Welcome to Grace
Our sign on the corner of King and Octerloney has in small print that we are a friendly and caring congregation. We would like to invite to join us to find out even though the print may be small, our commitment to be friendly and caring is not.
We are a community of people of all different ages, stages, and abilities who gather together on a Sunday morning to learn about and praise God as part of our spiritual journey. Our church service which is about an hour has songs, prayers, a message, reading from the Bible, and sometimes, drama or a video Lego Bible story. We believe music can speak to the soul in a way that words alone can’t so you will find that the music offered is outstanding. We are a Christian church in the Protestant (Reformed) tradition that is part of the United Church of Canada. If you want to know more about the United Church - click here.
After the church service you are invited to join us for refreshment and conversation in the Upper Hall - just a very short hallway away from the Sanctuary, where the worship service takes place.
We are also an affirming church. We believe that God’s love is wider and more inclusive than we can imagine and so we make a public statement that members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community are loved and welcomed here. We also acknowledge that other people because of age, race, culture background, mental and physical ability and socio-economic status may have felt excluded by some churches but here they are welcomed as part of our Church family. At the start of each church service we reaffirm our vision and mission statement.
Grace United Church is an Affirming Ministry committed to transforming lives by living God’s vision as an active part of the diverse community in the Heart of Dartmouth.
In the name of Jesus Christ, we journey together in faith as people, embracing every age, race, gender identity, sexual orientation, family composition, mental and physical ability, cultural background and socio-economic status in the life and work of Grace United Church.
To read our full vision and mission statement - click here
For much of the year, our younger children participate in Sunday School, a time to explore God’s Word through art, drama, crafts and fun. Whether the children start the service in the pews or in the Sunday School room (downstairs), they spend some time in the worship service for children’s time with the worship leader, prayer and a song before going to the Sunday School room. They also do projects to help express their care for others and the world. To learn more about Sunday School - click here. If you wish, you can ask our Ambassador (wearing a name tag that says Ambassador) at the back of the church to show you the Sunday School room and introduce you to our coordinator before the service starts. For other times of the year, there are activities provide for children.
Our Church building is located on the corner of Ochterloney and King St and services occur here on Sunday mornings at 11am from September to May and 10am from June to August. In the summer, we worship jointly with St. James United Church, so for 5 weeks we are in their building (181 Portland St.). We are blessed with an abundance of doors; for the service, the Ochterloney St. door closest to the corner, the King St. door with stairs going up and the King St. ramp door (press button at the rail at the start of the ramp to automatically open) are open. After the first 10 minutes, please use the King St. door with stairs.
We are not blessed with an abundance of our own parking spots. Click here to see where free parking spots are available on evenings and weekends close to Grace. As well, the company owning the former post office parking lot has graciously allowed us to use it on Sunday morning during the service; the lot will be relocked about 1pm.
But church is more than a gathering in a building on a Sunday morning. We are inspired to live out what we hear and believe; to love and serve others, so in smaller groups we gather together in different times and places to do things to live this out. Information on our groups and activities can be found in Grace Groups, Pastoral Care, Local and National/International Outreach as well as This Month’s Activities pages on our this website as well as Facebook.
We have a brochure that you can check out by clicking here
This may not answer all your questions so you can check out our responses to frequently asked questions - or what we informally referred to questions you would like to have answered without having to ask - click here. If we have not answered all your questions or you have concerns, please do not hesitate to reach our to us. General questions can be directed to info@gracedartmouth.ca. If you have administrative type questions you can reach out to Thelma, our Office Administrator at 902-466-3329 or secretary@gracedartmouth.ca. Our Minister, Stephen Fram can be reach of our Office phone number 902-466-3329 or minister@gracedartmouth.ca.
We look forward to meeting you. You may find that you are like many of us:
Come for a Sunday, Stay for a lifetime