Reverberations

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

This week, a series of incidents got me thinking about consequences, or repercussion, or reverberations from seemingly small acts.

It began with my book club meeting. One of the members was still talking about our Great Peninsula Shortbread Bakeoff and the carol singalong that went with it. Because she enjoyed herself so much, she spread the word about our little event and encouraged everyone present to attend "next year." Notice that there wasn't even a question about a repeat performance. It was assumed that SPPC would sponsor cookies and carols in 2026, and, she requested that the choir sing at least two numbers. 

So, one month on from our trial cookie contest, the news is still spreading, like ripples in a pond.

 Rosa Parks          

 IN 1955, a young black woman refused to give up her seat on a bus

in Montgomery, Alabama. Her name was Rosa Parks. That was a seminal moment in the long struggle for civil rights. It helped to propel Martin Luther King into a leadership role, which led to the march on Washington and his stirring "I have a dream" speech.  Sadly, Dr. King was murdered but his legacy lives on continues. The battle is not done, but there has been progress. And, on the third Monday of January, the USA honours Martin Luther King with a national holiday.  A small act of defiance by a young black woman sent ripples down through modern history in a way she could never have imagined.

Alfred Nobel

Alfred Nobel, chemist, inventor, businessman and poet, harnessed the power of nitroglycerin when he invented dynamite, in 1867.  TNT was a boon to civil engineering, enabling great projects  hitherto  deemed impossible. The completion of the CPR through the Canadian Rockies, the Panama Canal, connecting the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific, the Hoover dam -- all of these projects were possible, only because of the power of TNT to blast through rock and mud and muskeg. 

Dynamite also enabled instant and deadly destruction in war, the faster and more widespread killing of soldiers and civilians. It became the weapon of  choice in the Franco Prussian war, and subsequently, WWI.  

While the world demanded more and more TNT, Alfred Nobel amassed an enormous fortune.

In the late 1880's, one of Alfred's brothers died and a reporter wrote an obituary. However, the reporter mixed up the brothers and wrote that Alfred had died. He called the inventor of TNT a "merchant of death." 

Alfred was so appalled by the term, that he spent the last eight years of his life setting up a foundation that, every year would award a prize in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, and Economic Sciences.  

But most notable of all the prizes is the award for peace. 

Due to a reporter's error, Alfred Nobel donated 94% of his fortune to the Nobel Foundation and ensured that his name was remembered, not for death, but for high achievement and for peace. 

Jesus Christ

Of course, the event with the greatest reverberation in all of history occurred when a young woman from a nowhere village in a subjugated nation gave birth in a stable because there was no room at the inn. Mary could not foresee the future. She acted humbly, trusting God in all things. The life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ transformed his followers. His teachings spread throughout empires, shaping countries and cultures and individual lives. The reverberations that emanate from that stall in Bethlehem still shake our world.

How Are We Doing?

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

Last Sunday we had a soup and sandwich lunch after service. The event was put on by the CML

The Centre for Missional Leadership (CML) at St. Andrew’s Hall, UBC, was established to enable Christian communities to flourish in God’s redemptive mission. In our congregation, Norma, Joan, Pam, Linda, Darlene and Irwin, are taking a one year certificate course from CML. The lunch on Sunday was intended to solicit feedback from the congregation regarding the gifts already present in our place, our people and our congregation.

   

With food on offer, it's not surprising that the event was well-attended and folks were in a good mood. As you can see from the photos, there were many, many gifts listed.

 "Friendly" showed up so often, it could have had a section all of its own. If you heard the buzz of conversation, punctuated by laughter, while we enjoyed delicious soup and plentiful sandwiches, you would know you were among friends.

There were too many gifts mentioned to list them individually, but here is a summary.

• Place
  

Under Place, our parking lot garnered the most votes. It's big, it's flat, it's well-maintained, and, apparently, the neighbourhood uses it for bicycle practice, parking practice and while waiting for airplanes. We threw a big party there for Queen Elizabeth II's jubilee and, during COVID we used it for an outdoor communion service. 

Other advantages of the place are the well-equipped kitchen, the high-ceilinged sanctuary, the organ, the heat pump, the streaming service, the sound system. . . Actually, the whole building was seen as an excellent asset.

• People
  

Then we got to "people" and "congregation." These two categories tended to overlap, but there were a few outstanding people. Firstly, our minister, Rev. Irwin Cunningham received many kudos for his preaching, and teaching. The folk who run our streaming/sound system were singled out for special thanks, as was our volunteer handyman. Our volunteer cleaners are rarely seen, but their work is invaluable. Special thanks were extended to them, too.

There are many talented people in our congregation, musicians, book-keepers, researchers, bakers, health-care workers, teachers, just to name a few. There is a lot of life-experience and wisdom among our fellowship. What is wonderful, is not that these people are there, but that they are willing to donate their time, knowledge and expertise so freely.

• Congregation
  

Under "Congregation," the many entries barely fit on the background, but, upon reflection, they could all be grouped under "love one another." As a congregation, we strive to follow Christ's teaching. Love is shown in many ways. Some are structured, like  Friendship Coffee, or Fellowship time after the Sunday service, or the Sunshine lunches and the Prayer Chain. Committees of Session like Pastoral Care, Mission and Outreach, as well as elders themselves have a mandate to care, physically and spiritually for the members of the congregation.

But, often as not, that loving care is spontaneous. Got a project you want to try? Put it out there and a batch of volunteers show up to help. Need a work crew for cleaning or decorating? Name the time and helpers arrive.

 Need a ride to church, or the doctor, or the airport? Let it be known and someone will come forward. Food, cards, phone calls and prayers may arrive at your doorstep when you need a boost. Miss church? Someone will notice and check you are okay. Touched by the sermon? You'll find others willing to speak of faith, and life, and gospel. 

The hymn, Blest Be the Tie that Binds, contains this line. "We share our mutual woes,/Our mutual burdens bear;/ And often for each other flows/The sympathizing tear."

I think we could have used that as a theme song at the luncheon.

There is much for SPPC to do in our service to Christ and our witness to the world, but it is good to know we start from a position of love for one another.

A Birthday Surprise

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

Ed. Note: This week our blog post was written by our clerk of session. Although it made me blush, she insisted I not tone it down. Thank you, Janet, for giving me a week off and for your kind words.

This week as we begin a new year, I am going to try writing a blog to give our blog mistress a week off as it is her birthday. 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALICE!

 

I'm not good at this kind of thing but I feel Alice is worthy of my efforts. 

She has faithfully written a weekly blog for SPPC for many years with an occasional help from others in the congregation. 

 I start my week off every Monday morning by reading the blog for the week and I try to respond each time when I've read it. 

 I hear that many of you too read the blog but never respond to it although there is the opportunity to do so each week, please consider doing so the next time you read it. 

 Did you know that there are verses in the Bible that speak of communication?

Here are a number of references that I found on Google

• Power of words: Words have immense power; they can bring life, healing, or death (Proverbs, 18:21, 12:18).

• Listen more, speak less: Be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger (James 1:19).

• Gentleness and grace: A gentle answer turns away wrath, while harsh words stir anger (Proverbs 15:1).

• Truthful speech: Speak truthfully, but always with love (Ephesians 4:15).

• Edifying speech: Only say what builds others up (Ephesians 4:29).

• Purity of speech: Avoid obscenity, foolish talk, and coarse joking (Ephesians 5:4).

• Self-control: Don't let every thought become a spoken word (Proverbs 10:19).

Alice does an amazing job of communication week by week to communicate all that happens here at SPPC to enrich the ministry and outreach into the community. 

We are very blessed by her work and dedication at SPPC. For many years now, Alice has sung in the choir, and helped Larry organize music. She serves on the Worship Committee, she is a link in the Prayer chain and great at decorating for Christmas every year and various other occasions. Just last year, she also took on another new position, as one of the organizers of the annual Shortbread bake off!! 

THANK YOU Alice for all you do. Here is to another year of sharing your many talents and your gift of communication.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALICE!

If you need help to find the blog or how to respond to the blog, please communicate with me and I will be happy to walk you through it! 

Ed. Note: Although this post was about one person's work at SPPC, it was written by another person who does a ton of work for our church, while mindful of Ephesians 4:29. At the CML luncheon on Sunday, there was a survey of the assets within our congregation. Watch this space for more on that, and for the many, many folk who contribute immeasurably to our fellowship.

Twixtmas

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

I complained to my friend that I never knew what day of the week it was in the period between Christmas and New Year's, or, to be truthful, between the Sunday before Christmas and the Sunday after New Year's. She told me that period is called "Twixtmas." Seems perfect to me since we are betwixt two major events and between order and chaos.

So, during twixtmas I overheard a few gems that made me smile, ponder and smile again. 

• "I'm not weird. I'm perfectly normal. " This was a snippet of conversation between two teenage girls. I wondered what had provoked the comment, but I was relieved to hear the reply. We are reminded so often of the angst of youth and the subsequent poor choices. I applaud the girl who is "perfectly normal."                   
• " . . . a nation committed to building peace. . . " Mary Simon, Governor General of Canada in her new year's message. Elbows up has been a rallying cry for 2025, but building peace is a worthy goal for our country in 2026.                                                                                                                                                                                                
• "with peace comes kindness, or with kindness comes peace . . . music can unite all of us, because we live on the same planet." Yannick Nézet-Séguin when he conducted the New Year's Day concert, in Vienna.

Now that Epiphany Sunday has come and gone, the decorations will come down, lists will be filed and we'll all start to know it's seven days between Sundays. But I pray we can hang onto the joy of greeting a newborn King, hold hope for a kinder year ahead, and know the peace that comes from God. "God bless us, everyone."

The Year that Was

 Link for our live-streamed service is here.

On the world stage, 2025 was a tumultuous year--wars, tariffs, natural disasters, an election, a new pope . . . Is it any wonder that at SPPC we turned to the comforts of food and fellowship?

We ended the year with a sunshine lunch, the fifth such gathering of the year. Joan kindly sent along a few pictures.

Friendship coffee met eight times in the church building. Congregants and community members enjoyed a cuppa and goodies, but mostly they enjoyed each other's company, setting the world to rights around a table and sharing a laugh.

We also broke bread together to raise funds for the new heat pump. It had a hiccup in the beginning, but all seems to be in order now. We were cool on the hottest days of summer and warm now that winter has arrived.

Our church building turned 35 this year. So, we celebrated that anniversary with lunch. The mission team to the DR reported back over lunch, and in September we had a potluck lunch to celebrate the return to "school" and to hear about Diane and Rev. Irwin's trip to S. Africa.

In December we had a carol-singalong, but boosted the occasion with the first ever Great Peninsula Shortbread Bakeoff -- with hot chocolate and cookies.

All this in addition to our usual fellowship time following service on Sunday morning! I didn't count the number of Sundays where we had a cake to celebrate a special occasion, but on the last Sunday of 2025 we had a 90th birthday cake for Syd. 

Mission

I mentioned that we celebrated the return of our mission team with lunch (peanut butter sandwiches) but we also give thanks for the work they did in the Dominican Republic. Joan, Diane and Jerusha are old hands at this but it was the first year that Rev. Irwin made the journey. They all came back glowing with joy, and nursing callouses -- hard, physical labour in Christ's name bears its own rewards.

Certificate for Missional Leadership- several people from both session and the congregation have signed on to a church renewal project sponsored by Vancouver School of Theology. We expect to hear an update from them in January. Of course, lunch will be served.

We support the Peninsula Food Bank all through the year, but in 2025 we ran two "drives" to bring extra goods and cash. 

Our cozy toes project supported the Mustard Seed Street Church with warm socks and other articles of clothing for the unhoused.

Study

Our Wednesday Study tackled several topics in 2025. We did "Drive Thru' History," a video series with Dave Stotts in the lead up to Easter. Doing a virtual walk with him through the Holy land and Jesus' journey to the cross brought many insights. 

While Rev. Irwin was mixing cement in the DR we watched a couple of movies, "God is not Dead," "Luther" and "Bonhoeffer."  All of these told the story of people who had stood firm on the Gospel in the face of ridicule, persecution and death. A reminder that the church has survived turmoil for centuries. 

Currently, the group is taking a crash course in Biblical understanding through semantics via video with Tim Mackie of the Bible Project.

Pulpit Supply

This was also a year of guest preachers. Rev. Irwin took leave to do mission work in the Dominican Republic, to wash dishes at Camp Imodene, and for medical issues. He also had study leave and his own vacation time. In his absence we enjoyed a parade of substitute teachers on Sunday mornings. George Hodgson, Rick Wismer (Blue Bus), Harold McNabb, and Arnie Alksne are old friends of the congregation. We were also blessed with visits from Byron Knight, Grant Wilson, Ray Sanford, Wes Dyer, and Mitch Coggin. We are grateful for these fresh voices from the pulpit. Praise God for His many servants.

Worship

The items listed above stand out because they are out of the ordinary. Worship, on the other hand, is what we do, week in and week out. It is at the heart of our reality. The mission work, the fellowship, the fun stuff, they are all grounded in our faith, nurtured by worship and preaching. Sunday morning binds us together with "saints above and saints below."

There are also special times of worship at Easter-- a Good Friday service, a Maundy Thursday communion, and Sunrise service in the park. 

Our Christmas Eve, with candles and carols is always a highlight of the season. 2025 was no different. 

2026?

At this time of year the pundits are invited to make predictions for the coming months. I wouldn't dare. After all, we sing "my life is in your hands, O Lord." But, I expect that SPPC will continue to worship, eat cake, make music, and enjoy our fellowship, rejoicing in Jesus Christ, our Saviour.

The Shortbread Contest

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

Our extra services this week are available on-line. Christmas Eve is here.

                                                                                   Christmas morning is here.

The Great Peninsula Shortbread Bake-off and Carol Sing and Bake Sale is over. Sunday was the "pilot" for this project. If we were a prospective television show, I'm sure the network would pick us up for the whole season.

Pictured at left is the set up crew who spent Saturday morning readying the hall.

There were over 50 at the singalong -- well beyond expectations. We ran out of song sheets and had to hastily print off more.

The tables groaned under the weight of all the donated baking.

All the goodies refreshed our coffers by a little over six hundred dollars. Thanks to our "money-changer" for keeping track of the finances.  

The contest produced endless laughter and five winners.  The voting was intense. Everyone present took their role in "people's choice" seriously, although I'm not sure what to make of the Scotch mint in one of the voting jars.

As a surprise, an engineer in our congregation arrived with trophies he had made especially for the event, one for each category. Winners got a certificate AND a one-of-a-kind trophy.

And the Winners Are. . .

Norma for Scottish Shortbread. 

Pam for whipped shortbread.

Ann for flavoured (she used lemon.)

Emily for decorated -- espresso shortbread dipped in chocolate!

And the one everyone waited for ... Men's! Won by Alan

What a way to start Christmas week -- with carols, shortbread, laughter and friends. Thanks to everyone who made it possible.

Please, Sir, More

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

This week at SPPC meant, food, food and more food. We began on Sunday with the sacrament of the Lord's Supper. We ate of the living bread, refreshing our souls and ministering to our spiritual hunger.

Even though I am reporting on the feasting for this week, I must mention that Norma, Pam, Elizabeth and Darlene started off the month of December with a quiche luncheon the folk in their elders districts.

Mid-week, the "out to lunch bunch" treated themselves to what has become a popular tradition, Christmas dinner at the B.C. Legislature. The pictures tell the story of beautifully decorated surroundings, good company and delicious food.

On Friday, there was food, fun and music in the Ross Lounge as Joan and Janet hosted a Christmas lunch for their elder districts. The music was a real treat as, Greg, our piano tuner, was in the church and accompanied our carols. The only payment we offered was a cup of tea and a mini-quiche. Fortunately, Greg loves to play and encourage others to make music, so we were all happy.

Today, Monday Dec 22, is the sunshine lunch, so more food for the body and friendship for the soul.

When Oliver Twist held out his empty bowl and asked for more gruel, the stewards of the orphanage were horrified. 

The master was a fat, healthy man; but he turned very pale. He gazed in stupified astonishment on the small rebel for some seconds, and then clung for support to the copper. The assistants were paralysed with wonder; the boys with fear. 

We don't live in Dickensian England, but, sadly, the need for "more" in children's bowls has not gone away. The Saanich Peninsula Lions Food Bank responds to hungry folk with compassion and a hamper.

At SPPC we support the Food Bank all year long, but particularly at Christmas. On Sunday, we wrapped our current food drive with several boxes of donations along with cash. 

Also, during the service the "white gifts" for our shut-ins were dedicated.

Just because it is Christmas we made the occasion more festive, entering the names of those who donated to the food bank into a draw. Rebekah performed the honours during coffee hour and Emily S. was the winner.  

Even though our official food drive has ended for this season, we encourage all who are able to remember the food bank on a regular basis. We can accept donations at SPPC, or you can drop into their location at 9586 Fifth St, Sidney, BC V8L 2W5  

Phone: (250) 655-0679

Next week, all are invited to our Advent 3 service at 10:00 am on Dec. 21.

The Great Peninsula Shortbread Bakeoff and Carol Sing takes place on the same day at 2:00 pm. Please join us.

Christmas Eve, Dec. 24, at 7:00 pm we hold our annual Carols by Candlelight service. This is a very special time of music and lessons, fellowship and joy. Please come, and bring your friends and family. There is room for all.

Christmas morning, Dec. 25 at 10:30 we gather once again for a short service of carols to celebrate the birth of Jesus, the Prince of Peace, Emmanuel - God with us.