Backflow

 The link for this week's streamed worship is here.

 The link for the Celebration of Life service for Joan MacDonald is here.

This week we welcomed Rev. Arnold Alksne to the pulpit. He is a familiar face to the congregation, having filled in for Rev. Irwin on other occasions. 

His sermon, "Soul Food" had us all hungering for a fresh tomato sandwich. No tomatoes at church but there were plums and apples on offer in the narthex. 

    Having an "in" with the property committee at SPPC, I'm kept up to date on the hidden workings of our plant. This
week it was backflow valves on the irrigation system and the hot

water tank. Apparently the CRD has changed their rules and some of our plumbing no longer complies. 

    Backflow valves are very important safeguards for ourselves and our community. They are used to keep contaminated water from flowing back into the regional water works when our system is undergoing maintenance. 

    The box for the existing plumbing on our irrigation system was too small to include the new backflow valve so one of your elders dug a parallel hole. He got a cold shower when the pick hit the water line, but all is now repaired and up to code.

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    Then it was on to the hot water tank. No showers in this case but the supplies closet in the kitchen had to be cleared out and the shelves removed. 

    Everything is now back in place, and we have the proper tags to satisfy the CRD. The bottom shelf will have to be altered to accommodate the new pipes. Or we may find that we don't need as much stuff now that there is one less shelf to put it on.

    I'm sure there is a metaphor for Christian life in there somewhere--maintenance, purity, contamination. Just as we remain vigilant to keep our church property in good repair, we should remain vigilant to keep our thoughts and actions free of contamination. 

    The Sunday morning sermon and the Gospel of Mark noted the evil that dwells in human hearts -- sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. Mark 7: 21-22

    Given our sinful nature we all need a "backflow" valve. Prayer, scripture, worship --all help to stop sin from controlling our lives and keep the spring of Living Water flowing.

    And if we slip, if our defences fail, we have the promise of forgiveness through Jesus Christ.Ephesians 2:8 As Dorothy sang on Sunday morning, "Though it makes Him sad to see the way we live/He'll always say, 'I forgive'."

    

Ordinary

This link for this week's streamed service is here

   

On Sunday we celebrated the Lord's Supper. Such a joy to repeat the comforting words and practice the familiar rituals. With rising numbers of COVID-19 cases on the Island and throughout the province, we opted to use the little creamer-like cups rather than pass the elements within the pews. Still we enjoyed the privilege of gathering around the Lord's table and "doing this in remembrance of Me."  

    There were a number of newcomers to the worship service and we welcomed them at the door and during the coffee hour following. After so many months of "distancing" we now treasure these few minutes of greeting and meeting with fellow worshippers.

 

  Earlier in the week I took a walk in the Butchart Gardens, one of my favourite things, with one of my favourite people. We remarked that the beds weren't as pristine, the visitors as numerous, nor the flowers as exotic as in previous years. Like all the tourism business, the Gardens are operating with reduced staff and shortened hours. Yet what we saw was beautiful. Zinnias, marigolds, impatients -- homey flowers --not the grandstanding lilies, or the jewel blue delphiniums seen on previous visits.

     But these "ordinary" blooms brought "oohs" and "aahs" from the visitors and gladdened the eyes. They are a reminder that the "ordinary" in life is wonderful. Massed together they shimmer with colour, dazzling in their combined beauty. 

    With the news so full of the heartbreak in Haiti, Afghanistan, the Interior of B.C. and other disaster zones around the world, it is natural to think that one "ordinary" person can have no effect. But the zinnias prove that many "ordinary" blooms are powerful. 

    If we all give a little to disaster relief, if we all practice kindness, if we all speak out against hate, if we all "love our neighbours," what a marvellous difference we make.

I think one of the most encouraging and comforting passages of scripture is Romans 12: 6-21

None of us is so "ordinary" that God did not bestow a spiritual gift upon us. All of those gifts, when used together for the glory of God and for the furtherance of His Kingdom, lead us to join that great cloud of witnesses.-- and that is extra-ordinary!

Guest Preacher

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

🎵Summertime and the congregation is on holiday.🎵 

Janet, Josh, Steven, Peter and Rev. Irwin all took the same weekend for a bit of vacation. In their place were a pair of rank beginners on the streaming system. Please send your complaints to office@saanichpeninsulapc.org. 

In the pulpit we had a more seasoned substitute, Rev. Ron Benty. Ron and his wife, Gwen, currently live in Shawnigan Lake. Previously they lived in a variety of places around the province, including Creston where Ron pastored a non-denominational congregation. If you want to hear more of his sermons, check out his facebook ministry. SPPC felt very modern when we put in a livestreaming system, but Ron was ahead of us using facebook.

Beautiful Sunday morning this week, not nearly so hot. The first of the plum crop is ready so there were thirty pints of fruit, free for the taking, in the narthex. With Janet away, Barb took responsibility for coffee hour, setting out pretty flowers on the tables and trays of goodies. I heard a rumour that our minister emeritus got his coffee served with a little extra spirit.

Speaking of spirits, the hot, dry weather means folks are drinking more. Since the cancellation of the mission trip to the Dominican Republic in March of 2020, Joan has collected and recycled enough drink containers to add over $1250.00 to the fund for the next trip. At ten cents a bottle, that's a lot of bottles! One couple donated 200 bottles and cans a few weeks ago. We did not ask if they had consumed all the liquid themselves or collected from friends and neighbours. As Rev. Irwin says, "we don't judge." 

So much disaster reported in the news this weekend -- Afghanistan terrorized, Haiti devastated by another earthquake, wildfires in B.C.. . .  There is no end of bad news. We hold all the hurting people in our prayers. As Rev. Ron said in the sermon, we may wrestle with "why" but in the end what matters is that God holds us close, the way a mother comforts a lost child. May all the hurting people of our world feel the loving arms of the Saviour about them.

Isaiah 41:10 (NIV) So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

1 Peter 5:7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

If you prefer your scripture set to music, try this excerpt from Mendelssohn's Elijah. Cast Thy Burden Upon the Lord.

Music for a Summer's Night

 The link for this week's service is here

Raven Baroque (Larry's instrumental group) has had a busy concert week, and Thursday, they entertained at SPPC. The one's in fancy dress are the regular players in the group. They were augmented by a couple of guests.

The program included pieces by Albinoni, Corelli, Pergolese, Scarlatti, Handel, Vivaldi and Purcell, the rock stars of the Baroque Age. Kate Rhodes, who plays violin in the group, also sang a couple of songs. Worshippers at SPPC will recognize her from her guest appearance on a Sunday morning this summer. 

We didn't get much rain on Saturday but it was enough to give a little relief to the parched earth. Despite the heat and drought, we've enjoyed lovely flower arrangements from Norma's garden all summer long. I hope the rain extends the life of her plants and those flowers continue to brighten our sanctuary and our worship. 

At the church, Linda continues to work away at the flowerbeds. This summer it has been hot, hot work. Tore has increased watering times on the automatic sprinklers to try to keep things alive. 

Gardeners love to share and Linda has received offers of plants from other people's gardens. If you have lavender or heather or other ground cover you'd like to donate to the church landscape, she would love to have them. Anything that requires lots of maintenance is regretfully declined. 😀Speak to her any Sunday or give her a call.

When I heard the raindrops on the roof Saturday night, my mind flew instantly to Mendelssohn's "Elijah." It contains a wonderful chorus, "Thanks be to God, He laveth the thirsty land." We didn't get the gathered, rushing waters Elijah witnessed but thanks be to God, for the rain we did receive.

In the third year of drought, God sent Elijah to Ahab. Read

1 Kings 18, 41- 46

One More Step Along the Return

 The link to this week's worship service is here.

Raven Baroque concert at SPPC Thursday, August 5 at 7:30 pm. 

This week we took another step in our return to normal Sunday mornings. We had coffee hour after service.

After so many months of "keeping our distance," it was a joy to sit down with church friends and catch up on the little things of life. 

I heard about the first visit with a grandchild.

The turn out in the pews is increasing week by week and more than half those present stayed for a cuppa and a chat. 

Many thanks to Janet and her family for setting up and hosting our first coffee hour since March of 2020.

I think this smile says it all.

Earlier in the month, some of the Friendship Coffee regulars got together in the rose garden by the library in Sidney.

Step four of B.C.'s recovery is supposed to begin on 4 September. I look forward to having Friendship Coffee at the church again, along with other activities like choir and Bible Study. 

And here's one more picture, just to prove you can't keep a good gardener out of the dirt. 

Inez lives in the Extended Care at Saanich Peninsula Hospital, where residents have been encouraged to plant a garden in these waist-high cabinets. You can see how the flowers have rewarded her for all the care she has lavished on her plot. What a way to cheer the soul.

The closing hymn in Sunday's service was "For the Fruit of All Creation, Thanks be to God." A perfect poem for a gardener, but buried in the last verse are words for us all, "For the good we all inherit, Thanks be to God...Most of all that love has found us, Thanks be to God."