Reminder: NO SUNDAY WORSHIP GATHERING FOR TOMORROW, JULY 13. We'll be ack the following Sunday, July 20th at 4pm.

We will worship in July and August, gathering every other week. 

Our series will explore 'How We Worship.'  Click to watch the Intro video here (YouTube). 

We gather at United Commons for worship on the following Sundays:

July 6 - We Gather - watch the full video here

July 20 - We Proclaim

August 3 - We Celebrate

August 17 - We are Sent 

(all at 4pm here in the AbbeyChurch Sanctuary). 

Mark your calendars! 

We are delighted to have a friend of the community joining us for three days to lead us in sorting and cataloguing our library (thanks Bailey!)  We will begin around noon on Monday in the Upper Room and continue all day Tuesday and again on Wednesday morning!  

If you are able to lend a hand please join us and bring a laptop or tablet if you have one.   Our entire library will eventually be made available as an online database and community folk are always welcome to lend books!

Check out the latest article from Kevin Aschenbrenner (of Emmaus and AbbeyChurch) where he says: "That... is the closest we humans can come to God’s all-encompassing love, and I see it modeled by my fellow community members every Sunday and when we gather at other times. We’re always just glad to see each other, hear about what’s going on and then join together for a service full of beauty and music – and something that’s uniquely us."

Check out the whole article here (external link to Times-Colonist 'Spiritually Speaking' blog) 

Image: via Times-Colonist

After lots of discussion, we've decided to take hiatus from summertime youth gatherings.  See you at the end of August!

Any questions? Call or text Lucy at 587-700-6470

+ 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. 

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

+ Thursdays at 8:15am - Morning Prayer - @ The Upper Room  (off the Balmoral parking lot, metal stairs up) / hybrid zoom.

+ Fridays at 8:15am - Morning Prayer - on-line 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.

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!

Friends, we were delighted to have Carl Olsen speak to us last Fall about the work he and other have been doing to resist the BC government's plan to expand the highway through Goldstream.   That 162 million project now appears to be approved, as per the latest provincial budget released. 

We are asking concerned members of our community to adapt the following letter and sign your name before sending on to several BC government officers (contact in the letter). 

Please have a look at our sample letter here, with thanks to Denise and the Reconciliation Group at James Bay United for drawing out attention to this important issue.  

Wednesday, 6 August 2025 at 6pm

Gorge Park Pavilion, 1070 Tillicum Road, Esquimalt BC

A free, family friendly community event held outdoors at the beautiful

Japanese-style Gorge Park Pavilion commemorating the 80th anniversary

of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Each year, peace is celebrated and its importance remembered through lanternmaking, music, poetry, dance and drumming that moves and inspires us.

Lantern-making will begin at 6:00 pm indoors on the ground floor of the

Pavilion, with all materials provided.

The program will begin at 7:30 pm and the event ends with the launching of

the lanterns in the Pavilion reflecting pools at 9 pm.

* People are asked to bring lawn chairs or a blanket if possible; some chairs will be provided.*

A donation bottle will be passed for those who would like to contribute to the cost of the event.

Register and get the map link here on Eventbrite.

Honouring Peace is a project of:  The Greater Victoria Peace School (GVPS), with support from the Victoria Nikkei Cultural Society(VNCS), the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War Canada (IPPNWC), Gettin’ Higher Choir and the Victoria Multifaith Society 

YouthTREK VERNON is a three-day gathering that will bring youth (12-15yrs) and their leaders together! We’ve been dreaming, planning, and gathering, all to make these events full of joy.

What will we do, you ask?

Play, sing, worship, gather around food, talk about things that matter to us, support the community, meet new friends, and greet old ones, all in a place of radical, inclusive Christian welcome, and so. Much. Joy.  

The Emmaus Community, which 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.