It’s been a great week getting ready for the Garage Sale this Saturday, May 3rd. Thanks to everyone who has supported this event in so many ways – especially by bringing in donated items for sale and helping to sort and set everything out in such an organized and attractive way. Thanks as well to everyone who has signed up to work at the Sale on Saturday.

We still have room for more items. So, if you wish to donate, you can bring them in on Friday anytime between 9 am and 2 pm.

It will be a great day and we hope to see you and your friends and neighbours on Saturday from 9 am to 2 pm.

All are welcome to join us on Thursdays for our relaxed, lively and interesting Zoom online Bible Study, to discuss the readings for the upcoming Sunday. The readings are posted in this newsletter.

No experience or prior knowledge is needed.

Time: 6 PM - 7 PM.

Zoom Link:  

https://bc-anglican-ca.zoom.us/j/88378461340?pwd=cU9wSUNEZG02M3h3bGVrUmpyMjRNZz09

Meeting ID: 883 7846 1340
Passcode: 4743031

New to the parish? You are warmly invited to our Welcome Coffee Social at noon after church this Sunday, February 2nd in the St. John’s Room. Get to know each other and learn more about Church of the Advent and its people. We hope you can join us!

Members of Parish Council and other Lay Leaders are encouraged to participate.

We are aware of an issue with the delivery of '@shaw.ca' emails. These emails seem to be sent to a filter that we have not been able to resolve. If you have an '@shaw.ca' address, please note that this email program is unreliable. Provided by a Texas company called Zimbra, it is basic and outdated. Shaw has indicated that they will eventually exit the email business, similar to Telus a few years ago (which didn't go well).

We recommend signing up for a free email client such as Outlook.com or Gmail.com. Both are easy to sign up for and add to your computer, laptop, tablet, or smartphone. Outlook is generally more recommended as Gmail monitors all emails for content to keep it free. Once signed up, you can either continue receiving emails on your Shaw client or switch over completely. This way, if Shaw cancels its email service, you'll be prepared and continue receiving your church newsletter.

Al Wills has volunteered to assist if you need help figuring it out! Please let Caroline know if you need Al's assistance - if there are enough people with phones and laptops, we could organise a teaching session during a coffee hour.

Photo by Sebastian Herrmann on Unsplash

Sr. Ingrid will be away at the Diocesan Clergy Conference in Parksville from Monday May 5- Thursday May 8th,  and will be training lay leaders in Nanaimo on Friday May 9.

She will also be away from Wednesday May 28- Friday May 30th at the Provincial School for Congregational Development, along with parishioners of Church of the Advent.

Sunday services are not affected.

Please contact the parish office or Terry Mikkonen in the case of a pastoral emergency.

Does your family know your wishes for your funeral? Will your wishes be honoured after you have passed?

We don't often like to talk about the "last things" -  advance directives, funerals, legacies. Lent is an ideal time for us to stop and to plan ahead. 

Join Sr. Ingrid, Diocesan Chancellor (lawyer) Isabel Weeks and Diocesan Treasurer Joel Hefty, as they talk about the realities of advance directives, the tax implications of how your will is set up, and how to support the ministry of our church community for the future.

Sister Ingrid encourages you to take some times to plan the funeral service that YOU would like, so that we can celebrate your life in a way that you choose. It makes it easier for your family when that time comes.

This session will be livestreamed. The link will be in next week's newsletter. If you can not be at the session in person, you are encouraged to send your questions in advance to Sr. Ingrid.

Please sign up in the Narthex.

Our next Community Coffee Social is Wednesday, May 14th, from 9:30 to 11 am in the hall.

The last Coffee Social was a great success and we want to spread the word. The Coffee Social is held the second Wednesday of each month, and is for anyone from the community and parish to gather socially.

The Coffee Social was launched as a response to the real need within the community for more opportunities to connect with one another. We warmly welcome you to come and spend some time in a relaxing and social environment. Bring your friends too! 

Your Altar Guild is actively seeking new members. This is a wonderful ministry that can be done by two or three people. It involves a few hours split between Saturday and Sunday to set up the Altars and then clean up.

If you have questions or would like to know more about this, contact Kathy Middleton at 250 474 6914 or kmm71.2025@gmail.com.

The new Forward Day by Day daily devotions book for May, June and July is now available. Feel free to pick one up in the Narthex.

We conclude our study of Bishop Budde's book How we Learn to be Brave next week on Tuesday, May 6th, 7pm - 8 pm, with the last chapter.

Sr. Ingrid will be at Clergy Conference all week, so Rev. Larry Scyner will facilitate the discussion of this last session.

To attend online, please use this link: https://bc-anglican-ca.zoom.us/j/86314562121

Please note: This session will be on Zoom only - please don't come to the church.

Readings for this Sunday's services:

Acts 9:1-20
Psalm 30
Revelation 5:11-14
John 21:1-19

Read Sunday's readings online:
1. Go to https://lectionary.anglican.ca/  
2. Select next Sunday's date in the space at the bottom.
3. Click "Link to full text for this day".

In preparation for the Garage Sale on 3 May, the small bookcase in the narthex, which is the usual location for the Top Shelf display, the catalogue and loan slips, and the Inspiration section (novels and poetry), has been emptied of its usual contents.

For now, you will find the Inspiration section on the bottom shelf of the large book case in the St John room. The black catalogue binder, the loan slips, and the library box are on the main library shelves outside the parish office. Children’s books that were on top of the table in the narthex seating area are now inside it.

There is no display this week, but there are lots of good books to browse and borrow. Postcards from Babylon is back from loan and can be found in the Social Justice section (near the bottom of the main shelves, on the right hand side) at SOCJ ZAH. And for anyone who would still like to explore the concept of self-emptying (kenosis) mentioned by Sister Ingrid in her sermon on Palm Sunday, Cynthia Bourgeault’s excellent book, The Wisdom Jesus: Transforming Heart and Mind, is in the Jesus section at JESUS BOU.

To borrow any book, please fill out a green loan slip from the small bookcase in the narthex, and put it in the pink box labelled “Library.” If you have a book due for return, please fill out a yellow return slip instead, and leave your book under the box. Thank you.

Showcased this week on the Community Showcase noticeboard in the hall:

Bonnie Stuart sings in Starlight Pops' two concerts this June.

          Taylor Gossman is featured in the Goldstream News Gazette for her Environmental Stewardship award.

Do you have news about your personal achievements that you want to share with the parish? Send information to Caroline in the parish office at admin@colwoodanglican.ca

Following the recent liquidation of the Hudson's Bay Company, Bishop Anna Greenwood-Lee has written a piece for the Times Colonist's Spiritually Speaking blog about the HBC's role in colonizing and selling off land on Vancouver Island. Bishop Anna writes about how our diocese profitted from this sell off and the dangers of the church becoming entangled with empires. To read the full piece, CLICK HERE. 

Happy National Volunteer Week!

The theme this year is Volunteers Make Waves. To quote the national volunteer.ca website, the theme was chosen because, "...It highlights the power, impact and importance of individual and collective volunteer efforts across Canada. Like a wave, volunteering is movement building. Water is in constant motion, always flowing, shifting, and transforming with every powerful wave or quiet ripple. And so is each volunteer’s contribution toward creating impact in our communities."

We could not agree more with this statement. There are countless volunteers across our Diocese of Islands and Inlets that make so much possible in their communities. We lift up their service and gifts and thank them for all that they do.

To learn more about National Volunteer Week, CLICK HERE.

Apr 29-30 Garage Sale Prep Week

May 3 Garage Sale Day

            Taize Service, 5 pm

May 4 Parish Coffee Welcome, after 10 am service

May 5-9 Sr. Ingrid at Diocesan Clergy Conference & Lay Leader training

May 10 Death & Taxes Workshop, Church, 10 am – noon

May 14 Community Coffee Social, 9:30 - 11 am

May 20 Parish Council Meeting, 7 pm

May 24 Spanish Service, 6 pm

May 25 Jazz Vespers, 7 pm

May 28 Ladies Guild Lunch, noon

May 28-May 30 Sr Ingrid at Diocesan School for Congregational Development. 

Jun 1 Sunday School Picnic

Jun 7 Taize Service, 5 pm

Jun 11 Community Coffee Social

Jun 17 Parish Council Mtg, 7 pm

Jun 20 Strawberry Tea Prep Day

Jun 21 Strawberry Tea & Craft Fair

             Spanish Service & potluck, 6 pm

Jun 25 Ladies Guild Lunch, Noon

Jun 29 8:30 Service & Breakfast

            10 am Pride Sunday Service

            Pride Picnic, front lawn after service

Jul 5 Taize Service, 5 pm

Sunday
 8:30 AM - Traditional Eucharist, Book of Common Prayer
(no choir) Chapel

10:00 AM - Contemporary Eucharist, Book of Alternative Services,
with choir 

First Saturday of the Month
5:00 PM - Taize service with singing  Chapel (except August and January)

Fourth Saturday of the Month
6 PM - Spanish Language Anglican Eucharist Service  

Office hours are Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays

from 9 am until noon.