Welcome to St. Andrew’s Kars: a village church with a global perspective.
Located along the historic Rideau River, we have faithfully served our Risen Lord in the Kars community for over 175 years. Our Presbyterian roots date back to the early 1800’s, when the former village of Wellington (now known as Kars), was a stop for itinerant preachers. Worship, including the administering of the sacraments of communion and baptism, was held in homes of Irish and Scottish settlers, during these short yearly visits. From the 1840s until our present building was erected in 1876, St. Andrew’s met in the Lindsay’s Corner school house located at the corner of Lochead Road and Rideau Valley Drive South. A history of the church was published in 2008.
Today, St. Andrew’s is a blend of old and new. Our congregation is a combination of families who can trace their roots to the church at the Lindsay School and new arrivals to our community. We are blessed to have members from all walks of life, from those who measure their age in months to those looking forward to triple digits. Our attendance ranges between 25-35 at morning worship with a few children in the nursery and church school.
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Wedding, Funeral and Church Hall Rental Policy
PURPOSE:
To establish a guideline for the Minister and Session to approve the use of the Church, the Church Hall and the Grounds of St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, Kars for wedding, funeral or other special events requested by members of St. Andrews, Kars and those in the community.
Weddings
The Minister of St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church shall:
- be responsible to officiate weddings or will arrange for a substitute in his/her absence if requested
- meet at least twice with the couple to complete the Prepare Marriage course and to discuss the content of the marriage ceremony.
- conduct one rehearsal prior to the ceremony if required.
- recommend marriage liturgies that are in keeping with (but not limited to) the approved liturgies of the Presbyterian Church in Canada.
- reserve the right to refuse to marry on the grounds of moral or professional ethics,
- Reserve the right to refuse to marry when failure to agree to the guidelines established by St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church
- Reserve the right to refuse to marry based on the Ontario law, when there is suspicion of intoxication by alcohol, drugs or other substances.
The couple is responsible for the following:
- attending church as least twice in the weeks leading up the wedding
- securing a marriage license in the city or town hall in the Province of Ontario. You are required to deliver the license to the Minister two weeks prior to the wedding.
- If you choose to have the reading of the Banns instead of a marriage license, the banns have to be read in the church or churches that the parties are in the habit of attending. The banns must be read in church at least five days in advance of the wedding date. The marriage shall be solemnized only within the three months immediately following the issue of the licence of publication of the banns.
- inviting a clergy person that they may wish to include in the ceremony to assist the officiating minister.
- Choosing and confirming music and/or musicians in consultation with the Minister.
- purchasing and producing wedding bulletins.
- providing candles for the ceremony if needed
- decorating the sanctuary with simple decorations without damaging the pews and other furniture. Confetti, rice or petals are not allowed.
- making arrangements for someone to remove decorations immediately following the ceremony.
- ensuring that photography and/or videography be used only at those permitted part in the ceremony which will be discussed with the officiating minister.
The organist/musician of the church venue shall:
- play for the wedding.
- have the first right of refusal for any wedding.
- be consulted by the couple regarding music selections.
Suggested Fees:
Officiating Minister: onsite – $200.00; offsite – $300.00 plus travel based on the Presbyterian Church in Canada’s current travel rate. Payment is made directly to the minister two weeks before.
Organist/Musician: $150 – Additional $50 if rehearsal is required. Payment for this service is made directly to the organist two weeks before.
Custodian/Caretaker: $ 75.00 – includes cleaning the sanctuary and church premise but will not be responsible for removing the decorations used by the wedding party. Payment for this service is made directly to the custodian two weeks before.
Funeral Services
Preparing for a funeral and dealing with death of a loved one is a difficult time. It reminds us that we are not alone and we have companions with us on the journey. It is an opportunity to call upon God to give us strength and courage. A funeral or memorial service is a service of worship to give thanks for the life as we grieve our loss. Drawing on our faith we are empowered by our hope of resurrection, which enables us to face death, offer thanksgiving for the life and celebrate our Christian hope.
The Session of St. Andrew’s, Kars has put together this set of guidelines to help assist you in making your plans most appropriately and with dignity for the deceased and compassion for the bereaved family. We hold you in our prayers.
Policy:
- Contacting the minister and participating in the service:
The Minister is available to assist in the planning of the funeral following the wishes of the family. The current presiding Minister is to be contacted first. If another minister is requested by the grieving family this would be discussed with the current Minister and Clerk of Session, and based on the reason for requesting another officiant they may accept or decline the request.
- Grief Counselling and Pastoral Care:
The Minister may offer to provide pastoral care before and after the funeral service. If the family requests and more support maybe needed, the Minister can refer them to support groups and or counsellors.
- Facility availability:
The Minister will work with the Clerk of Session to arrange the details of the availability, day of the week, time or any other special requests that may arise.
- Custodial Arrangements
Arrangements would be made to have the building open two hours before service time. The Custodian will make sure the heat is on (or the thermometer set) ahead of time, windows open or fans on, etc.
- Reception Services:
If so wished a reception hosted by Presbyterian Church Women may be held following the service. This arrangement must be agreed to by the Presbyterian Church women. Outside food is the responsibility of the family.
- Suggested Fees:
Minister- 150.00 $ if not using the services of a funeral home; 100.00 $ for internment or inurnment only
Organist- 150.00 $ if not using the services of a funeral home
Custodial Services – 75 $
These funds are to be paid by cash or cheque prior to the service when confirming the funeral requirements.
Rental of the Church Hall Policy
We ask those wishing to use our church facilities to be sensitive to the fact that this is a place of worship, gathering and caring for our church family.
Requests for use of Church Hall: All requests for rental of St. Andrew’s Church Hall on a one-time or recurring basis should be made to standrewschurchkars@gmail.com.
Any requests of a commercial nature will be considered on an individual basis. Requests for wedding, funeral and memorial services should be made to the Minister at 613-858-5277.
Hall Capacity: 50
Rental Rates: Anyone who is desiring to rent the hall for a private function are required to pay the following rates:
Use of Hall and Church grounds:
| Hall only | 3 hours or less | 40 $ |
| More than 3 hours | 50 $ | |
| Hall and Kitchen | 3 hours or less | 50 $ |
| More than 3 hours | 75 $ |
Payment: A signed contract is to be accompanied by cash or a cheque.
Equipment: On request a projector, sound system can be provided.
Publicity: St. Andrew’s name shall not be used as the sponsoring organization in any promotional material for the renter’s event. St. Andrew’s telephone number is not to be used as a number to call for further information about your event.
Liability and Insurance: No one likes to think of accidents happening at events, but unfortunately they do occur. You or your group could be sued by anyone who claims injury or damages resulting from the activities or you or your organization. You may not be liable but you will need to be defended in court. Legal fees can be very expensive and could severely strain your resources. A liability policy serves to defend you and for costs or damages that may be awarded against you. You are advised that it may be prudent to have general liability insurance which covers your legal liability for bodily injury to or damage to the property of participants, spectators, passers-by or property owners. Outside groups using the church are responsible for their own liability insurance.
Security: A church representative will open the premises 30 minutes prior to the event (unless otherwise pre-arranged) and will secure the building when the event is over ensuring that lights and kitchen equipment is turned off and doors are locked. Use of premises is restricted to those facilities and times that are specified in the rental contract. Use of the facilities must be terminated at the agreed upon time to accommodate the church representative who is assigned to close and secure the building at the end of the event.
As an option, when an outside group is using the church a key holder must open the church, establish that there is someone responsible to monitor activities and return at the conclusion of the event to check that all lights and kitchen equipment are turned off and doors are locked.
Use of facilities:
- Permission to access the Sanctuary must be arranged in advance of the event.
- Food may be served only in the church hall.
- Use of microwave, fridge, stove top and oven, dishes and cutlery etc. should be discussed at time of the rental. Renters are to supply their own condiments, tablecloths, napkins, dish towels and dish cloths.
- All kitchen garbage is to be removed from the premises. No food is to be left in the refrigerator. All counters and tables are to be cleaned and floor spills wiped up.
- The premises and all equipment are to be left in the same condition as they were when the event began. In the case of damage to church property, renters are responsible for the cost of repairs required to restore to original condition. Decorations or other materials may be placed on the walls and windows only with materials that do not damage or mark such surfaces (eg. Painter’s tape) and all decorations are to be removed at the conclusion of the event.
- Confetti, rice and petals are not permitted in the church hall.
- Andrew’s is committed to environmentally responsible use of all resources. We ask renters to help fulfill this commitment by avoiding, whenever possible, the use of disposable, non-bio-degradable materials such as Styrofoam and plastic.
Alcoholic Beverages: Consumption of alcoholic beverages is not permitted.
Smoking and Vaping: Smoking and vaping are not permitted anywhere in the church building.
Animals: Only service dogs or other service animals are permitted on the premises.
St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church
6810 Rideau Valley Dr. South, Kars, ON
Hall Rental Agreement
Name of Applicant: _________________________________________
Address: ________________________________________
___________________________________________
Postal Code: ____________________
E-mail: ____________________________________________
Telephone: ____________________________________________
Function/Event: _____________________________________________
Date of Event: _____________________________________________
Time, start to finish: ____________________________________________
Food to be served: Yes or No
Rental Fee: ________________________ Cash Cheque
By signing below, the Lessee
- Acknowledges that he/she has received a copy of the Hall Policies and agrees to comply in full.
- Understands that he/she is liable for any breakage, damage or loss incurred during the time of the event. The Lessee or his/her representative must remain in the Hall until all person have left the premises.
- Agrees to indemnify and save harmless St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church ( Kars, ON ) and its members from any and all loss, damages and/or claims of any nature whatsoever arising out of the applicant’s use of the facility.
Signature of Lessee: _____________________________________________
Church Representative: _____________________________________________
Date: _________________