Today we celebrate The First Baptist Church of Edmonton. The church, under the leadership of Ryan Sato, is know for its friendly, welcoming congregation and “a desire to celebrate the God-given worth of every person”, a commitment to community (including its alliance with The Mustard Seed), incredible music (including a pipe organ, choir, hand bells, guest performers…) and an intense chili cook-off.
We believe that being the people of God in Edmonton flows from a series of intentional acts, including gathering regularly in sacred space, celebrating at the Lord’s table, reading scripture and praying together, responding to the rhythm of the Christian liturgical calendar, and attending to beauty, sacred music, and creating space for silence.
First Baptist Church – Edmonton
We are committed to learning from the lived experiences of others, engaging in critical self-reflection, and ongoing spiritual formation. We pray for wisdom and humility as we find our way forward.
First Baptist Church – Edmonton
We believe that in everything we do—working, playing, socializing, creating new things or re-creating ourselves and those close to us—we are living out the Christ-life, the “way of Jesus”.
Seek the shalom (peace) of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its shalom you will find your shalom.
First Baptist Church – Edmonton
A Little Background
Baptists form a major branch of evangelical Protestantism distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer’s baptism) and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul competency (the responsibility and accountability of every person before God), sola fide (salvation by just faith alone), sola scriptura (the scripture of the Bible alone, as the rule of faith and practice) and congregationalist church government. Baptists generally recognize two ordinances: baptism and communion.
Diverse from their beginning, those identifying as Baptists today may differ widely from one another in what they believe, how they worship, their attitudes toward other Christians, and their understanding of what is important in Christian discipleship.
Wikipedia
Music at First Baptist Church
We celebrate and express our identity, purpose and mission through:
First Baptist Church – Edmonton
- thoughtful, liturgical worship
- congregational and choral music
- pipe organ, handbells and instrumental ensembles
- incorporating intergenerational worship and celebration
- teaching and learning for all ages
- participating in service projects
- partnering with other ministries
- offering bible studies and other small groups
Getting There
The FBC is located in central Edmonton, just down the street from the Cinnaholic[1].
[1]Semi-sequitur: Cinnaholic
Sadly, in appears the Edmonton Cinnaholic has closed. Not to fear – we’ll head down to the Cinnaholic in nearby Calgary!
The Toasting of the Nuptials: a Conversation with the Elders
UC#1, I need guidance. It turns out that that FBC (First Baptist Church) is also an acronym for “Food Blogger of Canada”, and this is seriously redirecting my attention!
UC#4
UC#4! Focus! Don’t be distracted by worldly pleasures!
They used to have an annual chili brunch where members would bring their favorite batch of chili and after the Sunday service we would all go downstairs to the community hall and sample offerings such as “Colon Cleanser” and “Fire In The Hole”. But that stopped during covid and hasn’t happened again since.
We had a nice pancake breakfast on Easter Sunday put on by the youth group. They fund raise so that they can send a group of kids each year to a city in the USA where they work with and organization that supports street kids. It has been a huge success. The breakfast featured pancakes, sausages, bacon, various fruits, maple syrup (of course) and coffee, tea & OJ. I don’t know how much they raised – we donated $50 for our two breakfasts, of which I ate the most.
The church has also had zoom and in-person study groups and stuff that UC#1-SU can speak to.
For me, the best feature of the church (other than all the good work that they do) is the organ and choir. It is really an amazing experience to hear them live.
FYI, we were married there with Ryan officiating. UC#1-SU might remember what year that was. (Boy, am I in trouble now).
UC#1
The chili event was called a “chili cook-off” with people tasting various entries and then voting for their favourite.
The youth project is in Camden, NJ.
I recently attended a 6-week Zoom session called, “Creating Sanctuary,” a beginner program to acquaint parishioners with the need for acceptance and openness to difference and diversity, in particular LGBTQ persons. It started in a Baptist church in the UK and has spread in its usage to various other denominations, including Anglican (offshoot of the Church of England). Their program can be found on the internet. It was kickstarted by the suicide of a young girl who was involved in her church, but believed that she would not be accepted by fellow congregants because she was lesbian. So, there are various interviews, like with her parents, the minister, etc.
First Baptist Edmonton is the only Baptist church in Edmonton that has stated an openness to LGBTQ, stated on their website, but not talked about directly during services.
We were married Aug 26, 2016, just for the record…and what a happy almost-8 years it has been—at least for my part!! Obviously, remembering dates is not one of the things that UC#1 is most beloved for!!
UC#1-SU
The FBC Pipe Organ
There’s a cool web site that catalogs the pipe organs of Canada. Here’s the scoop on the FBC organ:
The Bad Boys of Edmonton
(All images from https://www.musiqueorguequebec.ca/orgues/orguecan.html)
Cathédrale anglicane / All Saints’ Anglican Cathedral
Église anglicane / Christ Church Anglican
Église baptiste / First Baptist Church
First Presbyterian Church
Francis Winspear Centre for Music
Église luthérienne / Grace Lutheran Church
Église anglicane / Holy Trinity Anglican Church
King’s University College, Knoppers Hall
Robertson-Wesley United Church
Basilique-cathédrale / St. Joseph’s Basilica Cathedral
Église anglicane / St. John the Evangelist Anglican Church
University of Alberta, Convocation Hall
West End Christian Reformed Church
Semi-Sequitur: The Other FBC – Food Bloggers of Canada
Here’s the Edmonton edition of Food Bloggers of Canada.
Because We Can’t Leave Well Enough Alone
When you think of pipe organs, who do you think of? Taylor Swift? Ozzy Osbourne? Mr. T? Well, okay, but after them…. it has to be J. S. Bach, right?
Let’s let AI help us imagine J. S. Bach in heaven.
One reply on “First Baptist Church – Edmonton”
And as Mozart was walking through the main hall, he noticed a fellow hunched over a large musical script removing notes with a small tweezers. He asked who it was and God (Bach) replied: “Oh that’s just Beethoven decomposing.”