Welcome Home

     Sunday at SPPC centred on the theme of "home."  Of course, we always try to be a welcoming congregation, but this Sunday we went the extra step and said "welcome home," not "welcome stranger."

The scripture reading was "The Prodigal Son." We all know that one so well -- the youth who demanded his inheritance then went off and squandered it on riotous living. When he'd run out of options, he decided to go back to his father and beg for a servant's place. Instead, the father ran to greet the prodigal, threw a big party and gathered him back into the family fold. 
Welcome home.

     After coffee hour, the newest members of the congregation, those who formally joined in December of last year, were welcomed home with lunch. The feast was catered by session and we were invited to ask any questions we might have about our church. Problems or issues we wanted to discuss.

Welcome home.

     When I was growing up, our home was a welcoming place,  always ready to set another place at the table. There was a plaque on the kitchen wall that began with the words "Friend you are welcome here, be at your ease." Small wonder that, among my mother's treasurers, I found this little homily.

There is magic in that little word ...Home. . . Home is the sweetest word in the Saxon tongue. It has in it the brightness of sunshine and the fragrance of flowers. It suggests love, peace, rest and gladness. It calls up pictures painted imperishably on the heart. It speaks of father's love and mother's care... 

      At SPPC, we strive to be that place. The place that gives a tiny foretaste of heaven. The place that opens its arms to all who call. The place that offers friendship, support, laughter, love and prayer. The place that says ...
Welcome home.

     If you're feeling a little lonely, a little lost, a little down, a little adrift . . . our doors are open.  
9296 E. Saanich Rd. N. Saanich. 
250 656-2241. 
Call or drop by, and . . .
Welcome home.