This Sunday's Gospel is a very challenging one. The simple response on hearing it is easy to see the time of Jesus as a time of great inequality: misogyny, poverty, injustice and exclusion. A time when the complexity of rules favoured men and maintained the status quo. Any slip in perceived moral standards were severely punished, and the law did not protect women or the disadvantaged. There was no provision for LGBTQ+ people, and widows had to scrape by as best they could.
Jesus, who was born into this culture and raised with the law, challenged his followers to go beyond it: to see with the heart and act for justice.  It would be great if in our time we could say that we have moved far beyond the letter of the law but in truth we have so far to go. Only when there is justice for Indigenous people, when LGBTQ+ are fully appreciated as part of the church and world, when poverty is eradicated and when we learn to walk lightly on the earth: only then will we be able to say that we’ve moved beyond the limits of the law as Jesus intended. Until then, we still have much work to do, This is why this week's Gospel makes us uncomfortable.

Rev Colleen

Sunday February 12 – The Sixth Sunday After the Epiphany 

DEUTERONOMY 30:15-20

PSALM 119:1-8

1 CORINTHIANS 3:1-9

MATTHEW 5:21-37

image by Prateek Gautam on Unsplash 

Thursday morning worship begins at 10am with refreshments to follow at 11am. During this season, we will be using a Celtic liturgy from the wonderful book 'Celtic Daily Prayer Book Two, Farther Up and Farther In.' 

This is not a ‘Celtic’ service in the sense that it recreates a Communion Service from the Celtic monastic era, but it is a service shaped by a Celtic theology. The potential strength of this service is its simplicity. It aims to get to the ‘essence’ of this meal that all Christians share. In it, also, are echoes of the meal at Emmaus, the Passover Seder meal and the sharing of bread and wine that is part of the ritual binding between brothers, like David and Jonathan.  

All are welcome. 

Thursday communion will continue into the fall on a weekly basis so we invite to come everyweek or whenever you can.

Photo by Dennis Kummer on Unsplash 

Notice is hereby given: The Annual Vestry Meeting for St. Matthias Anglican Church will be held on Sunday February 19, 2022 11:30am in the church sanctuary.

Copies of the Vestry report will be available soon by emailing admin@stmatthiasvictoria.ca If you require a proxy form, please let us know. The vestry is an annual opportunity to gather together as a community of faith, receive the reports of various groups, offer appreciation for volunteers, elect members to serve as representatives to Synod, review the financial reports of the parish and to conduct the formal business of the parish. 

*please note the date (Sunday Feb 19th) as the incorrect date was shared last week.*

Join us for pancakes in the St. Matthias Church Hall on Shrove Tuesday February 21st from 5pm-7pm.  

"Return to your heart, O you transgressors, 
and hold fast to the One who made you. 
Stand with the Beloved and your footing 
shall be firm. Rest in the Merciful One 
and you shalt be buoyed."

 — Ken Sehested, borrowing from St. Augustine and Isaiah 55:12 

Lent begins. Join us for a 10am Ash Wednesday Service in the Sanctuary at St. Matthias to focus our heart's on repentance and prayer. 

Hello community,

Our office computer monitors are approaching retirement so we are seeking replacements. Do you have a monitor hanging around in storage that you would be willing to donate to the St. Matthias church office? If this is you, we'd love to hear from you.

Email: admin@stmatthiasvictoria.ca if you have any leads. Thanks!

In case you've missed the news, the Diocese (and St. Matthias) are switching to a new system for monthly giving (the automatic debits from your bank account. John has mentioned this at church and has copies of the forms available, either at the table by the front door or by simply asking him.  

What do you need to do?  Two things:  1) fill out the authorization form, and 2) provide a void cheque (or download your account  number, etc. from your bank's website.  

If you need a copy of the authorization form, email Cory at wardens@stmatthiasvictoria.ca  .  You can provide a void cheque (just write "VOID" across a blank cheque) or download a pdf form through your bank's online banking page.  As an example, here's the link and explanation for TD bank.  https://wise.com/ca/bank-codes/transit-number/td-bank

Thanks for your attention and help!  It means a lot.  

When: Shrove Tuesday, February 21, 2023, 5.30pm-7.30pm
Where: Christ Church Cathedral School gymnasium
Admission: $15 per person, 12 and under free 
Tickets available HERE

Come and join us for one final festive evening before Lent as we enjoy pancakes, sausages and community. And yes, there will be gluten-free options!

Drop in the Cathedral School gym any time after 5.30pm. Last service at 6.45pm. 

Recent census data reveals that over half of the population in BC identify as ‘no religion.’ People who have spent some or all of their life in Christianity feel less and less at home there. For 60 years, many have imagined that Christianity isn’t so much dying as going through a once in an epoch shift.

Join Bishop Anna and The Rev. Christine Conkin for a week of theological exploration towards a Christianity to Call Home. We’ll revisit some of the progressive theological texts of the 20^th century (Religionless Christianity, Secular City, Honest to God, Comfortable Pew) to see what they have to say to us 60 years later. We’ll also tune into some of the theological voices of our own age (Richard Rohr, Ilia Delio, James Smith, Christina Cleveland, Kate Bowler and others) to see what new life-giving theology is emerging in these turbulent 2020s.

To register, visit this page: https://sorrentocentre.ca/events/coming-home-to-yourself-564/ 

Faith Tides is the official publication of the Anglican diocese of Islands and Inlets. It is a space where people of faith and doubt can share their stories, challenge their perceptions, and grow together.

In this issue: Recommitting ourselves for Lent by Bishop Anna; Companions on El Camino; Halfway back to the light; A conversation with Holly Ratcliffe; and more!

Read it here!