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With expectation, we approach Holy Week!Join us as we journey with Jesus this Holy Week... “Mary Magdalene turned around and saw Jesus standing there,
Dear friends, we have journeyed through these 40 days of Lent, through these long days of winter rains and grey skies, and everywhere around us the buds are breaking and the sweet sights and scents of Spring are upon us! We know what it is to walk that long and lonesome road… And we know what it is to be overcome with joy! Holy week mysteriously draws all of our human experience into tight sequence – as Jesus, the human one draws the wholeness of our human experience into the very life of God. The God who has known hunger and thirst, like us. The God who has laughed and cried, like us. The God who lived and loved (and who lives and loves!) like us. Journey with us as we walk this way of Jesus, the human one. The intimacy of the final meal – washing the feet, passing the bread... The agony of the garden – wrestling in prayer with what may come… The humiliation and spectacle of a trial, the violence and abuse of a parade, the pain and isolation of a Cross… And Saturday, the descent into the abyss of death… the silence… Until, like with Mary, we are shocked to find not the gardener, but the Christ who comes to us unexpectedly… For God is gardener – growing life out of death, weaving into the tapestry of our earthen clay a divine dance… bidding us to come and with green thumb, lovingly tend all that has been made. Dear friends, may you know the presence of Christ, the human one, every step of this Holy Week. May the peace that passes all understanding sink into your bones as you journey with Jesus through death and into the garden of resurrection! The Rev. Matt Humphrey and Rev. Meagan Crosby-Shearer
Holy Week Events: (more details on our event pages below)
April 14 Maundy Thursday 9am: Final coffee and conversation book study for lent 10 am: Maundy Thursday Communion and hand washing 5pm - Supper Church with foot washing and Communion, led by Abbey Church in the Sanctuary. Overnight Gethsemane Prayer vigil, hosted by the Emmaus Community. Join us in person or on Zoom for hte 7 prayer offices. Sign up to keep watch for one hour overnight... https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ekQJbjNSoZQdlde6XFswoxyoSP9ZdwJS/edit
April 15 Good Friday 3 pm - (Joint with AbbeyChurch) or join St Barnabas at 10:30am, St Mary’s at 11am or the Cathedral at 12pm.
April 16 Holy Saturday Wild Church Holy Saturday hike on Jocelyn Hill. Email wildchurchvictoria@gmail.com to register
April 17 Easter Sunday 6am Sunrise service at Willows Beach with Emmaus/Abbey Church. 10 am - Easter Sunday Service – Bring your bells and flowers!
Thursday April 21 No Thursday Communion this week. 6:00pm - Opening and artist talk for next Chapel Gallery show Room for Not Knowing, a solo exhibition by abstract artist Georgina Montgomery. Find details for all of these events and more below... |
Maundy Thursday 10am Worshipwith hand washing and communion - Thursday, April 14, 2022 Join us for worship at 10 AM as we commemorate the supper Jesus shared with his disciples before his crucifixion, when Jesus washed the disciples' feet (John 13:1 –17) and instituted the Lord's Supper (Matthew 26:26 –29; Mark 14:22 –25; Luke 22:13 –20; 1 Corinthians 11:23 –25). We will have a time of handwashing and a service of word and sacrament. All are welcome to participate. For more infomation visit: http://stmatthiasvictoria.ca/events/maundy-thursday-10am-worship/2022-04-14
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Maundy Thursday w/AbbeyChurch: Supper Churchwith Holy Communion and hand/foot washing - Thursday, April 14, 2022 Join us for worship in the context of a meal at 5 PM on Maundy Thursday. All are welcome to participate. For more infomation visit: http://stmatthiasvictoria.ca/events/maundy-thursday-supper-church/2022-04-14
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"Stay with Me" Gethsemane Prayer Vigil hosted by Emmaus CommunityThursday, April 14, 2022 Join us as we vigil together from Thursday evening until our worship gathering on Good Friday at 3pm. You are invited to come and pray in person at the Priory - 1702 Belmont Ave. Or join us on zoom. For more infomation visit: http://stmatthiasvictoria.ca/events/stay-with-me-gethsemane-prayer-vigil/2022-04-14
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Good Friday WorshipJoint service with AbbeyChurch - Friday, April 15, 2022 Join us at 3:00 PM on Good Friday as we re-narrate the events of Jesus final hours, remember his death, and pray in anticipation of God's good promises for us and for all of Creation... This will be in-person and livestream event. You can watch online by clicking here for the Abbey Church Youtube or Facebook page). Masks are still highly recommended for in-person worship. For more infomation visit: http://stmatthiasvictoria.ca/events/good-friday-worship/2022-04-15
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Holy Saturday Hike and ContemplationSaturday, April 16, 2022 Join Wild Church Victoria on Holy Saturday for a hike and time of quiet above the city. We will meet at the Joceyln Hill Trailhead at 11 to begin our hike. If you need a ride, email us wildchurchvictoria@gmail.com. Bring your own lunch and we will eat a picnic at the top. For more infomation visit: http://stmatthiasvictoria.ca/events/holy-saturday-hike-and-contemplation/2022-04-16
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Easter Morning Sunrise w/AbbeyChurchJoin us at Willow Beach - Sunday, April 17, 2022 Join us at Willows Beach to greet the sunrise and to welcome the news that Christ is Risen! We will meet near the tea house and share some beverages afterwards... All are welcome.
For more infomation visit: http://stmatthiasvictoria.ca/events/easter-morning-sunrise/2022-04-17
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Easter Sunday Worshipbring your bells and flowers to celebrate the Feast of the Resurrection - Sunday, April 17, 2022 Join us for Sunday Worship as we remember and celebrate the empty tomb, the victory of Christ over death, and our invitation into life abundant! We will adorn the cross with fresh flowers of Spring, symbolizing the newness of life that God continues to pour forth in our midst! We will ring the bells to celebrate with joy!
For more infomation visit: http://stmatthiasvictoria.ca/events/easter-sunday-worship/2022-04-17
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Chapel Gallery Opening: Room for Not KnowingGeorgina Montgomery - Thursday, April 21, 2022 @6pm The Chapel Gallery invites you to the (in-person) opening of our next show, Room for Not Knowing, a solo exhibition by Georgina Montgomery. Room for Not Knowing opens on Thursday April 21st at 6-8pm. There will be an artist talk at 6:30pm. Against the reality of all the unknowns in life, it’s the persistence of the marvelous that fascinates artist Georgina Montgomery. In this solo exhibition, she explores what it means to accept, and not be undone by, life’s unpredictability, and uncertainties. Room for Not Knowing features unique photography-based single and assembled print works from Georgina’s “painting with crazed light” project, Caustic Optimism. For more information about her process and the project, visit georginamontgomeryart.com. “[In life] letting there be room for not knowing is the most important thing of all. ... We call something bad; we call it good. But really we just don't know.” (Pema Chödrön) Exhibit Dates: April 22nd -May 1st. Regular gallery hours are Fridays and Saturdays 12-4pm & Sundays 12-3pm. For more infomation visit: http://stmatthiasvictoria.ca/events/chapel-gallery-opening-room-for-not-knowing/2022-04-21
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April issue of Faith Tides now online
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: More changes as Faith Tides unveils new download format (with images), Where God might be calling us next, The Friday we dare to call good, and more... Read it nowFor more infomation visit: http://stmatthiasvictoria.ca/news/april-issue-of-faith-tides-now-online
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How to help refugees fleeing to Canada
The news that Canada has begun receiving large numbers of Ukrainian refugees has many of us wondering how best to help. The Refugee Sponsorship Program of the Anglican Diocese of Islands and Inlets (British Columbia) has kept abreast of the situation and has some information to share. BackgroundAt the moment, the Canadian government is offering two ways for families seeking refuge from the war in Ukraine to come to Canada. Some will be sponsored to Canada by relatives. Many will arrive on visas that give them the right to work and study in Canada for up to three years. They will be eligible for some settlement programs such as help finding work, but so far no other benefits such as health care. The diocese’s Refugee Sponsorship Program that many are familiar with, and may have participated in over the years, is in a separate immigration stream from both options above. So, we are limited in what we can do directly. The good news is that the extensive and well-organized Ukrainian community in Canada has mobilized. They are well positioned to coordinate both local and national responses to this refugee crisis, and we encourage individuals and parish groups to lend support to their initiatives. Here are some ways you can do that: For more infomation visit: http://stmatthiasvictoria.ca/news/how-to-help-refugees-fleeing-to-canada
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