Leadership
|
Jared and his wife Becky have lived in St Andrews for over seven years now! They came over from the States for Jared to pursue a Masters and PhD in systematic theology, fell in love with the place and never left. Becky is a nurse at Ninewells hospital, currently working on the respiratory ward. They have two daughters, Eilidh and Eloise.
|
|
Abby Cant (Pastoral Assistant)
abby@cornerstonestandrews.org Abby has called St Andrews home since 2011, having been raised just outside Glasgow and studying at Aberdeen and Glasgow University. She is married to Xander and together they have three children - Alife, Louis and Rosie and a dog that is fluffy and bouncy in equal measure! She has never found it easy to compile a fun and interesting list of hobbies for an 'about me' blurb but if there are people involved, then you can almost guarantee that she will be in her happy place! Heather Holdsworth (Pastoral Assistant)
heather@cornerstonestandrews.org The Holdsworths arrived in St Andrews in August 2021 from Edinburgh. Heather heard about Cornerstone through her involvement in the Chalmers Institute – the learning community connected to the church. It has been their joy to experience and learn more of the kindness of God through the community here. Heather’s interests are in Spiritual Formation, the lifegiving connection between God and people, also in art, and swimming in the sea! She has been married to Adrian since 1997. Jeff Porter (Pastoral Assistant)
jefferysporter@gmail.com Jeff works part-time as a Pastoral Assistant at Cornerstone. He previously served as a chaplain in residence at Georgetown University in Washington. D.C. He is currently working on a Ph.D. in Religion and Culture and teaching philosophy online. Jeff is married to Hayley, and they first became a part of Cornerstone when they were postgrad students at the University. Together they have a son named Theo and a daughter named Evelyn. |
|
Colin & Louise Gillies (Student Ministry)
colin.gillies@navigators.co.uk The Gillies family are new arrivals to St Andrews and Cornerstone, having recently moved from Edinburgh which has been home for Colin and Louise over the last 20 years, since their student days. Colin and Louise are both on staff with Navigators UK, a missional movement that seeks to help build God’s kingdom through relational discipleship. Colin will be working with the student ministry at Cornerstone. They have three children: Amy, Fraser and Ruaridh. |
|
Michelle is married to Dave and they have three children, Lucy, James and Elizabeth. She loves teaching and being with children and feels privileged to prepare lessons to help the children know Jesus more. She has taught for several years as a primary school teacher.
There is also a dedicated Kid's church team that work together to support the children in our church. |
|
Matthew & Natasha Graham (Students & Youth)
matthewjcgraham@gmail.com Matthew and Natasha met at Cornerstone while studying at the University of St Andrews. They were married in July 2021 and are delighted to continue living in the St Andrews community. They are passionate about good food, learning new things and welcoming students and young people into the church. |
|
Graham McLean (Elder & Trustee)
grahammcleanranger@gmail.com Originally from Dundee, now living in Guardbridge, my day job is hands on property maintenance. Graham has been part of the church community here in St Andrews for around 14 years and have been with Cornerstone since it's beginning. |
|
Xander Can't (Elder, Students & Worship Coordinator)
(xander.cant@navigators.co.uk) Xander is married to Abby. Having experienced a significant time of growing closer with God during his student years in Glasgow, he has had deep care for students ever since. He works part time as a Civil Engineer and part time in student ministry with Navigators UK in partnership with Cornerstone. He loves getting outside and listening to power ballads and recreating cheesy music. He oversees the sung worship at Cornerstone (trying hard not to make it too cheesy). |
|
Victor Walker (Elder & Trustee)
Vic grew up in Plymouth, where he studied Photography and as a member of Elim Church Vic studied Theology and started an outreach drop in centre. He later moved to West Sussex to become a business manager, where I assisted Elim to establish Faith through Action charity shop, which supports mission work. Vic continues to be on the board of One Challenge Mission U.K. Vic became a Worthing Town Councillor and then Deputy Mayor and Mayor 2013-2015. Late in 2015 Vic moved with Rosemary to Fife where he is part of the Cornerstone Leadership team. |
|
Tim and Becky Stojanovic (Elders & Trustees)
Tim and Becky moved to St Andrews in 2010. They have children Hannah, Katie and Peter, Becky works with the Chalmers Institute and Tim works at the university. They have been blessed by the vision of Cornerstone being a community of believers seeking to follow Jesus, and are privileged to serve the church in living this out. |
|
Sylvia Roberts (Elder & Trustee)
Sylvia has been at Cornerstone since its beginning. She is part of the Kirk Session as Treasurer and very happy to serve in that capacity. Ken and Sylvia have been married for 54 years and we have two children and 3 grandchildren. |
|
Emily Levey (Elder & Safeguarding Coordinator)
Emily grew up in Newcastle before moving up to Scotland to study dentistry in Dundee. She has been a part of our church for a few years and particularly enjoys the fellowship and community at Cornerstone. Emily is married to Colin and they have 2 children, James and Rachel. As well as being an elder, Emily serves Cornerstone as our Safeguarding Coordinator. If you have any questions regarding safeguarding you can email Emily here. |
|
Dave Redfern (Session Clerk & Administrator)
cornerstonestandrews@gmail.com Dave is married to Michelle and they have three children, Lucy (8), James (5) and Elizabeth (3). Dave and Michelle moved to St Andrews 8 years ago and have been working for Cornerstone and the Chalmers Institute since then. Dave is currently undertaking PhD studies in John Owen's theology at Aberdeen. |
|
Our Kirk Session
Cornerstone St Andrews is lead by a team of elders who prayerfully guide the direction of Cornerstone:
Our Treasurer
Our Charity Trustees
|
Our Pastoral Team
Our Sunday Gathering Planning Team Each week a team of people meet to plan our Sunday Gathering:
|
Our Vision
Cornerstone St Andrews started in June 2013 with a vision to reach people in St Andrews with the Good News about Jesus. We are an evangelical church, in the presbyterian tradition, and part of the United Free Church of Scotland. Cornerstone was birthed out of a passion to see every member of God’s people equipped to be who God made them to be, doing what God made them to do, where God has called them to be - to God’s glory. We seek to reach our town through multiple communities of people living and speaking out the Gospel, blessing the wider non-church-going community around us. This happens through networks of relationships, through the hospitality of homes and through people seeing the Gospel lived out in Christ’s people.
Cornerstone St Andrews, therefore, exists to build up and equip a community of people to live wholeheartedly as disciples of Christ in every sphere of life, demonstrating God’s character in the way we love one other and our neighbours. We live to speak and demonstrate the Good News of Jesus.
To read more about the biblical basis of our vision, click on the links below:
Cornerstone St Andrews, therefore, exists to build up and equip a community of people to live wholeheartedly as disciples of Christ in every sphere of life, demonstrating God’s character in the way we love one other and our neighbours. We live to speak and demonstrate the Good News of Jesus.
To read more about the biblical basis of our vision, click on the links below:
Our Values
Cornerstone St Andrews exists for the glory of God. To His glory and by His grace, we seek to encourage and build one another up as disciples of Jesus, living out the Gospel in every sphere of life, demonstrating God’s character in the way we love and care for our neighbours, our community and our world. We believe that the Gospel of Jesus is the only hope for the world and that on a daily basis we desperately need to put ourselves under the authority of God’s Word and seek the empowering presence of His Spirit in order to carry out the Great Commission of Our Lord Jesus.
Our values have a profound bearing on what we do practically as a church. They mean, for example:
1. Existing for God’s Glory
2. Making Disciples
3. Living by Grace - Union with Christ
4. Outward focus - Blessed to be a Blessing
5. A Growing and Learning Community
6. Centrality of God's Word
7. Dependence on God’s Spirit
8. Priority of Prayer
9. Lordship of Jesus Christ over the Whole of Life
10. Every Member Contribution
11. Leaders who Serve and Equip Others
Our values have a profound bearing on what we do practically as a church. They mean, for example:
- that the Sunday gathering, though important, is not the only significant part of the life of the church;
- there is a large emphasis in Cornerstone on being part of a home expression of churchHome Groups, an environment where we can learn and grow and from which we can be reaching out to our neighbours, colleagues and friends;
- the idea that the people of God collectively are God’s means of carrying out His mission to the world dictates our financial priorities. All money given to the church will be stewarded in a way that reflects the priority of mission.
1. Existing for God’s Glory
2. Making Disciples
3. Living by Grace - Union with Christ
4. Outward focus - Blessed to be a Blessing
5. A Growing and Learning Community
6. Centrality of God's Word
7. Dependence on God’s Spirit
8. Priority of Prayer
9. Lordship of Jesus Christ over the Whole of Life
10. Every Member Contribution
11. Leaders who Serve and Equip Others
Our Name
Why Cornerstone St Andrews?
You may have heard it said that 'the church isn't the building, but the people inside it'. We want to challenge that: the church is a building! However, it's not a physical building, but a spiritual one.
In the Bible, 1 Peter 2 describes God's people as "living stones" who "are being built into a spiritual house", with Jesus as the cornerstone upon whom the building is built: "the living Stone - rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him". Similarly, Ephesians 2:19-22 says:
"You are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow-citizens with God's people and members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit."
We believe that God's people are called to live in community with Jesus and with one another, in a way that honours Jesus and blesses those around us, always looking outwards to welcome others in to live in that divine-human community.
We enter that community through the work of Jesus, and as renewed people live in union with Him. Each member of the community has also been gifted by God to contribute towards the life of that community in a unique way, and within the community is to be equipped to serve others and welcome others in. This is how the building grows. Yet the building simply would not exist without its Cornerstone, and only exists to make Him known, so that through Him people may be transformed to become the people they were made to be.
In the town of St Andrews, with so many historical buildings and ruins, we believe 'Cornerstone St Andrews' beautifully expresses both our understanding of the purpose of the church, and our desire to have Jesus as central and to make Him known in our locality and further afield.
You may have heard it said that 'the church isn't the building, but the people inside it'. We want to challenge that: the church is a building! However, it's not a physical building, but a spiritual one.
In the Bible, 1 Peter 2 describes God's people as "living stones" who "are being built into a spiritual house", with Jesus as the cornerstone upon whom the building is built: "the living Stone - rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him". Similarly, Ephesians 2:19-22 says:
"You are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow-citizens with God's people and members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit."
We believe that God's people are called to live in community with Jesus and with one another, in a way that honours Jesus and blesses those around us, always looking outwards to welcome others in to live in that divine-human community.
We enter that community through the work of Jesus, and as renewed people live in union with Him. Each member of the community has also been gifted by God to contribute towards the life of that community in a unique way, and within the community is to be equipped to serve others and welcome others in. This is how the building grows. Yet the building simply would not exist without its Cornerstone, and only exists to make Him known, so that through Him people may be transformed to become the people they were made to be.
In the town of St Andrews, with so many historical buildings and ruins, we believe 'Cornerstone St Andrews' beautifully expresses both our understanding of the purpose of the church, and our desire to have Jesus as central and to make Him known in our locality and further afield.
Our Partnerships
The Bible teaches that Jesus' followers are all different part of his body - the church - here on earth, with different but interconnected and valuable parts to play (see 1 Corinthians 12:12-31). As part of the church in St Andrews, Scotland and the world, we work in partnership with a number of organisations, including:
Financial Partnerships
In addition to the above, Cornerstone also commits to financial partnerships with a range of organizations and initiatives engaged in a breadth of mission activities. Click here for more information.
- The United Free Church of Scotland
- The Navigators
- UCCF
- St Andrews University Christian Union
- Friends International
- Mission to the World
Financial Partnerships
In addition to the above, Cornerstone also commits to financial partnerships with a range of organizations and initiatives engaged in a breadth of mission activities. Click here for more information.
Our Confessional Basis
Cornerstone is a church within the United Free Church of Scotland (the UF). The UF is a historic, evangelical denomination in the presbyterian tradition. Presbyterian churches maintain that only Jesus Christ, rather than merely human pastors or elders, is the true head of the church. Ultimately all Christians and all religious authorities are accountable to him. It also means that the supreme standard for spiritual life and doctrine (i.e. Christian beliefs) is scripture. Yet in addition to scripture which is our supreme standard, we accept as our confessional basis and subordinate standard under scripture the Westminster Confession of Faith and other ecumenical statements of the church (such as the Apostles Creed). Both members and elders at Cornerstone, like the rest of the UF denomination, affirm the heart of the gospel as expressed in the Westminster Confession, but recognise the freedom to have differing opinions on secondary matters. While we are an evangelical, presbyterian church, we enjoy being a diverse community, including members from all sorts of different Christian backgrounds. We seek as a church to live in unity together, and to aim for greater unity amongst churches in St. Andrews and around the world.
For a summary of the beliefs of the UF church, follow this link.
For a summary of the beliefs of the UF church, follow this link.
2023 Cornerstone St Andrews