Who are we? 

What’s with the name?

Our name, St. Peter’s Fireside, comes from the messy story of St. Peter as recorded in the gospel of John, (John 18:15-27 & John 21:1-19).

Peter denies Jesus three times , he turned away from Jesus at his lowest moment, but after the resurrection, Jesus reconciles with Peter over breakfast beside a charcoal fire.

Jesus doesn’t rebuke Peter.

He doesn’t tell him all the ways he was wrong.

Instead he gives Peter a second chance.

Three times Jesus asks Peter “Do you love me?”
Three times Jesus rewrites Peter’s earlier betrayal.

Like that breakfast beside the charcoal fire, we want to be a place where we can discover, and rediscover God’s love and forgiveness.

What do we believe?

We are a Gospel-centered, Spirit-empowered, Anglican church.

We are rooted in the historically orthodox beliefs contained in the Apostles Creed and Nicene Creed, derived from the Scriptures, which are inspired by God.

Our theology is centred on the essentials of the Christian faith, such as:

The Trinity God is one God in three persons: The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit (see the Athanasian Creed). The Trinity is a beautiful mystery of the faith, revealed plainly in Scripture.

Inspiration and authority We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the Word of God written and to contain all things necessary for salvation. The Bible is to be translated, read, preached, taught and obeyed in its plain and canonical sense, respectful of the church’s historic and consensual reading.

The necessity of the cross God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Jesus Christ died for us. The cross was the divinely appointed way for our sins to be forgiven, God’s justice to be satisfied, and for humanity to be justified and reconciled to God. As a result of Christ’s atoning death, we are saved by grace alone, and adopted as children of God. Grace is a gift we cannot earn but only freely receive through faith in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Empowering presence We affirm and rejoice that the Holy Spirit is alive and active today in the exact same ways we discover in Scripture. The Christian life is impossible apart from the Spirit’s ongoing and active work in our lives.

Mission and church As God the Father sent his Son, and as the Father and the Son sent the Spirit into the world, so the church (the body of Christ, temple of the Spirit, and people of God) as a worshipping community gathers to be nourished through Word and Sacrament and is sent out into the world to bear witness to the gospel and embody the ways of God’s kingdom.

However, there are other aspects of our faith where we can disagree and where dialogue may even lead us more fully into the truth. In other words, some theological concepts are written in blood, some in ink and others in pencil. Our hope is to find unity in historical orthodoxy and to encourage dialogue on negotiable aspects of our faith, so that we can grow in truth and love. Because how we believe is just as important as what we believe.

Our Values

Our values were born and raised by our people. They are inspired by our vision and help us navigate decisions as a Church, as they shape and form each of us as individuals. We do value many things as a community, but our core values help us stay focused on our unique calling as St. Peter’s Fireside. 

Under Authority — We are citizens of the kingdom of God, not culture, led by Jesus through his Word, Spirit, and Church.

Default to Prayer — We desire prayer to be as natural as breathing because we encounter God more deeply through it.

Interdependence — We need each other because every Christian plays an important part in the body.

Integrated Faith — From our heads and hearts down to our feet, in our homes and work and everywhere in between, Jesus transforms every part of our lives.

Joy of Salvation — The gospel isn’t just news, it’s really good news! And it always comes to us on its way to somebody else. 

What denomination is St. Pete’s?

St. Peter’s Fireside is part of the world-wide Anglican Communion. It is the largest Protestant communion of churches in the world, with almost 80 million members in 165 countries. Our province is the Anglican Church in North America, and our diocese is the Anglican Network in Canada.

Our Parish Council and Ministry teams affirm the 39 Articles and Jerusalem Declaration as statements of faith.

I still have questions! What do I do!?

We would love to answer any questions you may still have. Shoot an email to Hello@stpf.ca or Phill@stpf.ca