About Us - St. Andrew's United Reformed Church, Scarborough

Open hands – Open hearts – Open minds

Welcome to St Andrew’s Church on South Cliff. We strive to be an open and friendly community church, and all are welcome here.

You are welcome here, whoever you are. We welcome those who are single, married, divorced, gay, trans, rich, poor or hungry. We welcome crying babies and noisy wriggly toddlers. We offer a warm welcome if you can sing like an angel, or if you squawk like a chicken. You’re welcome here if you’re just curious, just got out of bed or just got out of jail. We offer a special welcome to those who party all night and those who go to bed at 8 pm.

We are glad welcome to those who are over 40 but not grown up yet, and to teenagers who are growing up too fast. We welcome tall people, short people, freaks and geeks, starving artists, eco-freaks, diesel drivers, vegans and junk-food fans. We welcome those who are in recovery or still addicted. We welcome you if you’re having problems, feeling depressed or if you don’t like church, or are allergic to camels.

We gladly welcome those who have tattoos, piercings or both, those in jeans and those in a ballgown. We offer a special welcome to those who could use a prayer right now, who used to be Christian, who want to be Christian or who thought this was a museum. We welcome tourists and natives, first-times and regulars, seekers and doubters, saints and sinners … and especially you….

Our Mission Statement

At St. Andrew’s we seek to grow in the love and service of Jesus Christ by committing ourselves to:

Respecting all God’s children as a community of equals.
Reaching out in partnership with the wider community.
Building on our past and embracing change with faith and confidence.
Providing a warm welcome to all by sharing our spirit of joy and fellowship.
Celebrating and rejoicing in God’s love through worship.
Providing the space for reflection and prayer to foster peace.
Nurturing the children in God’s light.
Providing opportunity for everyone to develop and use their God-given gifts.

You can find out more about the URC here: https://urc.org.uk/who-we-are/what-is-the-urc/

St. Andrew’s are proud to be a member of the Inclusive Church network: https://www.inclusive-church.org/

“We believe in inclusive Church – a Church which celebrates and affirms every person and does not discriminate. We will continue to challenge the Church where it continues to discriminate against people on grounds of disability, economic power, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, learning disability, mental health, neurodiversity, or sexuality. We believe in a Church which welcomes and serves all people in the name of Jesus Christ; which is scripturally faithful; which seeks to proclaim the Gospel afresh for each generation; and which, in the power of the Holy Spirit, allows all people to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Jesus Christ.”

St Andrew’s, an inclusive church on South Cliff, is the first church in Scarborough to be awarded a Bronze Eco-Church Award. A Rocha’s award scheme is for churches in England and Wales who want to demonstrate that the gospel is good news for God’s earth. It considers lots of areas in church life including worship and learning, management of church buildings and land, community and global engagement, and lifestyle.

Fairtrade-logo-for-black-or-white-backgrounds-Copy-700x700 As a church we commit to using Fairtrade products wherever possible.

Safeguarding

Safeguarding measures are in place at all our events. Our Safeguarding Policy is available to view on request.