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Intersections Course - Learning how to live out our Christian valuesIncreasingly, we see how violent right-wing bigotry and racism are affecting countries around the world. We are concerned about what is happening south of the border in the United States, and we’ve asked ourselves what we can do in the face of what can feel like an overwhelming situation. Church of the Advent recently had an enthusiastic response to the book study of Bishop Mariann Budde’s How we Learn to be Brave - because it gave us practical tools with which to challenge anger and bigotry. What’s next? Here’s the next step: in order to respond actively to prevent the kind of human rights abuses taking place around the world, we need to learn what we can from the patterns of behaviour in our past. How do we as Christians act by living out our values? The course ends with a practical session in which we make some concrete plans to consider for our parishes. In 2021, the Anglican Diocese of Islands and Inlets commissioned Intersections, an excellent course on our British Columbia culture and history. The course focuses on the ways that human beings have interacted with one other in the past, and what we can learn from the patterns of their actions. The Church of the Advent, Colwood and Gordon United Church, Langford will be holding the Intersections course together during September and October, on Tuesday nights at 7 PM. While the seven-week course is primarily conducted through Zoom, it does begin and end with an in-person session. The course brings us together in intentional conversation to understand today’s world by:
A team of trained moderators will offer each of the seven sessions using video, song, prayer, self-refection exercises, readings and group discussions. Dates: Tuesdays Sept 9, 16 and 23. Oct 7, 14, 21 and 28. 7-9 PM Please register here, or click on the button below. Registration deadline is Tuesday 2nd September. Church of the Advent, Colwood - 510, Mount View Ave |
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Could you help out with children's clothing?The Victoria Women's Transition House is in urgent need of children's clothing and are asking for assistance in stocking their near-empty shelves. When families arrive at the Emergency Shelter, they often arrive with very few belongings. Having children's clothing on hand makes a big difference in helping kids feel safe and cared for right away. New or gently used donations are welcome. They're especially looking for : -Long sleeve shirts (girls 2T-5 , Boys 2T-10/12) Thank you for helping kids feel comfortable as their families settle into shelter! - The Compassion in Action Ministry. |
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VigilThis International Overdose Awareness Day, we come together as one big family to take action on overdose. Join our musical director, Nell Howard, as she tells her story and that of her son.
The overdose crisis doesn’t just shatter our families, it fractures our communities. The losses go deeper than one person, one family or one neighborhood. They ripple out into classrooms, workplaces and the spaces we all share. They cross borders between cities, states and nations.
But in a time when people are searching for connection and safety, overdose also reminds us that our lives are deeply intertwined. We often instinctively protect our own – our children, our parents, our siblings. We believe in second chances for our loved ones but struggle to extend that same compassion to others. But what if we saw each other as one big family, bound not just by blood, but by shared experiences, responsibility and commitment to each other?
This International Overdose Awareness Day let’s imagine a new meaning of what family can be. A family driven by hope, love and action. We are one big family – not just because we share in the pain of loss, but because we share in the power to change what comes next.
This August 31, we move beyond awareness. We organize, we show up, and we take action. Because no one should carry this grief alone. Every story shared, every voice raised and every step we take brings us closer to a future free from overdose.
Join our musical director, Nell Howard, as she tells her story and that of her son Caleb.
Date of Vigil: Sunday August 31, 7 PM
Where: Broad View United Church (3703 St. Aidan's St.)
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Jazz Vespers - September 21st @ 7 PMWe are thrilled to welcome back Broke and Blue - pianist Kathryn Le Gros and flutist Diane Berry for our next Jazz Vespers service! This is NOT TO BE MISSED! Broke and Blue came together when Kathryn and Diane first discovered their mutual love of the music of French jazz pianist, Claude Bolling (1930-2020). With two suites for flute and jazz piano, as well as a number of other pieces, there is a rich choice available. Bolling’s fusion of classical and jazz elements in his work is a wonderful vehicle for these two classically trained, versatile musicians. Both are experienced performers, connected to a number of ensembles in and around Victoria, embracing a number of different genres and styles. In the years since forming Broke and Blue, they have performed at Hermann’s Jazz Club, for jazz vespers in a number of local churches, created videos for Vancouver Symphony’s Day of Music, performed Unsworth Winery, corporate functions, and live-streamed a concert for Augmented Trio Promotions. Sunday 21st September at 7 PM. Suggested donation at the door: $20. |
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Parish Office - New HoursPlease note that the Parish Office is now open on Mondays as well. The new hours are Monday to Thursday, 9 am to noon. |
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From the Parish LibraryThe Top Shelf this week features books about the countercultural values of the Kingdom. Joan Chittister. The Monastery of the Heart. Monastic living is countercultural. In this book, Sister Joan considers what the practices of monastic life have to offer those outside the monastery: “new ways of meaningful living in the very center of our own world—without ever withdrawing from it.” Joan Chittister & Rowan Williams. Uncommon Gratitude: Alleluia For All That Is. This book goes beyond the kinds of things that most people are thankful for. A way is found to offer gratitude for every kind of difficulty and disappointment as well. Richard Foster. Freedom of Simplicity. “The world is too much with us; late and soon, / Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers.” This classic book offers a better way, that of Christian simplicity. Stanley Hauerwas & Jean Vanier. Living Gently in a Violent World: The Prophetic Witness of Weakness. Richard Rohr & John Feister. Jesus' Plan for a New World: The Sermon on the Mount. Unlearning what we know in order to find out what Jesus was teaching. Brian Zahnd. Postcards from Babylon. A countercultural Jesus-centred Christianity for 21st-century America.
THE CHILDREN’S SECTION The children’s books displayed on the small table in the narthex this week are about people who took actions that were bold and unusual. Clare's Choice: a story about Clare of Assisi. Written by Melissa Flannery. Brother Francis: a story about Saint Francis of Assisi. Written by Jan Johnson. Both picture books illustrated by Kathryn E. Shoemaker. The lives of two saints who defied family and society to serve the poor and found monastic orders, the former the founder of the Poor Clares, and the latter the founder of the Franciscans. Joan, the Brave Soldier: A story about Joan of Arc. Written by Jan Johnson and illustrated by Constance Crawford. The Boyhood of Pope John XXIII: a story about Angelo Joseph Roncalli. Written by Anne McGravie and illustrated by Kathryn Shoemaker. How one of the most beloved popes managed to persuade his father to allow him to leave the farm to gain an education and become a priest.
To borrow any book, fill out a green loan slip from the small bookcase in the narthex, and put it in the pink box labelled “Library.” If you are returning a book, fill out a yellow return slip, put it in the Library box, and leave your book beside or under the box; please do not reshelve it. Thank you. |
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Thursday Evening Bible StudyAll 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 |
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Readings for this Sunday's ServiceReadings for this Sunday's services: JEREMIAH 2:4-13 PSALM 81:1, 10-16 HEBREWS 13:1-8, 15-16 LUKE 14:1, 7-14 Read Sunday's readings online: |
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We Together 2025
We Together is our regular (once every other year) diocesan conference to remind us of the ways we are connected; we are stronger together. We are bound in countless ways, in our structures, in our prayers, and through the stories we tell. We are each other's concern, and we are each other's gift. This year is God is not Elsewhere. The God of our scriptures and stories, the God of our traditions and rites, the God who whispers through music and poetry, is the God moving here and now. Not just in times and places long ago and far away, but within our places, our communities and our people. This year's We-Together will highlight the gifts of a selection of people from our diocese, as we reflect together on some of the ways that the God who is in our midst is stirring and calling us on our journey together. We will eat and laugh, we will learn and be challenged, and together we will be nourished for our journey. The conference will begin on Friday evening November 14th with an evening banquet at St Pauls in Nanaimo followed by an opening address. On Saturday we will gather at St. Pauls for a full day of workshops featuring our speakers John Thatamanil, Jonathan Thomas, Jenny Replogle, Christine Conkin, Gordon Smith, Brendon Neilson and Denise Doerksen. |
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Mark Your CalendarsSept 6 Taize Service, 5 pm Sept 10 Community Coffee Social, 9:30-11 am Sept 14 Welcome Back Sunday Sept 15-17 Provincial School for Congregational Development Sept 16 Parish Council Mtg, 7 pm Sept 21 Safe Church Training (after 10 AM service) Sept 24 Ladies Guild Lunch, 12 pm Sept 27 Spanish Service & potluck, 6 pm Sept 28 Parish Welcome Coffee Sept 29 Book Sale Prep Week starts
Oct 3 Book Pre-Sale Oct 4 BOOK SALE DAY Oct 5 Blessing of the Animals, 2 pm, church lawn Oct 25 Order of the Diocese of B.C. |
