Sermon on the Vineyard

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

This Sunday, Rev. Irwin preached at St. Andrew's Presbyterian in Victoria as part of his interim moderator duties. In his place we welcomed Rev.  Ray Sanford, who currently serves as the Senior Vice President of OC International (know as Outreach Canada here.) Rev. Sanford has worn many hats in his professional career. His formal educational was in electrical engineering and business administration before he moved into mission. 

He worked in management at AT&T during the 1970's and '80's, then went into mission work in 1986. He and his family served in France for 12 years before returning to N. America. Check out the sermon on the live-stream (link at top of page) to hear about his experiences living next to a vineyard and how that impacted his understanding of the Gospels. 

Following that stint, he returned, in a leadership role, to the headquarters of OC. Since living in Victoria, he has preached at Knox Presbyterian in Sooke during their vacancy. He and his wife, Diane, have four grown children, five grandchildren and one great-granddaughter. (Want to bet she's spoiled rotten?)

As Presbytery makes more and more demands on Rev. Irwin, we at SPPC are fortunate and grateful for the guest preachers who fill our pulpit from time to time, including Rev. Sanford. 

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Some time ago I was looking for an excuse to have a party and discovered a mention of Friendship Day on the third weekend of August. Don't know who declared that a day for friends, but it suited my timetable perfectly, so now my friend and I celebrate "friendship day." Our circle of friends expands and changes depending on who is hostess that year. We've found it a wonderful excuse to get together -- in the summer when the living is easy and the garden is full of food, when there are no expectations of formal dress, or formal dining, and when the day is flexible enough to suit our lives. 

How fitting then, that SPPC is holding its own, "Friendship Coffee Day,"  next week on Thursday, August 28 at 10:00 am. I highly recommend time spent with loving friends.