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With Gratitude and Blessings
Beloved congregation and friends, What a joy it has been to serve with you at St Matthias! These years have seen so much flourishing even amidst the struggle of pandemic. When we look back over these years we are so grateful for all God has birthed in and through you! We were here late last night holding vigil for a dear member of St Matthias and as we sat in the holy darkness of this sacred space (and shed a few tears for our upcoming departure), we gave thanks for each of you and for the gift of having walked with you over these years. From gathering around the Communion table to the coffee table, from Chapel Gallery openings to Jesus Christ Superstar; Zoom poetry to Chat and Chew lunches, God's presence has been made known. From tables overflowing with food at the Rogers Court Christmas dinner, pancake suppers and salmon bbq to evensong potlucks, parish council dinners and coffee & conversations, the spirit of welcome, hospitality and joy has been so tangible. It has been an incredible privilege to walk with you through the transitions in your lives, to baptize and marry, to lay beloved ones to rest and accompany you to the hospital or pray for and with you in the day to day struggles and joys of your lives. We will never forget the way you have shared your faith with us, whether that was around the Thursday communion table or in our book/video studies or in conversations throughout the week. Thank you to each and every one of you who has worked with us over these years. We have been blessed with amazing wardens, treasurers, admin, music and children's staff as well as incredible, faithful and tireless lay leaders. Thank you for your beautiful ministry of service through finances and PC, through reading, singing, greeting, praying, healing, carrying the cross and bearing the chalice, taking care of the linens, supporting our rental community, hosting in the chapel gallery, preparing and caretaking the church and making our grounds beautiful! We have seen the face of Christ shine so brightly in each of you and will carry that light with us as we go. Some of you were asking where we are going next? In many ways, we carry forward the beautiful witness you have shown us of welcome and hospitality but will do that from a neighbourhood instead of a church. We will take on partnership in a little store called "The Local General Store" at the corner of Haultain and Belmont and continue to build community (and sell yummy things)! We hope to see you there one day! St Matthias has been a place we have called home, a place we have witnessed God's faithfulness and your commitment to practice God's presence in this place and for this world. No matter what the future holds, never forget that you are beloved of God and though you may be small, you are one of the strongest and most resilient communities we know! Step out in the power of the Spirit to continue to deepen your faith and work for God's kingdom of peace, justice and love here in this place! Wishing you every blessing as you step over this next threshold. Know that God walks with you every step of the way. With love and gratitude! In the risen Christ, Meagan and Matt |
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ThresholdsBy John O'Donohue "Within the grip of winter, it is almost impossible to imagine the spring. The grey perished landscape is shorn of color. Only bleakness meets the eye; everything seems severe and edged. Winter is the oldest season; it has some quality of the absolute. Yet beneath the surface of winter, the miracle of spring is already in preparation; the cold is relenting; seeds are wakening up. Colours are beginning to imagine how they will return. Then, imperceptibly, somewhere one bud opens and the symphony of renewal is no longer reversible. From the black heart of winter a miraculous, breathing plenitude of color emerges. The beauty of nature insists on taking its time. Everything is prepared. Nothing is rushed. The rhythm of emergence is a gradual slow beat always inching its way forward; change remains faithful to itself until the new unfolds in the full confidence of true arrival. Because nothing is abrupt, the beginning of spring nearly always catches us unawares. It is there before we see it; and then we can look nowhere without seeing it. Change arrives in nature when time has ripened... Like spring secretly at work within the heart of winter, below the surface of our lives huge changes are in fermentation. We never suspect a thing. Then when the grip of some long-enduring winter mentality begins to loosen, we find ourselves vulnerable to a flourish of possibility and we are suddenly negotiating the challenge of a threshold. At any time you can ask yourself: At which threshold am I now standing? At this time in my life, what am I leaving? Where am I about to enter? What is preventing me from crossing my next threshold? What gift would enable me to do it? A threshold is not a simple boundary; it is a frontier that divides two different territories, rhythms and atmospheres. Indeed, it is a lovely testimony to the fullness and integrity of an experience or a stage of life that it intensifies toward the end into a real frontier that cannot be crossed without the heart being passionately engaged and woken up. At this threshold a great complexity of emotions comes alive: confusion, fear, excitement, sadness, hope. This is one of the reasons such vital crossing were always clothed in ritual. It is wise in your own life to be able to recognize and acknowledge the key thresholds; to take your time; to feel all the varieties of presence that accrue there; to listen inward with complete attention until you hear the inner voice calling you forward. The time has come to cross. To acknowledge and cross a new threshold is always a challenge. It demands courage and also a sense of trust in whatever is emerging. This becomes essential when a threshold opens suddenly in front of you, one for which you had no preparation. This could be illness, suffering or loss. Because we are so engaged with the world, we usually forget how fragile life can be and how vulnerable we always are. It takes only a couple of seconds for a life to change irreversibly. Suddenly you stand on completely strange ground and a new course of life has to be embraced. Especially at such times we desperately need blessing and protection. You look back at the life you have lived up to a few hours before, and it suddenly seems so far away. Think for a moment how, across the world, someone’s life has just changed – irrevocably, permanently, and not necessarily for the better – and everything that was once so steady, so reliable, must now find a new way of unfolding...Whatever comes, the great sacrament of life will remain faithful to us, blessing us always with visible signs of invisible grace. We merely need to trust. — From To Bless the Space Between Us, by John O’Donohue Photo by Suzanne D. Williams on Unsplash |
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Thank you from the AbbeyChurch
June 1, 2022 To the Congregation of St Matthias: As you will now know, our shared priests (Meagan, Matt and Rob) are shifting their employment, thus bringing to a close this chapter of team ministry between St Matthias and the Emmaus Community. When Bishop Logan invited us to consider moving the Sunday worship of Emmaus out of Fernwood and into St Matthias, we were uncertain of how the move would go but we immediately found a warm welcome and spirit of hospitality at St Matthias that allowed us to make a beautiful home with you all! We are so grateful for your grace, flexibility, inclusion and partnership. We have been blessed by the way you have shared your life and ministry with us in this place and the ways we have come together in worship and through shared projects like the placemaking initiative. We wish you every joy as you move forward as the people of God in this beautiful place. Please know that as Emmaus is a shared ministry in Victoria, no matter where we land you are very welcome to any of the Emmaus events, meals and worship! Our last Sunday in this space for worship will be Trinity Sunday - June 12 at 4pm. Please know you are warmly welcome to join us for worship and a potluck afterwards! We will be holding you in prayer during this transition and thank you again for the generosity, care and stability you have offered this fledgling community. In the risen Christ, The Emmaus Community & the AbbeyChurch Vision Team |
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Coffee, tea, and fellowship in person!!Sunday June 5th and June 19th We are delighted to say that our Sunday time together is being again enriched by social time after worship! In June, we are having a coffee time on two Sundays, but then we’ll return to a “first Sunday” schedule. On June 5th, we’ll gather to bid a loving farewell to Rev. Meagan and Rev. Matt. On June 19th, we’ll gather to bid a warm welcome to Rev. Colleen. Then, God willing, we’ll greet the first Sundays of July, August, September, etc. together. David Wheatley has graciously agreed to be our guiding light / instructor. We’ll establish a rota of helpers to join him in setting up for coffee and tea, etc. As a gentle reminder, it’s greatly appreciated when we have lots of willing hands for the clearing up part! If you’re “new to us,” our green turtle (or tortoise???) happily receives your generous loonies, etc. to sustain and sometimes embellish our refreshments! Photo by Olena Sergienko on Unsplash |
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Introducing our new priest, Reverend Colleen LissamerJune 19th, first Sunday presiding Rev. Colleen Lissamer is currently serving as a deacon at the Church of the Advent in Colwood following her graduation from Vancouver School of Theology with a Master of Divinity in May 2021. She will be priested on June 5th, the Feast of Pentecost and will begin her ministry with us at St. Matthias on June 14th. Colleen grew up in Coventry, England and came to Canada at the age of twenty-two to teach in a northern BC diocese and live in a faith community. Her faith journey has continued in varied and exciting ways. Her experience includes adult faith development at parish and diocesan levels as well as many years of experience as an elementary school teacher with a focus on fine arts and alternate models of education. She is also a qualified spiritual director. Her passion is community building and lifelong faith development. She is a member of the Northumbria Community which integrates Celtic spirituality with everyday life. Colleen has been married to her anam cara (soulmate), Grant Croswell for thirty years and they have one amazing son, Neil. Grant is also a priest in the diocese, serving currently at Holy Trinity in Sooke. She is very much looking forward to being part of the St. Matthias community, and journeying together in faith. For more infomation visit: http://stmatthiasvictoria.ca/news/introducing-our-new-priest-reverend-colleen-lissamer
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Coffee and conversationTo Stand Again: Practices for the Resurrected Life - Thursday, June 2, 2022 11 am Coffee and Conversation! In this series, authors and scholars, pastors and professors, reflect on a life lived on this side of the resurrection. If the resurrection did happen, then there must be some difference not only in our lives but also for the world. What is the hope when faced with death, decay, and brokenness? How can one survive the destructive powers of this world? The answer to this question involves a journey into the tomb and an emergence out of it. We will be watching one of these short 7 min films to deepen our coffee and conversation time. Drop-in anytime, all are welcome. On June 16th we will also get a chance to have coffee with our new priest, the Rev. Colleen Lissamer! Upcoming sessions!
For more infomation visit: http://stmatthiasvictoria.ca/events/learning-series/2022-06-02
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Ordinations to the PriesthoodColleen Lissamer and John Thatamanil - Sunday, June 5, 2022 God willing, the bishop will ordain Colleen Lissamer and John Thatamanil to the sacred Order of the Priesthood at the Church of the Advent in Colwood on June 5 at 4:00pm. All are welcome to attend this service of celebration. There will be a reception to follow. Please register your attendance via the link below. Clergy who wish to vest and process are asked to inform the bishop's assistant at tsaracuse@bc.anglican.ca. For those who cannot attend in-person, the service will be livestreamed on the diocesan website and also on Facebook and Vimeo. For more infomation visit: http://stmatthiasvictoria.ca/events/ordinations-to-the-priesthood/2022-06-05
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Missed a sermon?
Haven't been here for a few weeks? Check out the latest sermon here: https://www.stmatthiasvictoria.ca/blog
For more infomation visit: |
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Sidney Brass & FriendsFundraiser for Ukraine - Sunday, June 5, 2022 Sidney Brass and Friends are presenting a fundraising concert Sunday June 5th to support Ukraine. The programme is varied and should include something for everyone. For more infomation visit: http://stmatthiasvictoria.ca/events/sidney-brass-friends/2022-06-05
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Breathing ReconciliationReconciling from the Inside Out - Monday, June 13, 2022 Reconciliation program June 13-15 ~ spaces still available ~ 2 days at Bethlehem Centre ~ click to register ~ deadline Monday June 06th ... request forward and shareFor more infomation visit: http://stmatthiasvictoria.ca/events/breathing-reconciliation--492/2022-06-13
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