Join us for worship Sunday - this Joyful Eastertide is not over yet!  

Michelle preaches on Paul's great address on Mars Hill....

Rob presides at Jesus' open table... 

The band leads us in song...

There will be bread and wine. Christ's Table is set - and all are welcome. Come ...

The children's program continues with Abi and June...  Youth are welcomed to be full participants in worship...

It's also Mother's Day - we'll have copies of the 1870 Mother's Day Manifesto to give out and put on your fridge -  and the liturgy will have some suggestions of God as our Mother.

The order of service leaflet is available here.

This church would not survive without its members' participation. To sign up for scripture reading or other helping roles, please click here or chat with Margot, our rota coordinator.

Image: George E. Koronaios CC BY-SA 4.0  On the Areopagus (Mars Hill), 22 September 2020.jpg via WikiCommons

For the May long weekend, we are going to gather for a backyard potluck with simple Communion! 

We will begin around 4pm with a simple celebration of Communion followed by a potluck. 

We will meet in the backyard of 4027 Quadra Street!   

For accessibility: the Quadra St bus stop is just 50m away, and there is lots of parking in Saanich municipal lot right next door.  The backyard is accessed by going down a short ramp and up 5 steps on the other side.

Call Matt with questions:  250-208-7296

There will be no regular Abbey worship on this Sunday - join us back in the space on May 24.

With Denise Nadeau - AbbeyChurch & Author of Unsettling Spirit: A Journey into Decolonization & Rob Shearer – Clergy @ AbbeyChurch, former Catholic Worker.

Location: The Upper Room (Emmaus Library, Prayer Space, Office)

ALL Welcome! Enter off the parking lot, up the metal stairs. Call or text 778 977 7562 for barrier-free entry

Masking encouraged / and masks available

Email rob@robshearer.org for more info   +    Sponsored by the abbeychurch

We had a bit of a administrative backlog - but we're exctied to share that our sermon archive from Lent, Holy Week and Easter Season is posted and now up to date! 

Check out all the recently posted reflections from Reba, Lynn, Michelle, Mitch, Matt, Ernest & Cathy 

You can check it our on our YouTube page here.

We've at Emmaus and AbbeyChurch have been a part of helping out on hampers for a while.  If you can help out somewhat regularly, please do drop them a line!

If you would like to give to support the work NPNA does in serving food to our neighbours you can do so at this link.

NOTE: Morning Prayer happens 4 weekday mornings - join us at any of these times:

+ Mondays at 9am - Morning Prayer with Centering Prayer @ The Upper Room (aka AbbeyChurch office - off the Balmoral parking lot, metal stairs up) - in-person only.  There is not usually AM prayer on holiday Mondays - including the upcoming Victoria Day.

+ Tuesdays at 9am - Morning Prayer  @ Emmaus/AbbeyChurch Upper Room  (off the Balmoral parking lot, metal stairs up) - in-person and online.

+ Thursdays at 8:15am - Morning Prayer - @ The Upper Room  (off the Balmoral parking lot, metal stairs up) - in-person and online.

+ Fridays at 8:15am - Morning Prayer - online on zoom only.

Our weekday common prayer is liturgical in nature and based on ancient monastic practices.

It's open to all who wish to join in-person or online.

We sometimes chant the psalms, listen to a reading or readings assigned for the day, have a short period of silence, sharing and intercessory prayer.

The liturgies and psalter for weekday prayer are posted here.  

Please do email for a zoom link if you are joining online.

Our youth minister and administrator Lucy O'Brien is heading on to other things and is no longer working with AbbeyChurch. 

We're grateful for Lucy's time with us at AbbeyChurch - and wish her deep blessings and peace on the next steps of the journey!

We're taking a short break from youth programming as we figure out next steps.  Please speak to Matt or members of AbbeyCouncil if you have any input or questions.

More soon on that!  In the meantime, youth are (of course!) very welcome in worship.

The Emmaus Community is a neo-monastic intentional community of ordinary people who commit ourselves to following Jesus in ways akin to the monastic life.

The AbbeyChurch is a Sunday worship expression of the Emmaus Community. 

Not all AbbeyChurch folks are part of Emmaus - you're welcome to be a part of AbbeyChurch regardless of connection to Emmaus!

As a witness to unity and diversity, we are an ecumenical shared ministry of The United Church of Canada and The Anglican Church of Canada. We intentionally draw on the 'jewels' of these traditions, as well as the wider church.

The Emmaus Community and the AbbeyChurch acknowledge that we worship, take action and pray on the stolen territory of the Songhees and Xwsepsum (Esquimalt) Nations, the Lək̓ʷəŋən  peoples'.

We're grateful for your contributions to our common life as both Emmaus and the AbbeyChurch.

We are  our own registered CRA charity and have our own bank account!

We  accept e-transfers to treasurer@emmauscommunity.ca for charitable donations.  If you'd like a charitable receipt, please email your contact information to that same address or fill out this form so we can send you a receipt at tax time.

In addition to the many ways to participate, there are a number of ways you can give finanically - including PAR (monthly withdrawl), CanadaHelps (one-time giving) and by cash or debit (via Square) on Sundays at AbbeyChurch. 

You can read more about the options and a bit about our finances here. 

In this section, and posted below, are things that folks have flagged as wanting to share with the community.  If you have something you'd like to add, please email admin@abbeychurch.ca and we'll do our best to get it in!

Learn about Straits Salish plant practices such as estuarine gardens, Indigenous ecosystem management, and their relationship with Indigenous legal orders, Aboriginal title, and UNDRIP.

Pamela Spalding is an ethnobotanist whose research examines dimensions of Indigenous people’s relationships with plants, ecosystems, resource stewardship, Indigenous feminism, Indigenous legal orders, and customary legal landscapes. She is a citizen of Métis Nation BC and an assistant professor in the Indigenous Studies Department at University of Victoria.

This event is hosted by Reconciling with Indigenous Peoples and the Land (RIPL).

Registration required

--

Reconciling with Indigenous Peoples and the Land

reconcilAction.jbuc@gmail.com

We acknowledge that we are occupying unceded land of the Strait Salish, lək̓ʷəŋən speaking people who have been sustained in body, mind and spirit through their relationship with this land for thousands of years.

This last week, the North Park Neighbourhood Association began to collect input around the proposed redevelopment of the United Commons building (where we worship).  They cite concerns including a lack of meaningful community consultation, parking impacts, loss of community spaces, a shifting project focus, the privileging of regional arts groups over local / neighbourhood ones - and lack of a committment to affordable housing.

You can read about their concerns here.