A Bit of This and a Bit of That

The link for this week's streamed service is here

Sunday was World Wide Communion and we celebrated the Lord's Supper with Christians from around the world and all the saints. The service was extra special as the choir was back in attendance. We're a bit out of practice, but the joy of making music together remains. We're doing short practices on Sunday mornings instead of a lengthy one on Thursday night. New members always welcome.

                                                            ~~~

Now that the fall rains have begun, winterizing the church building has begun.

Leaves and needles were blown off the parking lot and the gutters, which were really mucky, have been cleaned out. 

                                                        ~~~

A couple of weeks ago the Jesus is Lord congregation, who use our sanctuary on Sunday afternoons, held a celebration. During their shutdown for COVID 19 a number of the congregation completed an on-line study course. Now that in-person worship services are allowed, they had a graduation ceremony and a really good party.

 Too young for the course but old enough to be very excited by the celebration.

May you all experience the joy of dancing in your faith this week.

The Attitude That Makes a Difference

 

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

by Linda Cliff

In January 2021 I wrote a blog about being a church member based on a book, I Am a Church Member, by TS Rainer. The author gave six steps on how we as believers can impact our church and community.  Now that we are able to meet in person and restart our church activities, I felt that a more comprehensive review would be in order, so I will review the book in more depth. 

 

This week we will look at how to be a Functioning and Unifying Church Member.  The apostle Paul tells us we are individual members of the body of Christ.  This body is made of many parts and all parts make one body. Hence with church membership, everyone has a role or function; we are different but necessary parts of the whole.  When one part of the body suffers we all suffer, when one part of the body does well the whole body prospers. 

Functioning church membership means everything we say and do is based on the Biblical foundation of Love.  Read 1 Corinthians 13, and apply what you read to your church.  It is not difficult to love the lovable; we are to love the unlovable as well.  We are to pray and encourage fellow members when they do things we don’t like as well as when things are going well. Functioning members commit to giving cheerfully and abundantly; to serving without hesitation.

 

Unifying members get along.  Jesus says that people will know we are his disciples by the love we have for one another. This does not mean that you will always agree with everyone all the time.  This does mean that you may need to sacrifice your own preferences to keep unity in the church.  Gossip and negative talk can be destructive in a church.  We have all heard sermons about gossip and remember James’s writing about the negative power of the tongue.  Hence we should keep our tongue under control and we should kindly tell others we don’t want to hear negative talk.   

Another important aspect of unity is forgiveness.  We are imperfect, yet our sins have been forgiven and we are asked to forgive others.  It is easy to say I will be a functioning and unifying member of my congregation.  However what are you doing to put these two principles into action?  Do you volunteer to visit the infirm, bake for church functions, help in committee work?  Yes we are busy and for some of us feeling our age, yet we can still pray for our church members and show them love and support when it is needed. 

 

I am feeling hopeful about my church membership.  Worshipping in community makes my heart sing.  That is why I reread this book and decided to look at Rainer’s recommendations in more depth.  Over the next month I will look at steps 3-6.  I am looking forward to sharing with you what I learn.  Let me know what you think. 

Ed. Note: You can respond to Linda in person, or leave a comment below. We have one faithful "unknown" reader who regularly leaves a comment in that section. It cheers the heart of your blog mistress to find those little notes. 

 

 

Life in the Fast Lane

The link for this week's streamed service is here

The link for Hal Rogers' memorial service is here

We've all been living with restrictions for the past 19 months, but that doesn't mean we can't have fun. The residents of Summergate village, including some of our congregation members were treated to a special ride earlier this month.

Here is Patricia L-G, ninety years old and dressed in her "fit for a queen" outfit, enjoying a some pedal power.

 

Barb C. at 104, has lots of zest as she get whizzed about the community.

Joan A. should be given a title, maybe palace secretary? for getting all her flock in on the parade. 

The sun was great for a rickshaw ride but the earth is so thankful for the rain this week. I just looked out my window and saw a rainbow arched over Bazan Bay. Having just come from the memorial service for Hal, it speaks to me of God and His care for all of creation, especially for His saints who have been called home.

                                                         For All the Saints

Farewell to Hal

The link for this week's streamed service is here

If you were unable to attend the memorial for Joan Larsen, the link for the streamed service is here

by Janet Smith

 On Tuesday, 24^th August in the afternoon heaven gained a wonderful new resident by the name of Hal Rogers. He moved from Saanich Peninsula Hospital to his permanent home, especially prepared for him with his Lord and Saviour in heaven.

Hal, for many years kept the bass section of our choir going hopefully he has joined the

heavenly choir and is enjoying singing once again. 

He was an elder at SPPC and the Clerk of Session from 2004 to 2010 according to the Session Minutes. Hal was the Clerk of Session when Rev. Irwin arrived at SPPC in 2007 and he did a lot to make the Cunningham Family feel very welcome here.

Hal was a real gentleman in every sense of the word, always calm and gentle with his wonderful Irish brogue!

[ed. note] When we first came to SPPC, Hal was our elder. He fulfilled his role conscientiously, visiting us in our home before every communion service and encouraging us to talk about anything in our church life that was troublesome or wonderful. When my Dad died he wrote me a heart warming letter that I have treasured ever since. 

Hal was also a gardener. When I complained that my tomatoes didn't like the cool nights of Vancouver Island, he gave me seeds for a Siberian tomato, guaranteed to withstand a N. Saanich evening.]

Hal, in recent years had been in extended care at SPH. With the COVID-19 virus, Ann and their daughters have visited as much as possible but there were restrictions.  On their 61^st wedding anniversary, one of the nurses took a photo of them together, Ann outside and Hal inside both against the window but I’m sure that is a special memory for Ann.

Hal and Ann have three daughters, Emily, Elizabeth and Julia, we extend our love and prayers to the family at this time.

A memorial service will be held at 2:00 pm. on Saturday 18^th September, here at SPPC.

Well done, thou good and faithful servant

For my Friend

 

The link for this week's streamed service is here

I've been taking a trip down memory lane this past few days, remembering my friend Joan L -- accompanist extraordinaire. 

We started working together with the Living Flame Choir in 2001. It was a new venture for SPPC and a very new venture for me. I'd always been the singer, never the director/organizer for anything like a children's choir. 

As I felt my way along, finding music, discovering the children's talents, encouraging them to raise their voices, Joan was my stalwart supporter and collaborator.

 Here we are in the first iteration of the Living Flame Choir, enjoying some ice cream at the end of our first term.

                                 Bones

 
Heroes of the Faith

Joan could be found in various places at SPPC, including Bible Study and the kitchen, but her first love was the piano and making music.

Why the Chimes Rang

Not only did she share her talent and time with us all -- she was always ready to rehearse just one more time -- she hosted practice sessions in her home. Her husband John loved to listen to us going over and over difficult passages until we had them worked out to performance standard. 

Her great sense of humour made all those rehearsals fun too.

When Tore and I were asked to do some recital work, Joan was only too happy to play for us. Once again we spent many evenings in her music room working the repertoire until we had it memorized. We even made a CD for my family. 

Despite her skills and experience she never pulled rank, but offered whole-hearted support, giving advice only when asked, and always with a twinkle in her eye. 

My friend moved to Calgary some years ago. I've missed her ever since. She passed away this summer. A memorial service will be held for her at SPPC on Sat. Sept. 11, 2021 at 1:00pm. 

Years ago, she asked me to sing a particular number at her funeral. I'll be doing that this Saturday.

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.

d

    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!