From the Rector's Desk

Did you know that there are only 23 weeks until Christmas? It may only be the middle of July, but some of us are already thinking festive thoughts – I was even gifted a new church for my Christmas village just yesterday! The chorus I sing in is already looking into Christmas music, and many churches have begun planning Christmas Fairs and special events for the season, as time will go by quickly between now and then. However, here at St. Mary’s we still haven’t had anyone come forward to take on organizing the Christmas Fair and as a decision needs to be made before the end of July, time is running short.

That being said, there has been an idea floating around during coffee hour… an idea that would involve less planning, fewer meetings, less organizing and less heaving lifting … while still being a whole lot of fun and a wonderful festive event for the wider community. The broad idea is to keep things festive but simply offer a Christmas “High Tea” with a bake sale beside. And then alongside this, have a special Advent offering for Christmas to help offset what we may have made at the larger fair in past years.

While this is still just an idea at this point, we would like to invite anyone who is interested in hearing more about this idea – or chatting about details of how we can still do something festive, fun and not too burdensome – to join us on Tuesday, July 23 @ 10am in the church. Marg and a few others will be gathered to discuss what might be possible for us this Christmas Season.

Looking forward to the conversation,

Kirsten +

 

Kitchen Ministry

Do you have the gift of organization? Or first-hand experience of what makes a kitchen run well or enjoy the satisfaction of a cleaning?  Well, we are looking for someone who might be interested in starting up a Kitchen ministry at St. Mary's. The details are still to be sorted out, but the intention is this person would oversee things such as supplies, ensuring counters and sinks etc… are clean and dishes/supplies sorted and organized. This would also include a deep clean of the kitchen on occasion, and hopefully this person would be willing to get their FOODSAFE/FOOD HANDLER certification (at the church's expense). If this might be something you are interested in, or perhaps you and a friend or two – please speak to the Wardens!

 

 

On Sunday Kirsten mentioned that some important dates would be coming out for workshops within our Oceanside Anglican community. While there will be more information on each of these events as we get closer, here are the dates to remember!

 

Friday Sept 13th @ 1pm – 3pm    Home Visiting and Home Communion Workshop held at St. Mark’s Qualicum Beach

Wednesday Sept 18th @ 1:30 -3pm    Prayers of the People Workshop at St. Mary’s Nanoose Bay

Monday October 21st – 1pm -3pm     Living Will Workshop at St. Mark’s Qualicum Beach

Thursdays October 3 – Nov 14th (every week) 1pm -3pm at St. Edmunds Parksville: Intersections – A seven-week course led by Kirsten on the history of systemic racism in BC and in particular on Vancouver Island

More info will come as the details are worked out but for those who are interested please mark your calendars and if you have questions – please speak with Kirsten.