Monday, March 18, 2024

More Travels

 The link for this week's live-streamed service is here.



This week's guest blogger is Barb Lyon, but before we get to her post, just a few words about upcoming events at SPPC.




  • This Friday, March 22 is the spring cleaning bee. Even if you haven't signed up, feel free to come along at 10:00 am and lend a bit of elbow grease.
  • Sunday, March 24 is Palm Sunday and the beginning of Holy Week.
  • Thursday, March 28 is Friendship Coffee at 10:00 am in the hall. All welcome
  • Good Friday, March 29 we hold a service of readings and hymns at 10:00 am in the sanctuary.
  • Easter Sunday, March 31, we will begin with an early morning service in Cy Hampson Park. Easter is early in the spring this year so don't expect the best of weather. Do expect joy and jubilation, and maybe a visiting songbird. The service begins at 8:00 am. 
  • Easter Breakfast. After the service in the park we can warm up with a hot breakfast in the hall. Please join us, even if you do not go to the 8:00 am service.
  • Easter Worship in the sanctuary at 10:00 am

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As my childhood friend Shirley and I look forward to our rail tour of Switzerland and cruise of the Norwegian fjords in June, I have been remembering a trip I took to Holland a few years ago. I visited the Royal Delft Shop where they manufacture and sell the iconic blue Dutch china and assorted china ware.

 









Royal Delft has been creating high-end Delft Blue since 1653. The centuries-old craftsmanship was passed down from generation to generation. The craftsmen create iconic pieces to this very day. Besides classic pieces, the collection also consists of contemporary decorations.

Being a lover of all things small I bought a tiny Dutch "wooden" shoe.




 

 

In Amsterdam a bike is a necessity!  It is the preferred method of transportation.  With so many bikes one would expect collisions would be commonplace.  Not so, I am told.  Riders are so safety conscious that most ride without helmets.

 




Of course, one must have a place to "park" one's bike and so here is a parkade that can store 9,000 bikes!  Just don't forget where you put it!

Prinsengracht (Prince's Canal) is the fourth and the longest of the main canals in Amsterdam. It is named after the Prince of Orange. Most of the canal houses along it were built during the Dutch Golden Age of the United Provinces. The bridges over the Prinsengracht canal connect with the streets in the Jordaan in the West and the Weteringbuurt on the East side.


Notable buildings along Prinsengracht include the Noorderkerk (Northern Church), the Noordermarkt (Northern Market),[19] Anne Frank House,[20][21] and the Westerkerk (Western Church.


 

This is the canal we took a ride on.


During my visit, the Rijksmuseum was celebrating the 350th anniversary of Rembrandt's death. Here is a quote about the occasion. 


Rijksmuseum marks the 350th anniversary of Rembrandt’s death in 2019 with ‘Year of Rembrandt’. The year-long celebration opens with ‘All the Rembrandts’, in which the Rijksmuseum will present for the first time an exhibition of all 22 paintings, 60 drawings and more than 300 best examples of Rembrandt’s prints in its collection.

As well as holding the world’s largest collection of Rembrandt paintings – including The Night Watch, the portraits of Marten Soolmans and Oopjen Coppit, The Jewish Bride – the Rijksmuseum collection offers the world’s most comprehensive and representative overview of Rembrandt’s painting oeuvre.

Given the extreme rarity that many of these delicate drawings and prints go on display, All the Rembrandts offers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to glean an unparalleled perspective on Rembrandt the artist, the human, the storyteller, the innovator. 

This exhibition was spectacular!

Ed. Note: thanks for this Barb. Food for the armchair traveller.

Monday, March 11, 2024

Adventures with Jim

 The link for this week's live-streamed service is here.



Dear Alice and friends my blog is overdue but I want to tell you about my visit to the Canadian naval Museum at the Naval Dockyard in Esquimalt,


The museum is located inside the Naval Base off Admirals Road in Esquimalt. It tells the story of Canada's navy.
     On Tuesday February 27,2024 I was taken to the museum by Paul Seguna, CD, Lieutenant Commander RCN (Ret'd) who is a guide at the museum.  The museum is housed in a building built by the British in the 19th century as a hospital.




Canada's navy was formed in 1910, before which we depended on Britain for naval defence.

Pictured below is our first ship which was obtained from England:



     His Majesty's Canadian Ship (HMCS) Rainbow was an Apollo-class cruiser that was commissioned into Britain's Royal Navy in 1893. In 1910, Britain sold the vessel to Canada, where it became one of the first two warships of the newly formed Naval Service of Canada.
     During World War One ( Aug,1914 - Nov. 1918). The navy was active but relied on England to take part in big sea battles such as the Battle of Jutland in 1916,
     When war broke out on September 10,1939 against Germany Canada's navy was small. The RCN expanded substantially during the Second World War, with the larger vessels transferred or purchased from the US and British navies (many through the Destroyers for Bases Agreement), and the smaller vessels such as corvettes and frigates constructed in Canada. 


     By the end of the conflict Canada had the fourth-largest navy in the world, behind the United States, the United Kingdom and the USSR, but had only two ships larger than destroyers, the light cruisers, HMCS Uganda and HMCS Ontario.[25] Although it showed its inexperience at times during the early part of the war, a navy made up of men from all across the country, including many who had never before seen a large body of water, proved capable of exceeding the expectations of its allies. By the end of the Battle of the Atlantic, the RCN was the primary navy in the northwest sector of the Atlantic Ocean and, under the command of Rear-Admiral Murray, was responsible for the safe escort of innumerable convoys and the destruction of many U-boats—an anti-submarine capability that the RCN would build upon in post-war years. The Northwest Atlantic Theatre was the only theatre not under command of either a Briton or American during the entire war.

     At the end of the Battle of the Atlantic, Canadian ships (either alone or in conjunction with other ships and planes) sank a total of 27 U-boats, and either sank or captured 42 Axis surface ships.[26] But the real victory was not so much in the statistics of battle, as in the successful completion of 25,343 merchant ship crossings, carrying 181,643,180 tons of cargo and a significant proportion of the Canadian and US forces for the eventual victory in Europe.[26] 

     Canada lost 24 ships in five different theatres: first was Fraser, sunk in a collision while evacuating refugees from France in 1940; AthabaskanReginaAlberni and Trentonian were lost in 1944 during Operation Neptune and cross-Channel escort duty; Louisburg and Weyburn sank in the Mediterranean Sea during the North African invasions of Operation Torch; eight ships were sunk protecting Canadian coastal waters Bras d'OrChedabuctoClayoquot and Esquimalt (minesweepers), Otter and Raccoon (armed yachts), and Charlottetown and Shawinigan (corvettes); and nine ships were lost on Atlantic escort duty MargareeLevisWindflowerSpikenardOttawaSt. CroixValleyfieldSkeena and Guysborough (on loan to the RCN from the Royal Navy). Altogether the RCN lost 1,797 seamen, and 95 became prisoners of war.[27]

     As the end of the war against Germany approached, attention focused on Japan. At the end of 1944, some RCN ships were deployed with the British Pacific Fleet, joining the many Canadian personnel already serving with the Royal Navy in the Pacific War. Ottawa was also laying plans to expand the RCN's capabilities beyond its anti-submarine orientation. The war in the Pacific was expected to culminate with a massive invasion of Japan itself, and this would need a different navy than that required in the Atlantic.

     The museum tells the story of the battle of the Atlantic. Here are a few pictures from the museum.



Women play an important part in Canada's navy. During WWII, my Mother was a signals officer serving in the British and American Air Forces.









The depth charge was an important weapon against German submarines known as U Boats.






Esquimalt Naval Base

It was a great day out, learning about Canada's Naval history. Paul and I would like to take a group from the church so speak to me if you are interested.

Don't forget we rely on our Navy to keep us safe.

I leave you today with words from the naval hymn -



Eternal Father, strong to save,
Whose arm hath bound the restless wave,
Who bidst the mighty ocean deep
Its own appointed limits keep:
O hear us when we cry to Thee
For those in peril on the sea.


Jim Dallimore
 
Ed. Note:  Thank you Jim for this educational blog and for sharing your love of all things naval.




Monday, March 4, 2024

Food, Fashion and Fun

 The link for this week's live-streamed service is here.



A busy week at SPPC but the busiest day had to be Thursday, when the Fellowship Committee hosted a vintage fashion show and tea.

"Tea" may be an understatement. Plates and plates of dainty sandwiches, scones and sweets filled the tables. 


Everyone declared they were already full, but would maybe take just one more goodie. No doubt the fine china made the food even more appealing. One lady told me she hadn't had tea from a china cup in years but agreed it tasted better that way. Thanks to all loaned their fancy tableware for the occasion.



Part of the kitchen crew

The event was sponsored by the Fellowship Committee but many others stepped up as bakers, servers, greeters, and janitorial crew. It was a lot of work but also a lot of fun. Sometimes volunteers are tired and suggest they'd rather just give a monetary donation and save themselves the work. But I wouldn't have wanted to miss out on the fun and excitement of our Vintage Fashion Show and Tea.

The fashions displayed were presented in decades from the 1880's up until the 1970's. Each model took her turn on the "runway" accompanied by music of the period. I heard lots of folk humming along to "Let Me Call You Sweetheart." Interesting to note how drastically fashion changed with the invention of double-knit jersey.  Here a few pictures, but they don't do justice to the beautiful workmanship on the gowns.  





The blue gown on the left was purchased in Victoria and worn to a ball at the officer's mess in the 1960's. The lady in the middle is on her way to the Saanich Fair in the 1890's. She's carrying a basket of eggs. The blue outfit on the right was from 1900 and claimed to be "simpler," than the gowns of the previous century.



All in all, we raised over $1400.00 to sustain the work of the church. We got to know each other a little better. Friends and strangers gathered together at SPPC. There were many tired feet and aching backs when it was over, but there also many, many smiles, and many, many compliments.

There were also many leftovers to be enjoyed on Sunday morning.

Well done, everybody.

P.S. Fashions were furnished by Vintage Fashion Showcase.


Monday, February 26, 2024

Pulpit Exchange

 

The link for this week's live-streamed service is here.



On Sunday we welcomed The Rev. Joan Scandrett to our pulpit. She is an Anglican priest, ordained in 1996 and retired since 2014. During her active ministry she worked in rural settings, usually multi-point charges and often shared with the United Church of Canada. Since retired she has worked as an interim chaplain at Luther Court, done pulpit supply at Lutheran Church of the Cross, and was chaplain/manager of the James Bay United Thrift Shop. She is married to Daniel Fournier, the priest of St. Luke's Cedar Hill. Currently she is the Stated Supply Minister at Trinity Presbyterian in Victoria. Obviously she has an ecumenical bent.

On Sunday, the Rev. Scandrett did pulpit exchange with Rev. Irwin, who is the interim moderator for Trinity.

Lots of titles and terms here to confuse us. What is the difference between an interim moderator and an interim minister? What is a "stated supply?" Why does it matter?

I searched out a few answers.


An interim moderator is the link between a congregation and the presbytery. He moderates session meetings for the congregation and facilitates the process for calling a new minister. The interim moderator is accountable to presbytery.

An interim minister is responsible for weekly worship, but also enters into a covenant with the congregation for specified goals and an agreed upon timeline with the presbytery and session for accomplishing those goals. The interim minister operates under the supervision of the interim moderator.

A stated supply is an ordained person, appointed for a specific period of time, who provides worship leadership. The stated supply may perform other pastoral duties as determined by the session and the presbytery. The stated supply also works under the supervision of the interim moderator.

If this all sounds very legalistic, it's because the Presbyterian Church in Canada is a national denomination. As such, the whole denomination cares for all its congregations. Churches like Trinity or SPPC are not individual entities left to flourish or flounder on their own.  We are one big family with relatives spread out from coast to coast. When needed, we can call on that family for support, prayer, consolation and encouragement. 

We often laugh about how many committees are necessary to operate a Presbyterian church, but it's nice to know that all those committees are linking arms to provide a framework where congregations and individuals can live out their calling to love the Lord and serve our neighbours. 

****************

Reminders:

  • Vintage Fashion Show and Tea this Thursday, Feb. 29, 1:00 pm at SPPC. (The fashions are vintage. The tea is fresh. )
  • World Day of Prayer service on Friday, March 1 at 1:00 p.m. at St. Elizabeth’s in Sidney, 10030 Third Street.

As we think about our congregations and the Christian church worldwide, listen to this hymn. It is not one we've sung in our congregation, but maybe we should. 

 Filled with the Spirit's Power





Monday, February 19, 2024

Heads Up


The link for this week's live-streamed service is here.



After all the excitement of the Christmas season, mid-week activities at SPPC slowed down in January. However, a glance at the church calendar shows activities are ramping up.

  • Bible Study: (or Book Study) continues on Wed. with our third session on Larry Crabb's The Safest Place on Earth. This is not your mother's Bible Study! The topics addressed are not easily slotted into topics and the discussion can go anywhere -- and often does. One of the aims of Crabb's discourse is to encourage spiritual community. Although we aren't following a prescribed route to get there, our small group discussions are examples of how that community might develop. There are still copies of the book available if you'd like to join in the process.

  • On Thursday of this week, at 10:00 am SPPC hosts Friendship Coffee. This is another not-so-small group where folks from within the congregation and those from without join together to share conversation, laughter, and sympathy over a cup of coffee or a pot of tea. There is no cost, no dress-code, and no age barriers. All are welcome to come -- meet a friend, bring a friend, and make a friend.

  • World Day of Prayer is at the beginning of March, but on Thursday, Feb. 22, at 1:00 pm, Anyone wishing to sing is invited to a choir rehearsal St. Elizabeth's, 10030 3rd Street, in Sidney. If you sing in a church choir, or wish you sang in a church choir, this is an opportunity to join with others and lift your voice in praise of our Maker.




On Thursday, February 29 at 1:00 p.m. SPPC will host a Vintage Fashion Showcase and Tea: Spring Fashions from 1860 to 1980. A limited number of tickets are available at $20 a piece. The tea will be prepared in house. The fashions and life music are supplied and modelled by Vintage Fashion Showcase.

  • As mentioned above, the World Day of Prayer will be celebrated on Friday, March 1 at St. Elizabeth's in Sidney.

  • Finally, for those who are looking further ahead in their calendar, The Vancouver Island Presbyterian Women’s Retreat takes place April 26-28 at Camp Imadene on Mesachie Lake. Contact the church office 250 656-2241 for more information.
Busy days ahead. I didn't even mention that Easter is early this year. Let us enjoy the opportunities for fun and fellowship at SPPC, but let us never forget that Christ is at the centre of our life together.

 

Monday, February 12, 2024

Is our Worship Holy?


 The link for this week's live-streamed service is here.




On Wednesday, we resume our study of the book, The Safest Place on Earth, by Larry Crabb. I've been doing my homework.

One of the topics that Crabb returns to again and again is worship. He believes that humans have a natural yearning to worship, but that yearning is often unfulfilled. So, I got to thinking about my own worship experiences. I've had decades of attending Sunday morning church services, so my list of special moments is long. I've whittled it down to a few and looked for common threads.

  • In my youth, I was fortunate to attend church camp in the summer. We had a natural amphitheatre formed by rock ledges a few minutes' walk from the main lodge. That became our "chapel." Someone tacked a cross-member onto a tree and we had a living cross. Chapel was held every day and rule was, that as we rounded the corner of the lodge, we fell silent. By the time we arrived in the designated place we'd had several minutes of quiet to contemplate, and prepare ourselves to come into the presence of God.

Monday, February 5, 2024

A Heart for Heroes

 The link for this week's live streamed service is here.



We first put up a lighted heart on the outside of our church building in 2021. It was our way of saying thank you to the health care workers and others who carried on while the rest of the world shut down for COVID. Now that society is back up and running more or less as normal, we've put put the heart back up.

The symbol can be interrpetted in more than one way. Some will see it as a nod to Valentine's Day. After all, February is full of hearts and flowers for that reason. 

Still, COVID is rampant in the community, - both our church secretary and our minister had it after Christmas and there are currently 196 people in Victoria hospitals with COVID-19, 7 of them in ICU. On top of that, our health care workers are at a breaking point. Every day we hear new stories about the failures in our health system. Emergency wards are overflowing. Walk-in clinics have closed. Anywhere from 17% to 20% of Capital Region residents do not have a family doctor, and those who do, have difficulty getting an appointment.

Clearly our health care workers -- doctors, nurses, EMTs, cooks, cleaners, homecare workers, -- are all eunning as fast as they can just to stay in one place. Many are leaving the profession due to burn out. So, even though the Times-Colonist is no longer printing a red heart for us to hang in the window, at SPPC our lights say thank you to all medical staff.

The other half of our February light display is the word 'Peace.' Again, there is more than one way to consider the sentiment. With war top of the news, we can consider the word a plea for the end of fighting -- in Ukraine, in the Middle East, in Africa. 



For those of us with memories of the '60's, we can see the word as a greeting and a wish for harmony among us all. Remember flower power? So, we could consider that SPPC is saying hello to our neighbours in a gentle way.

Peace is also at the heart of our faith. From the beginning, even before His birth, the Messiah promised peace.


Isaiah 9:6
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

Jesus Himself, when speaking to the disciples about His coming death, promised them peace, not as the world thinks of peace, but the peace of God. 

John 14:27 

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

 The letters of Paul to the early churches, churches which faced persecution, promised peace.

Philippians 4: 6-7

Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.



A greeting and a blessing from SPPC.