"Now after John was arrested,

Jesus came to Galilee,

proclaiming the good news of God,

and saying,

'The time is fulfilled,

and the kingdom of God

has come near;

repent, and believe in

the good news'."

(Mark 1:14-15)

Christian life is a response to the news that in Jesus Christ the reign of God has arrived. This proclamation - kerygma - is spoken and lived in every aspect of the church's life. It is the good news - the gospel - that changes everything and that turns our lives around.

Declaring Grace ...

In each service of worship the presider steps forward and offers a brief statement of the kerygma - the proclamation of good news. At University Hill we understand this to be a bold and daring declaration, one that could be learned and shared with neighbour, co-worker or family member should they wonder at the odd life we live. The Declaration of Grace is preceeded by a longing sung prayer for mercy. It is followed by a joyous doxology of praise. The kerygma - the proclamation - is the turning point around which our life turns from longing to rejoicing. We hope that our life together is a declaration of God's grace in Jesus Christ.

Keeping Time ...

One of the crucial ways that we remember that the good news in Jesus changes everything is by marking time differently. The ancient seasons of the Christian Year - Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Holy Week, Easter & Pentecost - offer a distinctive alternative to the twelve months of the Roman calendar.

University Hill Congregation creates and publishes a unique calendar that begins not on Januaray 1st but on the first Sunday of Advent (four Sundays before Christmas). The pages of the calendar turn with each change in Christian Season (twelve days of Christmas, fifty days of Easter, etc). This Salt of the Earth - Christian Seasons Calendar has become a mission venture of University Hill. It is a proclamation that we live our lives in a new time, a time when God's kingdom has come in Jesus.

Proclaiming Good News ...

Our pastor, Rev. Dr. Ed Searcy joined the congregation in 1995.  He is a

graduate of the University of British Columbia with a degree in Arts. As well he holds a Masters of Divinity from Vancouver School of Theology and a Doctor of Ministry from Columbia Theological Seminary in Georgia.

Ed's doctoral studies focused on the relationship between the gospel and contemporary North American culture. Learning together, he and the congregation rediscovered the challenge of living as a sign of God's kingdom come. Ed often speaks of this gospel life as one that leads us through the three days of Easter weekend: Christ's crucifixion on Good Friday, God's silence on Holy Saturday and the shocking re-orientation of life caused by the events of Easter Sunday. He reminds us that a gospel people knows terrible loss, holy waiting and extraordinary newness. In fact, Christian community is called to make room for this trilogy of days within its life at all times.

We pray that our capacity to share Good Friday grief, to wait with hope through long Holy Saturday times of absence and to receive the new future that is God's gift of Easter Sunday will make room for your journey into grace.

Sending Out ...

As part of its calling to proclaim the gospel, University Hill Congregation commissions its Minister and others to travel in order to speak and provide leadership in various settings and locations.

For instance, the congregation regularly sends Rev. Dr. Ed Searcy on speaking engagements in Canada and the United States. This shared ministry of proclamation is one way in which we seek to practice what we preach ... and to preach what we practice. As a theme speaker at church conferences and meetings, Ed shares the story of what God is up to in the life of University Hill Congregation. In the summer of 2007 Ed will be the Evangelist at Berwick Camp, Nova Scotia in Maritime Conference of the United Church.