NOTICES  Sept. 2, 2018

There are quite a few Notices this week so please persist and read through! The TOO HOT, TOO LAZY & TOO BUSY to BAKE SALE will be held on Sunday, September 16th after the service.  Put it in your calendar and plan to be pleasantly surprised!  Your invitation will be waiting for you on Sunday the 9th.  BAKERS – instead of baking, we are asking you to provide the recipe you would have used for the bake sale.  Can you please bring it to church this Sunday or email it in to Kat by next Tuesday morning (Sept. 4)?  We will compile all the recipes in a small booklet that will be made available at the “sale.”

If you shop at Thrifty Foods, you can support St. Mary’s in such an easy way.  Simply ask one of the wardens or Selinde for a SMILE card.  You load it up/put money on it at the Thrifty’s cashier, and then use it as a credit card when you shop.  5% of every purchase you make goes directly to St. Mary’s. What a fantastic fundraiser!   “Why not ask your family or friends who shop at Thrifty’s if they would be willing to sign on and support us?”

HUB Wednesdays resume next week with Hymn Sing and Bible Study at 10:30 (in the church and library respectively). EVERYONE is welcome.  Check out what interests you.  No pressure … just come and see!  A simple and tasty lunch follows at 11:45. Again, everyone is welcome to come and eat, not just those attending Hymn Sing or Bible Study. There will be a sign-up sheet for people to contribute soup, buns, cheese or dessert to the HUB lunch in the Hall on Sunday.  Looking forward to lively Wednesdays again!

Quiet Garden – a morning of contemplation. We are looking for anyone who would like to offer their yard for a Quiet Garden.  All you need to do is offer your garden space; Trefor will offer the program.  It’s not about having a perfect garden, it’s about offering a space where people can gather in the peace of God’s creation. Please speak to Trefor or Selinde. Thank you!   Coming up in a few weeks – PILGRIMAGE!  Selinde has arranged a mini pilgrimage experience for Tuesday, September 11th at Bethlehem Centre in Nanaimo.  We will meet at 1:00pm for a short prayer before heading off to walk around Westwood Lake (about 1.5 hours). We will end at the Centre with a Communion Service.  People who can’t or don’t want to walk that distance are invited to walk the labyrinth or enjoy the grounds.   Please register with KAT in the office.  A donation of $5 - $10 would be appreciated.

St. Mary’s very own David Russell will be receiving the Order of the Diocese of B.C. on Saturday, October 20th at 10:30 at Christ Church Cathedral in Victoria. Everyone is welcome to attend. If you would like to stay overnight, the Laurel Point Inn has put aside rooms at a special rate. Ask Selinde or Jean Russell for more information.  

St. Mary’s has recently received a very generous donation from a former parishioner, Marianne O’Brien.  We invite everyone to sign a thank you card in the Hall on Sunday after the service.  

We have a financial update for you. On Sunday, your rector will summarize that report. At the end of the service you will receive a letter from your Rector and Parish Council, the picture of our financial state as of July 2018, as well as a financial summary of all the special projects we’ve undertaken this year.

Synod 2018 fast approaches. Please pray for all the participants who will be attending that as a community of believers, they will make decisions that best serve our church and our communities. The following prayer is one way to help prepare the way for an honest, hopeful and meaningful and Spirit-led gathering:Gracious God - Enable the upcoming Synod to be another step on the journey of reconciliation, a journey that shapes and transforms us as Anglicans on these islands and inlets. By your grace and mercy, renew our hearts and spirits. Through your Spirit, remake us into the people you would have us become. Help out us live out your Word, as You live in us. Amen.