A season of waiting, of expectation, of anticipation.  

A time of longing - for a world made whole.

A time of recollection - of the great story of God in our midst, of our own complicated stories.

We are invited to see the world afresh, in light of God's coming near in Jesus Christ.

And this week - Joy beckons us! It's Gaudete (Joy! Pink!) Sunday - and if you don't know what that means, check out this reflection by Rob from a couple of years ago. 

We welcome special guest preacher Bailey Bjolin, a Candidate for Ministry in the United Church and student at Vancouver School of Theology!  (More about Bailey below)...

The band leads us in joyful song - and we're excited to feature all of the Advent Evening Prayer settings written by Cloud!

There will be bread and wine.  Ernest presides at Christ's table, open for all to receive...

Come ...

The order of service leaflet is here.

Join us in house for 4:00pm or livestream online at this link.

To sign up for scripture reading or other helping roles, click here.

Image: Icon of the Mother of God Joy and Comfort also known as "Mother of God Paramithia”

We are grateful for all God is doing in our midst at the AbbeyChurch.  For all of you who show up and participate and offer your lives in response to the radical love of God-come-near, we are grateful! 

At our Annual Meeting last month, Nick issued an invitation for each of us to prayerfully ask how we can support the ongoing work of AbbeyChurch.  And the community prayerfully made consensus on a budget as we move towards 2026.  So here is our follow up: 

As we look forward to 2026, we are inviting folks to consider making a one-time year end gift, or to sign up for regular monthly giving in the new year.   We are in relatively good shape as we wrap up this year, and have run a very tight budget in terms of expenses throughout 2025, but we are still hoping to raise an additional $9500 by December 31.   This helps us to meet our budgetary goals and sets us in good shape as we begin 2026.  Could you support us in that effort? 

You can now send offerings by e-transfer to treasurer@emmauscommunity.ca  or talk to Lynn, our treasurer to pickup a form for monthly giving (PAR)!  There is also a point-of-sale machine at the back table for debit or credit card donations (taken through Square).  Or finally, give through Canadahelps by clicking the QR code in the leaflet every week. All donations are eligible for a charitable receipt for income tax purposes.   If you have given through e-transfer or square, please reach out to Lynn to confirm your contact details in order to receive a charitable receipt! 

Thank you for your partnership with us in this ministry!  

Bailey (pictured right) is an MDiv student at the Vancouver School of Theology. She is interested in Christian community, ecumenism, and evangelicalism. When Bailey isn't talking about church or thinking about church, she is probably napping. Bailey and Julia (Bailey's partner) are excited to be visiting the AbbeyChurch/Emmaus community this weekend! And we are happy to have them!

We have another day of working on cataloging the library this afternoon, Saturday December 13, from noon until 4pm.

If you're interested in joining, drop by or email Lynn at library@emmauscommunity.ca.

You can learn more about our library and access the catalog here. 

This week our community spotlight falls on Denise Nadeau, a seasoned academic, passionate advocate for justice, and a treasured member of our community. Denise has been an important presence in the life of our community, and always has an eye for justice and reconciliation in our community discussions. We are greateful not only for her commitment to AbbeyChurch, but also for her willingness to open up to the community about her personal story. Thank you Denise!

Tell us a bit about yourself

I’m from Quebec, of mixed European heritage, French mixed with Scottish, Irish and English, and I grew up in Montreal. Both my ancestral families have been there for several generations - My Dad’s family settled in Mi’gmaq territory, my Mom’s in Kanyen'kehá : ka ( Mohawk). This settler history has affected how I see the world. I came to Victoria 8 years ago after many years moving between the Comox Valley , Vancouver and Montreal. I am a writer, educator, movement therapist, mother and grandmother.

How did you find yourself at Abbey Church?

Someone told me about Abbey when I first arrived in Victoria, but it took me awhile to get here. I hung around the Toronto and Tacoma Catholic Worker communities in the late 90’s and early 2000’s at about the same time Rob Shearer was there. I was walking by Abbey one afternoon, feeling disconnected from church organizations that were urging neutrality during recent world conflicts.  I decided to walk up the rainbow stairs and there was Rob preparing for a liturgy and I saw a Black Lives Matter sign and a red dress and my body relaxed. This felt like home.

What continues to draw you to Abbey?

What continues to draw me to Abbey are the sermons and the music. I am a sermon geek and I like guitar and the variety of music. I picked up a tone of non-judgment – you can be who you are here and be accepted. And I like the open communion table. It speaks volumes for me. I like that Abbey supports QomQem.

Tell us a bit about your faith journey.

I grew up Catholic in Montreal and went to a convent for high school. I felt called to religious life but being a nun didn’t look like fun and priest hood was not an option. I stopped going to church at 17 but I had a personal crisis when I was 33, a custody case where being a lesbian meant losing your children. I turned to a Catholic base community for spiritual consolation. The next year I attended the World Council of Churches gathering in Vancouver and the rest is history. I did a degree at Vancouver Schol of Theology and later went to San Francisco Theological Seminary for a program in International Feminist Theology. During this period and later I worked as a popular educator, trained as a dance/movement therapist, became a religious educator and eventually ended up teaching in the Religious Studies Department at Concordia University in Montreal. In the last decade I have been drawn to Zen Buddhism and am a member of Middle Way Zen sangha here in Victoria.

How do you fill your time? What brings you joy?

I get immense joy being with my two grandchildren whom I look after twice a week. I am part of a community garden with my partner, Elisa. I do beadwork and read. And I love walking in the woods, and I dance. I have a regular Buddhist meditation practice and am part of two prayer groups, a writer’s group and a dance therapy group. I write creative non-fiction. And I am activist. Too busy.

What is a cause or concern that moves you deeply, or that you are passionate about?

I am passionate about supporting Indigenous rights and protecting our lands and waters through Indigenous law. I am on the steering committee of RIPL, Reconciling with Indigenous Peoples and the Land, that grew out of James Bay United. I am involved in protecting SELEK̵TEL̵ Goldstream River and support actions for a just peace for Palestine.

Where do you sense God is at work today - in yourself, in our community, in the world?

In the astounding beauty of raindrops glistening in the sunlight on a fir tree branch, in the work of so many people who help others in need both near and far, in resistance movements everywhere. In collective silence in prayer.

Join us for worship as we celebrate the Birth of Christ!  

Come early for some hot apple cider and social time. 

We worship at 4pm.

Image: Dorothy Day and the Holy Family of the Streets, by Kelly Latimore

We've just received issues 3 and 4 of the Clowns of God 'zine.  The Advent Issue - Issue 4 - features an interview with our own Rob Shearer. Grab a copy at the back. 

Leave a wee donation if you can to help us with the cost of copying.  

With it being the new year, we have limited copies of the new Christian Seasons Calendar available for $20.

You can learn more about the calendar, an initative of UHill United Church (UBC) here. 

Miss last week?  No worries - drop in this week or next! 

Josh is an Abbey Council member who loves tea, trees, and talking about deep stuff. He has facilitated groups ranging from Bible studies to book studies to psychoeducation and processing for mental health. He believes strongly that God Wants to meet all people where they are, even the Scrooges of this world. Josh works in Victoria as a Registered Clinical Counsellor.

***

"I don't know where this year has gone." 

I’ve heard this from so many people lately I’m starting to wonder if time really has sped up the last year. It certainly seems the case for me, anyway. It feels like I was just looking forward to summer and now we’re into the bitter dregs of fall with winter fast approaching – and I’m again longing for summer.

Where, indeed, did this year go?

All of this has me thinking about time and how we observe its passing. I remember reading an article once that talked about two different types of time: chronos and kairos. Both are Greek words for time, but they have different meanings.

Chronos is quantitative – the measuring of time in hours, minutes and seconds. Kairos, on the other hand, is qualitative and points to how we experience moments of time and even how they change us. There are elements of serendipity and divine inspiration in kairos. It’s a slower, more contemplative way of thinking about time that exists outside of the relentless ticking of a clock and flipping of calendar pages.

Click here to read the rest of Kevin's piece.

Currently they are in urgent need of warm hats/toques, mitts, gloves, and scarves, umbrellas, hand warmers.  As you bring out your winter gear for the season, consider bringing anything that doesn't fit or see much use. As long as it's in good shape then please drop that in the treasure chest at the back of the sanctuary! 

After a brief hiatus, and with the appointment of a new Director, we are excited to hear that our friends at QomQem are starting Sunday evening outreach to the street community. 

Non-perishable food donations are welcome in the trunk in the back of the Church.  You can also give financial donations through the Abbey Church on our Canada Helps page at this link. and designate funds to support QomQem OR North Park food hampers program.  All donations through this page will receive a tax receipt and 100% of those funds designated will be transferred directly to support this important on the ground work!  

QomQem translates to Strong in several Coast Salish languages, including SENĆOŦEN, lək̓ʷəŋən, and HUL’Q’UMI’NUM’.  QomQem Coastal Connections is rooted in Indigenous teachings related to building and maintaining strong connections to the self, to communities, and to the territories around us.

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 will continue until Tuesday December 23.  We'll take a break from December 24-January 4 and resume on January 5.

+ 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  @ 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.

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. 

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. 

In a repressive empire,
under the regime of a violent and tyrannical ruler, an unlikely community
was being formed
by a man who acted like a prophet.
His name was Jesus.
He was rooted in the land.
He knew the stories of old. And he dared to dream of a new community where the brokenhearted and
oppressed would inherit the earth.

This zoom course runs Mondays from 7:00 - 9:00 pm EST January 12, 19, 26, and February 2, 2026.

The course utilizes a pay-what-you-can model. Please only give as you are able.