Another Pulpit Exchange

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

Sunday morning, Rev. Irwin was preaching at Trinity Presbyterian in Victoria. His term there as interim moderator is coming to an end, so he was there for a farewell service. 

In his place at SPPC, we welcomed the Rev. Mitch Coggin to the pulpit.

Rev. Mitch Coggin moved to Victoria at the invitation of the Presbytery of Vancouver Island in 2018 to serve as the Transitional Pastor at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, Victoria.  He held this position until March, 2025 when he officially retired from the Presbyterian Church in Canada (although he begins serving as Interim Moderator of Trinity Presbyterian, Victoria on August 1! 

 He holds dual membership as a Teaching Elder in the Presbyterian Church in Canada and The Presbyterian Church (USA).  Mitch is an experienced Interim Minister having served multiple interim roles in the States before beginning his work in Canada.  He has taught Transitional Ministry Education in 5 of the PC(USA) sites where The Art of Transitional Ministry is taught, at St. Andrew’s Hall, Vancouver and in Mississauga with 34 Interim Moderators in the Presbyterian Church in Canada.  

 Mitch is a certified coach through the International Coaching Federation and teaches coaching as a valuable understanding in guiding congregations through the transitional process.  To check out a paper he produced on transitions while working at St. Andrew's, Victoria, look here.

On a personal note, Mitch is a passionate woodworker, creating fountain pens on a lathe from the beautiful wood found in the Pacific northwest. He is also trying his best to be "retired," although, as mentioned above, he is taking on Rev. Irwin's previous post as interim moderator for Trinity, next week. 

He has added golf and a coffee club to his weekly schedule as a step on the road to living the life of a "retired" minister. He and Linda have been married 46 years and love the magnificent ocean living in beautiful Victoria.

While the choir is having a summer break, we are fortunate to have guest musicians filling in the anthem spot in our order of service. Last week, Mary Byrne graced us with her flute, her musicality, and her enthusiasm for sacred song. This week Barry Lowe, who usually sings at St. Mary's Anglican in Saanichton, sang for us. Thank you, Barry, and thank you St. Mary's for giving him a Sunday off.

The smooth running of our church building, our worship service, our fellowship time, our property, and many administrative tasks depend upon volunteers. As summer wears on, some of those volunteers think they need a vacation. Imagine! Fortunately a number of people have stepped up to learn how to work the audio/video equipment, to set the coffee pot on ready, to hand out bulletins and greet visitors with a warm welcome.

This willingness to lend a hand is an encouraging sign for congregational life. It is also a reassurance for those considering a volunteer position. You can take on a role and still get a break when needed.

And, speaking of faithful volunteers, don't forget that Friendship Coffee meets this Thursday at 10:00am at the church. Thanks to our regular hosts, Brian and Vivien, and Al and Irene. All are welcome. Bring a friend.

 

 

Party Time

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

As the end of June approaches there is a "school's out" feeling around the church. The choir has stopped wearing gowns on Sunday morning -- it's too hot! Session has held its last regular meeting until September and, on Monday, the Sunshine Lunch group held its last gathering of this term.

From all reports, it was a bang-up lunch with lots of Hawaiian type clothing. I hear the grass skirts were a hit.

Thanks to Joan, I have pictures to share. 

The Sunshine Lunch is for singles in our fellowship, but another social event, Friendship Coffee on Thursday morning, was open to all. No fancy lunch at that gathering but lots of coffee, baked goodies and lively conversation.  Thanks to our faithful hosts, Brian and Vivien, Al and Irene.

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And the good news is that another volunteer gardener turned up at the church on Friday. Welcome to the "work force," David B. and thank you.

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Sunday, Rev. Irwin was ministering at Trinity Presbyterian in Victoria. We were grateful to welcome Pastor George to the pulpit again. He is a great friend of the congregation and brings his own brand of wisdom and humour to Sunday mornings. 

The picture at left shows him in summer mode too.

Advent 1, 2022

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

Saturday morning eight volunteers showed up at the church to put up Christmas decorations in time for the first Sunday of Advent. Many hands make light work and we had a good time besides. The Christmas tree, the valance lights, nativities in the narthex, wreaths on the back wall and swags on the front door, were all done in a few hours.

Thanks to Tore, Jerusha, Janet, Carmen, Pam, Joan, Barb, and Alice for their time, talent and good humour.

                                           Thanks to Elizabeth, we have angels joining the flock on the upper window ledge.

After the fun comes the clean-up

The outdoor lights had been hung when the weather was fine last week, but left unlit until Sunday. Now we have the candle of hope burning inside and out.  

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Rev. Irwin was away this week so we happily welcomed Pastor George to the pulpit once again. The last time he was here was Advent 1 in 2020. You can read about him here. Of course, that was during COVID lockdown and we had no one in the pews.

George's message reflected on the sorry state of our world today. War, want, fear, and disaster crowd the headlines. And yet . . . we light the candle of Hope. Hope in our Saviour. 

Hope in the world is vain. Hope in the Lord is unfailing.

May this season of Advent bring hope to your home. 

Busy Bees

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

waiting for the bus

We've had a busy week at SPPC. After two years of avoiding the virus and each other, we moved back to normal with a vengeance.

On Friday, to celebrate our first no mask trip since the outbreak of Covid, the Fellowship Committee organized a bus trip on Friday to the Imax to see the movie "Ireland."

Fourteen people indicated their intention to come but the day before four people cancelled because of Covid!
Any how, nine of us caught the bus to the Imax.
Once there we were joined by another 5 people and so we were up at fourteen people again! 
The movie was wonderful and enjoyed by us all.

Following the movie, 10 of us went to the Old Spaghetti Factory for lunch before returning to the bus back to Sidney.

                                                                        -- Janet S

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On Saturday, there was a cleaning bee in the morning. Again, fourteen people showed up to "sweep the Lord's House clean." We did more than sweep! We dusted and vacuumed and moved furniture and scrubbed the Venetian blinds. Rev. Irwin cleared all the excess from the pulpit and gave it a scrub with Murphy's Wood Soap. 

The storage area in the Molloy Hall was emptied so the spider webs hiding in corners were cleaned out. Tore filled gouges in the walls and touched up the repairs with a bit of paint. Door knobs, light switches and baseboard heaters got extra attention. Pam did yeoman's duty in the washrooms.

For a small space, the quiet room sure has a lot of hidden corners. This shot of the space behind the couch is an example. 

To be fair, that couch weighs a ton. It took four people to push it around. On the other hand, we found a dime so the church's coffers were enriched by ten cents.

With so many helping hands the work was accomplished by lunch time. And there was plenty of laughter to go with the coffee and cookies set out to fortify the labourers. 

Huge thanks to all who toiled. A volunteer effort only works if there are volunteers! If you weren't able to come this time, I'm sure there will be other opportunities.😀

 Ed. Note: thanks to Janet for her pictures and write up of the Friday excursion. Contributions to the blog are always welcome.

Newcomers Lunch

 

We found another excuse to have cake after church -- actually, we had a whole hot lunch. 

   The occasion was to welcome newcomers and to thank volunteers.  Of course, we welcome newcomers any time, but now and again, the fellowship committee likes to offer a corporate welcome,  That's what happened last Sunday.

    As for the volunteers . . . they made the lunch!  The church, indeed the whole of society, cannot function without those who give of their time and talent.  At SPPC we have people who make coffee, do dishes, cut the grass, visit the sick, bring flowers, sing in the choir, keep the books, count the collection, run the sound

system . . .  Just off the top of her head, our clerk of session (another volunteer) made a list of thirty-six functions filled by volunteers.  She said she was sure there was more and there is.  She left off the blog, and I'm enormously grateful to anyone who contributes, as a volunteer, to this page. 

This year Linda has blessed us with her book reviews every month.  Her offering started as a birthday present to me, but everyone, including Linda, has benefited from her gift. 

   That's the way it is with volunteering.  Most often the one who benefits most is the volunteer him/herself.  I hope our newcomers will soon feel at home and ready to share their gifts with the "oldcomers."  Then our congregation will grow in spirit as well as numbers.

   Welcome everyone, and thank you.