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Pastor's Message
I have now been your priest at St. Matthias for several weeks and I want to thank you for your warm welcome which is a great gift to me at this time in my own life. I am experiencing the community here at St. Matthias as a welcoming, inclusive and caring community and I feel very blessed to be here with you. I have especially enjoyed my individual conversations with many of you and have had many glimpses of God at work through your lives as people of God. I look forward to many more of these conversations and to getting to know you both as individuals and as a community of faith. It is a great privilege to celebrate with you on Sundays and I look forward to returning to the Thursday celebrations as we move into September. I am also looking forward to all the ways that we will be a community of faith as we journey together and discern how the Spirit of God is calling us to be Church for God’s world at this time. With love and blessings, Rev. Colleen+ |
A summer chuckle: Calling a Volunteer Handier than Cory!Our doorbells need help! When the going gets tough ... call for help! Our doorbells aren't actually sounding ... inadvertently, guests and visitors are getting a discouraging message. Daniel helped with a first diagnosis: we have battery-powered wireless doorbell buttons. We now have fresh batteries for the doorbells. That doesn't seem to suffice -- Do we have a willing hand or two or three to take the next steps??? Please talk to Cory if you can help. You'll have the great thanks of all those who've wondered where we are and why we don't answer the door! |
Being better connected
Electronic newsletters are great. They allow us to capture news, announcements and events and to convey warm greetings from St. Matthias. However, we wanted to reach out and ask whether we could do something more. For example, not everyone has an email address or likes to read on an electronic screen. We're going to start printing a few "hard copies" and having them available at the door on Sundays. As we hope you know, we don't share your email address with anyone. So, for example, if you feel that St. Matthias is the community of faith where you feel comfortable (not saying you don't have questions, just saying you find this a comfortable place to be with your questions), perhaps you'd like to be on our Parish List? The Parish List doesn't entail any kind of "statement," but simply ensures you have an opportunity to be included in our formal decision-making, such as our Annual General Meeting (Vestry Meeting). We tend to be shy about these invitations -- silly us! However, we welcome you and want you to know that we warmly welcome you to count yourselves among our active community of faith. And, if this newsletter (and, we hope, the occasional time of worship) meets your needs, then we're delighted.
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Save the date: Sunday, November 20thParish Visioning for the new church year! In the book of Joel (2:28) "... I will pour out my spirit on all flesh; your sons and daughters shall prophesy; your old men [and women] shall dream dreams, and your young men [and women] shall see visions." Our parish has the exciting opportunity to dream and see visions together -- and to think about how we translate those visions into reality. Since January 2022, when some of us participated in a workshop discussion with Bishop Anna and the diocesan vision animator Brendon Neilson, we've talked about some follow-up work. Now, with Rev. Colleen's arrival, and her invitation to each of us to share our thoughts and ideas about St. Matthias and how we can best practice the presence of God in our communities. Mark your calendar; early ideas suggest we might have a working "bring your own lunch" or "easy potluck" lunch for a workshop discussion. (Still earlier ideas thought we might do this in September, but our busy community needs more notice!) Meanwhile, start stacking up and chatting about your ideas and dreams! And ... why November 20th? It's the Sunday of the Reign of Christ, the last Sunday of our church year and a great way to prepare for our new year! |
Vancouver Island Anthropocene PilgrimageWednesday, August 31, 2022 Zoom info session: Thursday August 18th at 7pm.Or email wildchurchvictoria@gmail.com for more details. Join Zoom Meeting Meeting ID: 834 1089 9664 About this eventKey elements: less than 20 kilometers walking on August 31, September 1, 2 and 3.. Pilgrim support team available by mobile phone. Camping sites with water and washrooms available each night, and a group breakfast and supper. Or, arrange your own accommodation and/or meals. Our truck 'mule' will carry heavy items for each pilgrim, so they carry only a light day pack while walking. Multi-day parking at our destination, St. Mary's church in Metchosin, and car pooling to the starting point near Duncan, or contact organizer for other arrangements. Price is by donation -- suggested donation: $15 for each night of camping, $5 for breakfast and $10 for supper, and $5 per day for the 'mule' service carrying your gear. Pilgrims joining for a single day free. In general, we will walk at our own pace in small groups or solitary, but start together at 9:00. People are welcome to be a pilgrim for a day. Space is limited for the 4 day pilgrimage and camping, but many more can walk the day of their choice. More information is available from Matt Humphrey at wildchurchvictoria@gmail.com or the Rev. Wally Eamer at anthropocenepilgrim@gmail.com. Itinerary Overview: detailed maps will be provided for each day. Most walking will be on regional trails, such as shown on the picture below, and some on secondary rural roads. Wednesday, August 31 park at St. Mary of the Incarnation Church, 4125 Metchosin Road, and car pool to Duncan. Walk about 17 kilometers from the Cowichan Valley Trail to Shawnigan Lake and Sylvan United Church near Mill Bay. For those who wish to join, there is a religious service at St. John's Anglican church in Duncan at 10:00. In the evening, all are invited to a group discusson of our experiences that day, and the challenges and value of maintaining healthy ecosystems throughout Vancouver Island. Camping and group supper and breakfast available at the church. Thursday, September 1 For those who wish to join, a morning service recognizes World Day of Prayer for the Environment. Walk about 18 kilometers to St. Stephen's Church in Central Saanich, and enjoy the ferry ride from Mill Bay to Brentwood Bay. Camping and group supper and breakfast available at the church. Friday, September 2 For those who wish to join, there is a religious service at 8:30. There will be a car pool from St. Stephen's church to a couple of entry points on the Lochwood Trail, so that pilgrims walk from 15 to 20 kilometers to Church of the Advent in Colwood. Camping available at the home of Rev. Eamer in Metchosin. Saturday, September 3 For those who wish to join, there is a religious service at 8:30 in Church of the Advent. Pilgrims will walk about 12 kilometers to Esquimalt lagoon, along the beach to Albert Head lagoon, and then by Duke Road to Witty's Lagoon Regional Park and St. Mary of the Incarnation church.
Download the full trip details and route guide here.
For more infomation visit: http://stmatthiasvictoria.ca/events/vancouver-island-anthropocene-pilgrimage/2022-08-31
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Victoria Reconciliation Dialogues Series ReturnsMonday, September 12, 2022 A few weeks ago, Karen Fast talked with us about the important impact these dialogues have made and continue to make in our broad community. Our website includes a longer description, but we want to remind folk about the opportunity. Pre-register to join Victoria Reconciliation Dialogue #7. The event is free and all are welcome. For more information and to pre-register, visit: victoria.ca/ReconciliationDialogues. Working with the Songhees and Esquimalt Nations, in 2017 City Council established the City Family to take a Lekwungen-led approach to reconciliation. In this Dialogue, the City Family will present a Reconciliation Plan to the City and the community to carry on the work of reconciliation for decades to come. Participants will be asked to make a reconciliation commitment of their own. The session will feature Songhees Nation and Esquimalt Nation youth. The event is free to attend and will be webcast live. All are welcome. (Artwork by Brianna Bear)
For more infomation visit: http://stmatthiasvictoria.ca/events/victoria-reconciliation-dialogues-series-returns/2022-09-12
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We Together 2022
We Together is our diocesan biennial family reunion. It's an opportunity to reconnect with old friends and a time to make new ones. Together we learn about, pray about and share what God is up to in our lives, strengthening ourselves, as the diocese of Islands and Inlets, for the journey God is calling us to. The theme of this year’s conference will be “Here in This Place.” We will begin our time together with a banquet on Friday night with Bishop Anna providing our opening address. Two keynote addresses will take place on Saturday with opportunities to break into small groups and discuss. The speakers are Jillian Harris, a knowledge holder, Elder and former Chief of the Penelakut Tribe, and Rachel Brown, the program coordinator at the Centre for Studies in Religion and Society at the University of Victoria. Rachel has had an integral role in the project that has culminated in the publication of Religion at the Edge: Nature, Spirituality, and Secularity in the Pacific Northwest (UBC Press 2022). We will end our time with the celebration of the Eucharist and a closing sermon by John Thatamanil, our diocesan theologian. John is a comparative theologian and professor of theology at Union Theological Seminary. John will reflect on our time together and send us back into our places with a renewed sense of what it means to be here in this place. To register for this event, please CLICK HERE. For more infomation visit: http://stmatthiasvictoria.ca/events/we-together-2022/2022-09-30
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