Mission in the Dominican Republic

Medical clinic in Pedregal, Dominican Republic

Two years ago, our congregation sent a team of four to do mission work in the Dominican Republic.  It was the first event of this sort sponsored by SPPC and we were all very excited about it.  The four people who went, described the trip as life-changing.  They were under the auspices of the House Upon the Rock, run by Paul and Sharyn Branson.  There are plans for a second team from SPPC to make the trip this summer.
As well as establishing a worship centre and helping to build housing in Pedregal, the House Upon the Rock, operates a medical clinic. This month, the clinic will celebrate its 14th anniversary.    Here are some stats from the clinic:

* Patient Load 14,500
* 40% Haitian patients
* 60% Dominican patients
* Give out about $750,000US in medication annually
* Unknown number of people who come for prayer and counselling.
* Unknown number of people who have accepted Jesus and/or grown closer to God through the clinic's ministry.

As the clinic is situated on rented property, its continuing existence is always in doubt.  Therefore, The House Upon the Rock is attempting to purchase the property.  To date they have paid 48% of the purchase price, with the balance due by April, 2017.  You can support Paul and Sharyn in this venture with a donation.  For tax purposes, make your cheque payable to MSC Canada.  If you do not want a tax receipt, then a cheque can be made payable to Paul and Sharyn or MSC.  The ministry does not have a bank account in Canada so we cannot cash any cheque if it is made payable to House Upon the Rock.

More news from the Bransons.

God's Stories

We are excited to share that Sharyn has published a book!  It has been a project that she has been working on for a couple of years and fulfilling what God told her to do.  The purpose of writing this book is to share what we have witnessed that God has done.  He is an amazing God and is always doing miracles.  This book is a collection of, well, God's stories.  Stories from our 20+ years in full time missions and what we have been honoured to witness God do day after day.  We pray that this book will inspire and bring people closer to God.  Whether you are a believer or not, we hope that you will read this book and it will encourage you.

It is available at Amazon.com and .ca, Barnes and Noble and soon, it will be available at Chapters/Indigo.  Available Softcover, Hardcover and Ebook formats.

Canada:  God's Stories Twenty Years on the Mission Field

USA:  God's Stories Twenty Years on the Mission Field   Barnes & Noble
            God's Stories Twenty Years on the Mission Field   Amazon.com

It's a Party

We had a party on Saturday, complete with sandwiches and cake, flowers and balloons.  It was a great party, but one we didn't really want to have.  You see, we were saying good-bye to longtime member, Joan.  She's leaving us for Calgary.  We hate to see her go.

Joan has been involved in many aspects of SPPC.  With John she was active in fellowship events, most notably bus trips to Chemanus Theatre.  

She has been on the Flower Committee, served Easter breakfasts, brought dozens and dozens of cookies and squares to the church, poured the coffee and cleaned up in the kitchen.

She has been part of the Wednesday morning Bible study group since the beginning.  She has contributed to the blog.

But Joan's favourite role, is making music.  As the founding pianist of the Living Flame Choir, she has enriched all of us with her talent, her patience and her willingness to practice, practice, practice.

Because of that, the choir was able to stage several musicals, with Joan keeping us all on track from the keyboard.  We enticed her onto stage for the cast pictures, but her preferred position was at the piano.  

That is our enduring image of Joan, friend, colleague, good sport, and lover of music.

Snow Day!

Snow!  Days of it!  In Victoria! In February!  The complaints are loud and long;  stuck cars, missed meetings, cancelled flights, power outages.  The weather this week was definitely not part of any human plan -- unless you were a kid out of school and sliding down a hill on a toboggan.
And yet . . . the snow is beautiful, covering the landscape with purity, hiding the dead flowers, the unsightly garbage, the broken toys.   Beauty is a gift of God.

Storm after storm adds to the snow pack in the mountains, and that means more spring run-off and that means more water in the streams come summer.  

For the past two years we've wrung our hands over the drought, fish dying because the rivers are too low, communities trucking in water as wells and reservoirs dried up.

   Instead of looking at our snow as a nuisance, perhaps we could see it as a gift from God, providing for our physical needs,  filling our winter lives with beauty and wonder and joy and just plain fun.

Bible Study Resumes

After a hiatus over Christmas and January, the Wednesday Bible Study sessions are back in session.  We've picked up our study of Galations, following a study guide prepared by Jack Kuhatschek.  We're mid-way through the study and on the fourth chapter of Galations.  Anyone who cares to join either the 9:30am group or the 7:30 pm group is welcome.  It doesn't matter if you haven't attended previous sessions.  Each lesson can be understood as a stand alone.

The power of Bible Study is that it is always relevant.  All of Canada has been in shock and mourning after the horrific shootings in a mosque last Sunday.  One of the people who spoke most eloquently to the media was Quebec Premier, Philippe Couillard.  Speaking in English he told listeners that we cannot pretend hatred and racism do not exist in our country.  They do, as they do all around the world.  What we must do, is to speak out when we hear someone spouting intolerance and fomenting hate.  That is not easy.  Most of us are non-confrontational.  We'd rather walk away than to take a stand.
   In our Galatians study,  the apostle Paul speaks out against a church and its leaders who have lost their way.  He even challenges Peter.  Angry and disappointed with the church in Galatia, Paul makes no bones about telling them so.  He doesn't duck, or use soft words.  He states flatly that the church and it's leaders have fallen into error.  At the same time, he tells them how much he loves them, how he worries about them, and that he is calling them to account for their own sake.  He wants nothing less for them than eternal life in Christ Jesus.

  As we make our way through the troubled world of our time, I think Sunday's hymn says it all.

Stand up, stand up for Jesus


1 Stand up, stand up for Jesus,                 2 Stand up, stand up for Jesus,
    ye soldiers of the cross!                          the solemn watchword hear.

  Lift high His royal banner.                        if while ye sleep He suffers,

  it must not suffer loss.                              Away with shame and fear
    From victory unto victory                        Where'er ye meet with evil,

     His army He shall lead,                            within you or without,

   till every foe is vanquished,                      charge for the God of battles,

   and Christ is Lord indeed.                          and put the foe to rout.                    
                                                                   

3 Stand up, stand up for Jesus,                 4.  Stand up, stand up for Jesus,
stand in his strength alone;                             the strife will not be long:
the arm of flesh will fail you,                         this day the noise of battle,
ye dare not trust your own.                              the next the victor's song.
Put on the gospel armour,                               To him that overcometh
each piece put on with prayer;                         a crown of life shall be:
when duty calls or danger                              he with the King of glory
be never wanting there.                                  shall reign eternally.


If we stand up for Jesus, we'll stand for our fellowman and we will not let hatred win.

Sunshine Lunch

Falling so close to Robbie Burns Day, the Sunshine Lunch this month has a Scottish theme.

Menu

Haggis

Potato Leek Soup

Beef Stew with Puff Pastry

Mashed Potatoes

Green Peas

Lemon Dessert

Looks good, doesn't it?  Joan is the organiser and Diane and Darlene are the cooks.  They all work on the decorations.

The sunshine lunch is an affair that caters to singles, -- those who are single by choice and those who have lost a partner. It has been a constant part of the pastoral care of our congregation for at least twenty years.  At one time it was potluck, but for the past several years, those with a ticket are treated to a home-cooked meal, great company and some entertainment.

The lunch is serves 20 - 30 people.  If transportation is an issue, Joan will arrange a ride. Tickets are sold in advance to allow the cooks time to purchase supplies and plan for the numbers that will be there.  You'll often see Joan sitting at her sales table in the coffee hour. The next Sunshine Lunch is March 27, at noon.

Joy Cometh in the Morning

1. The day thou gavest, Lord, is ended,

The darkness falls at Thy behest;

To Thee our morning hymns ascended,

Thy praise shall hallow now our rest.

Sorrow has come to our congregation.  This week we hold services for two of our faithful members who have passed away. 

2. We thank Thee that Thy Church unsleeping,

While earth rolls onward into light,

Through all the world her watch is keeping,

And rests not now by day or night.

Many funeral professionals use these three points to explain the purpose of a funeral

• Help the bereaved family, and their community, publicly acknowledge the death of one of their own.
•  Support the grieving family by surrounding them with caring friends, co-workers, and neighbours.
•  Move the deceased from one social status to another.

3. As o'er each continent and island

The dawn leads on another day,

The voice of prayer is never silent,

Nor dies the strain of praise away.

I have no complaint with the points listed above, but I believe, in the context of the church they fall short.  A congregation supports the bereaved, provides a forum for remembering and acknowledges the passage of a person from one stage of life to the next.  But faith offers more.

4. The sun, that bids us rest, is waking

Our brethren 'neath the western sky,

And hour by hour fresh lips are making

Thy wondrous doings heard on high.

Faith offers reassurance.  

Jesus said, "In my father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you."  John 14:2

Faith offers comfort. 

"And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away." Rev. 21:4

Faith offers hope. 

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

⁴ To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you," 1 Peter 1: 4-5

Faith offers joy.
"Weeping may endure for the night; but joy cometh in the morning." Ps. 30: 5b

5. So be it, Lord; Thy throne shall never,

Like earth's proud empires, pass away:

But stand, and rule, and grow for ever,

Till all Thy creatures own Thy sway.

                                           The Day Thou Gavest  Author: John Ellerton (1870)

                                                                                Tune: ST. CLEMENT (Scholefield)

Mark on the Wall

 There has been a lot of sickness in our congregation in the past several weeks.  "The cold" with its dreaded cough has been making the rounds and out-staying its allotted time.  Some of our congregation have been bereaved, some are facing chronic illness.  Many prayers have been said on behalf of our suffering brothers and sisters in Christ.  So, this week, I reached into my resource file and pulled out this children's story, as told by a former minister here, on the power of prayer.  

The Mysterious Mark on the Wall

The Prime Minister in Britain during the First World War was David Lloyd George (the Welsh Wizard). His brother William lived to be over 100 and wrote a book about their life as boys at home. Their father died while they were still young and it was a struggle to get an education for the boys.

Uncle Lloyd looked after them. He was a very simple man, but a great and good man. He was a cobbler who worked hard to make a living. He also preached in the little chapel and cared for people year in and year out. He truly loved God, God’s people and his Bible. When William George married, Uncle Lloyd went to live with him and his wife. Mrs George was a very good housekeeper, very house proud. She was annoyed to see a mark on the wallpaper in Uncle Lloyd’s room - a curious mark at a curious height. She couldn’t understand how it got there and, as the weeks went by, it stood out more clearly. She tried to clean it off but it could not be removed. She didn’t like to say anything about it but felt she had to.

Uncle Lloyd had a habit of coming home for his midday meal and afterwards going up to his room before returning to work. Mrs Lloyd thought he was lying down but, one day as she was passing his room, and his door was ajar, she peeped in and what did she see? Uncle Lloyd was kneeling on a chair with its back to the wall and his forehead was resting on the wall just where the mark was. He was praying so intensely that sweat was glistening on his forehead. That was the secret of the mark!

This explained how he could work so hard, preach at the chapel and care for his people. His fervent praying was what enabled him to have such an influence on people including William and David.

In the Bible we read about a man of prayer. Daniel prayed beside his window three times a day. Uncle Lloyd knelt on a chair. It doesn’t matter where we pray but it is important that we do talk to God and listen to him. That we help others to know, love and serve Him too.

James 5:16 A good man’s prayer is powerful and effective.

                                        ***

The prayer group prays for each member of the congregation on a regular basis, and we thank them for holding us all in their care.  If you have a special request, please fill out one of the yellow cards in the pews and place them on the offering plate.  

And please, get well soon!