen each other
18. Be gentle with one another
19. Forgive One Another
20. Accept our role as wise stewards of our Earth and the rest of God’s gifts to us
