It’s no secret that the thousands of members of the congregations of St. Albert’s 28 churches don’t just sit in the pews; they are always involved in acts of charity, great and small, far and wide.
Clearly, these people love their neighbours.
This is the second and final part of a compilation of what kinds of community and charity work that several of these various houses of worship have been involved in.
Christian Reformed Church of St. Albert: The church started in a school gym in 1981 but it has grown to have its own home in Grandin, right near the mall. It considers all of its members to be its ministers, so there were a lot of ministers working together on a variety of efforts. They helped supply clothes to a man just leaving an addiction facility, plus it’s one of the five St. Albert churches that contribute to the Bridge Fund, creating a single contact point for local people in need.
Other notable efforts include raising funds for earthquake disaster relief in Japan and supporting other special needs causes in the world. Some of its members did relief work abroad including Ethiopia. It also has a Friendship program for mentally handicapped adults, supplied Christmas hampers to those in need and works with the city to help with transit parking.
The church is located at 12 Gate Avenue. Call 780-458-7568 or visit www.crcsa.org for more information.
Sturgeon Valley Baptist Church: Every two months, there is a blood drive held at this Woodlands church. It holds regular Alcoholics Anonymous group meetings to help people get through the tough times. The church also supports several not-for-profit groups and community organizations inside and outside the city, including the St. Albert Food Bank, downtown Edmonton’s Mustard Seed Church, Kindred House, the St. Albert Kinettes (for its annual Christmas hamper program), Coats for Kids, the Salvation Army’s Back to School program, Operation Christmas Child, the Pregnancy Care Centre and 10,000 Shoes. It also supports the Bridge and supplies hygiene kits to the Sturgeon Community Hospital for outpatients.
This church is at 51 Woodlands Road, right across from Neil M. Ross Elementary School. Call 780-458-3777 or visit www.svbc.ab.ca for more information.
King of Kings Lutheran Church: This church is almost out of the city on the northern border, but it is still an integral part of St. Albert and actively works to help those in need here, in Edmonton and elsewhere. Its school and preschool collected peanut butter for an inner city mission in Edmonton called The Rock that provides meals for the homeless. The congregation also collects Canadian Tire money for The Rock, and supported that mission at Thanksgiving with food donations. Together, the schools and the church put up a mitten and toque tree at Christmas to help keep people warm in the winter as well.
The congregation also supported an orphanage in a village in Borneo and its school chapel’s offerings helped to support training teachers in Papua New Guinea. This year, the offerings will support a mission pastor in Nicaragua, buying him a motorcycle to help him get to the outlying areas.
Locally, the congregation puts on an annual car show with proceeds benefiting the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation.
The church is located at the northeast corner of St. Albert Trail and Coal Mine Road. Call 780-459-1909 or visit www.kofk.ca.
