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Worship for July 20 - "We Proclaim and Respond"Follow along to our order of service here.
Image: Fra Angelico (c. 1400-1455 CE). San Marco, Florence. |
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Summer 2025 Series: How We WorshipWe 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 July 20 - We Proclaim August 3 - We Celebrate August 17 - We are Sent
Mark your calendars! |
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Proclamation and GraceToday, Rob Shearer, one of our clergy riffs off of our summer series and shares some thoughts on proclamation (and more specifically, preaching) from his journey across various Christian traditions. +++ One important and beautiful part of my sojourn through the various traditions of Christianity was through the Roman Catholic Church. At the time, I can remember saying to a United Church of Canada minister friend of mine - I really love the ritual and tradition and the colours and the depth of theology and the beauty and mystery of the eucharist in Catholicism - but I'm stumped... Most of the time, the sermons really do suck. That minister looked at me and said, wisely, I believe: Rob, you grew up Pentecostal and have been part of the United Church. The 'centre' of worship in both of those traditions, at least classically, is the proclamation and explanation of the word - the sermon. Most Roman Catholics are just there to endure the homily (ie 'short sermon') in order to get to the 'meat' of why they're really there - the Eucharist...
image: This CartoonChurch.com cartoon by Dave Walker originally appeared in the Church Times. |
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North Park Hampers ::: More Helpers NeededWe'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. |
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AbbeyChurch and Emmaus in Times ColonistCheck 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 |
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Miss worship in past weeks?Check out our first in a series exploring how we worship - as Lynn and Rob led us in dialogue with Matt around what it means to Gather! Watch at the link below, or head to our archive on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AbbeyChurch And read along with the liturgy at this link. |
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Weekday Morning Prayer+ 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. |
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Rags of Light:Save the date for an event we're exciting to be hosting. It'll be a free evening of music and conversation with writer Brian Walsh and Winnipeg singer-songwriter Rachel Coleman happening in September. There will be songs from Leonard, as well as from Rachel's excellent new album. This event will serve as the west coast release party of both Brian's new book about Cohen and Rachel's album. It'll be free - but we will pass a hat around, have books and CDs for sale. We'll soon have free have tickets available at our sponsors as well as on eventbrite. Check back soon.
You can check out an interview about Brian's book, Rags of Light here. And Rachel Coleman's website is here and her youtube playlist for the album is here. |
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AbbeyYouth after SchoolAfter 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
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About UsThe 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'. |
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Bottle Drive for friends of GazaA dear friend passed along this invitation to support a woman and her children in Gaza through a bottle drive - we invite you to participate as you are able!
Friends - as some of you may know, a small group of folks in Victoria are supporting a woman and her children in Gaza - if you drop cans and bottles off at any recycling depot, you just have to say it's for "Cans and Bottles for Gaza", and your refund will be credited to this fundraiser -
- to make an even bigger difference, the local group will be at the Glanford Return depot at 4261 Glanford Avenue from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, July 20th - they/we will be in the no-sort area - I believe it's in the SE corner of the lot on the Glanford Return Depot site, 4261 Glanford Avenue
If you can't make the bottle drive but would like to support, please write to us admin@emmauscommunity.ca and we'll put you in touch.
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Support for Goldstream - call to write lettersFriends, 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.
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. |
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Youth Trek 2025YouthTREK 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. |
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Hiroshima-Nagasaki DayWednesday, 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 |
