1 Thessalonians 5:18

If you had been able to attend church yesterday, you might have seen these announcements in the bulletin.

Celebrations: 

• We have a new grandbaby in the congregation. Congratulations to Aarol and Ken
• As seen on Chek News -- Lloyd and Lee have just celebrated their 67th wedding anniversary. Instead of a candlelit dinner, they cleaned behind the fridge. 😕Hey, it's memorable!

Announcements:

• The church building is closed but the prayer chain is still operating. If you have requests for prayers email them to prayerchain@saanichpeninsulapc.org 
• Food bank pick up from the church has been suspended, but your donations are desperately needed. You can drop them off at the Sidney Foodbank, 1586 5th St. Sidney, from 8:00 -2:00 pm. Monday through Friday.
• "Virtual church" has no offering time, but if you want to send your envelope to SPPC, our address is 9296 E. Saanich Rd., N. Saanich, B.C. V8L 1H8
  

If you are reading this you have access to the internet and all the resources available there. Not all in our congregation have that facility. Give a thought to those people and find a way to connect. 

Last week I received a hand-written card in the mail. What a treat. Amid all the junk mail, bills, magazines and notices was a letter addressed in cursive, bearing a stamp and delivered to me out of the blue. It cheered me up three times -- when I collected it from the mailbox, when I opened and read it, and every day this week when I glance at the pretty picture gracing the mantelpiece. 

One of my friends commented recently that she felt like there three Fridays in the past week. I guess that's better than three Mondays, but it still underlines what happens when we lose our routine. The days run together, we lose order in our days, we sleep too much, we lack focus. We get bored and cranky.

As an antidote, I've tried to adhere to a semblance of my "old" life by keeping to a virtual routine.

Wednesday is Bible Study. I pick my favourite morning time and tune in to one of the many Bible study programs available on line. I've mentioned the Nooma series before. Here is the link again.
I know one of our members who has found an interactive Bible study on Wednesday evenings.

Thursday morning is Friendship coffee -- get out your knitting, ladies. Call a friend, put the phone on speaker, chat and click those needles for an hour or so.

Thursday evening is choir practice. Even if you are not in the choir at SPPC, why not spend this time with music. If you already play an instrument, use this time to practice. If you don't have an instrument, use the time to listen to your favourite recordings.
If you like to sing, here is a sing-along hymn site. There are many such offerings on the internet. You could even find an all Elvis channel if you tried. 😀

This is why my latest knitting is a mess.

One Friday a month, the worship committee meets. This might be a good time to plan your personal devotions for the coming week. Again, the internet has endless helps. http://presbycan.ca/2020-04-04/needs/ is a daily devotional sent out by the Presbyterian Church in Canada. Some of you may already have it delivered to your inbox. The Bible Project has many resources from text messages to podcasts. Maybe one is right for you.



Sunday morning, at 10:00 am, using the link Rev. Irwin sent the night before,  I go to "church."  I do get dressed but I admit I skip the high heels.  This week's video is here, in case you missed it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CR07Q6th7zM&feature=youtu.be 

At 11:00 am, I have "coffee hour" with my own cup of java and the telephone. I catch up with a few of the people I would normally see on Sunday mornings. I know others are doing the same, fostering those relationships. 
I chatted with Barb this morning and we wondered, when we all get back to "normal," will "normal" be different? If there is an upside to all this, I'd suggest that we'll value our friends more than ever, and, I hope, we'll be more compassionate with those who struggle for whatever reason. I don't have a crystal ball, but I do have hope.

Luke 1:37

Celebrations

We've had cause for celebrations over the past few weeks, at SPPC.

Irene had a 96th birthday.  The cake was delicious and she looked lovely.

Two of our students have graduated from High School.  Congratulations Max and Felicity.  We are so proud of you and wish you continued success.

So hard to get them both looking good in one picture!

The last celebration is tinged with a hint of sadness.  Elizabeth, who has graced our worship with her music over these past three years, is moving on to pursue her studies in Michigan.  We congratulate you Elizabeth, we wish you well, and we'll miss you.  Please come back and visit.

Family News

  One of the great joys of belonging to SPPC is that you get an extended family in the congregation.  Like all families, we celebrate the big moments and the small moments in our communal lives. Here's a sampling.


   On Sunday, Feb. 16, we celebrated a couple of birthdays, Felicity and Jerusha.

    ed. note:  I think people would attend SPPC for the preaching and the singing and the fellowship, but if that isn't enough, you'd think they'd come for the cake!

  One of our younger members, Max, rowed an exceptional race in foul weather.  A 6.5 km warm-up and then a 6.5 km race!   They won by .5 seconds.  Talk about a push to the finish line.  Congratulations, Max.  To help him celebrate, Rebekah made a beautiful cake.

   On Wednesday, at the height of Olympic fever with Canada's hockey team, women's figure skating and men's semi-final curling, all on the ice and on television, we had a full turn out for Bible Study. Talk about an upset!   At SPPC we'd rather study the Book of Revelation than watch Canada play a crucial hockey game.  

    On Sunday, Feb. 23, we had a snow day!   But the choir turned out in full.

We also had a guest preacher in the pulpit.
Rev. Laura Hargrove from Port Alberni exchanged pulpits with Rev. Irwin for the day.  We suggested she brought the snow with her.  

  And there you have it, some of the family news for the past seven days.  Congratulations to all the celebrants.  Blessings on all the workers.  Three cheers to all who make our congregation a place of welcome and learning and sharing.  Come join the family.