Read more for details.

Would you like to experience the Way of the Cross in a different way? 

During Holy Week, from 10 AM on Holy Monday, the Church of the Advent will host an outdoor Way of the Cross installation in the church gardens. 

Each of the fourteen stations will feature the work of artist Edward Webber. While you meditate on an artwork, you can listen to a recording of the station's reading and prayers on your phone, read by our own Lenn Enns, which can be accessed by scanning a QR code. The images and audio of the Way of the Cross will be available on our website. A booklet for the Way of the Cross will be available to borrow from the Narthex, for those who would prefer.

Join us at 6:30 pm tomorrow evening in the Hall for a slightly different Maundy Thursday experience!  The service will be in the context of an Agape Meal - we'll sit around the table and break bread together in a beautiful Eucharist service as a community, remembering and living out that night nearly 2000 years ago. There will still be the washing of the feet/hands.

Join us at 10 AM on Good Friday for a 90-minute time of reflection on Jesus' last hours through song, meditation and unique prayer installations, including the opportunity to walk a labyrinth.

This service will be followed by an outdoor Way of the Cross service.

Do remember to pick up your Easter Pastoral letter in the Narthex after the service!

Photo by Annie Spratt, Unsplash

The Easter Vigil Service is one of the oldest and most beautiful ways to begin Easter.

We are delighted to be able to share this experience on Saturday, April 19th at 6 pm with Sr. Ingrid and Fr. Dimas, in both English and Spanish - with a bulletin in your language of choice.

The service begins outside with the lighting of the Easter fire - from which the Paschal (Easter) Candle is first lit.
We will follow the ancient tradition of holding a baptism during this service.

Please join us for the service, and for the festive Pot Luck Supper in the hall afterwards!

This year, we are again offering unique and powerful ways to experience Easter.

Easter actually begins with the ancient and beautiful Easter Vigil, also known as the Great Vigil. The service begins in darkness, after sunset on Holy Saturday and consists of The Service of Light (kindling of new fire, lighting the Paschal candle), Scripture Readings that tell the story of our faith, from Creation to the Resurrection of Jesus, the singing of hymns and a joyful Baptism.  Join us for our bilingual Easter Vigil on Saturday 19th, at 6 PM.    

The Easter Sunrise service at 6 AM has become increasingly popular. We gather on the Esquimalt Lagoon beach (the bridge side), just before the sun rises, to greet Jesus with the dawn on Easter Day!

Easter services will take place at the church at 8.30 and at 10 AM. Families, don’t forget the Easter egg hunt following the later service, courtesy of Jill and William Dolan.

On Easter Sunday we invite parishioners to bring a flower (or flowers) to the service, with which to decorate our traditional Easter Cross. They can be any kind of flowers whether picked outside or purchased at the store.

Picture: https://unsplash.com/@leekos

For anyone who would like to contribute, we invite parishioners on Easter Sunday to bring along hot cross buns (one donation of buns per family) that are sliced and either buttered or not to share during coffee hour after the 10:00 service.

Image: https://unsplash.com/s/photos/hot-cross-buns

Citizens’ Environment Network in Colwood (CENIC) hopes that you will be able to attend their outdoor presentation of this year’s CENIC Environmental Stewardship Award winners, one of which is a Church of the Advent parishioner!

They would very much like to have you there to help us celebrate the amazing individual, business and organization, all working  towards a sustainable environment in our community. A tree will be planted in Herm Williams Park, in honour of the Individual Environmental Stewardship Award winner.

The names of the Award recipients will be announced at the event on the 23rd - be there!

We celebrate Spring with our very popular Potluck Dinner on Saturday, April 26th at 6:30 PM! Please sign up in the Narthex to tell us how many of you are attending, and what you are bringing. Also, very importantly, we need people to sign up to help to set up and to tidy up afterwards - so the work is fairly shared out between many people.

At Messy Church this time, we're learning about women of power in the Bible!
Messy Church is a fun, creative form of church for people of all ages, a celebration time with story, prayer, and songs; and a sit-down meal together at tables and hospitality.
It’s church for people at all stages of faith journey and of any age. Come and join us – you’ll enjoy it!

Come to Messy Church on Saturday, October 19th (10 am to 12:30 pm) for crafts, activities, music, stories and lunch. 

Did you know that we have an amazing BBQ lunch with hamburgers and hot dogs and snacks on sale day? And did you know that Jose Perena Pratt and her team create a beautiful boutique in the narthex, displaying a wide array of vintage and other lovely things selected from items brought for the sale? Any help you can provide even for an hour or two during our days of preparation, Apr 28 to May 2, would be appreciated. All the careful sorting and setting out of donated items provides a great experience for our shoppers on the sale day, May 3rd.

We still need help at most of the tables and stations on sale day. Please check the sign-up sheets on the entryway table and add your name where you can help out. A big thanks to everyone who has already signed up. If you’re thinking of helping but would like more information, please contact Bill or Linda Van Sickle at 778 265 5347. Let’s take this opportunity to come together as a parish and make this a great event for our Westshore community.

We need your help!  The church garage contains many boxes of books left over from the Book Sale last fall.  We need the storage space now for Garage Sale items.  The Times Colonist is holding their annual Book Sale on May 3-4.  They are holding a Book Drop-Off on Saturday, April 19 and Sunday, April 20, from 9 am to 3:30 pm.  Please bring your vehicle to the church garage on Thursday, April 17, 10 am to noon or Saturday, April 19, 9 am to noon, where we will help you load boxes of books into your vehicle.  You can deliver them to the TC Drop-Off at the Victoria Curling Club at 1952 Quadra St on the days and times noted above.  Any questions? Contact Linda Van Sickle

Does your family know your wishes for your funeral? Will your wishes be honoured after you have passed?

We don't often like to talk about the "last things" -  advance directives, funerals, legacies. Lent is an ideal time for us to stop and to plan ahead. 

Join Sr. Ingrid, Diocesan Chancellor (lawyer) Isabel Weeks and Diocesan Treasurer Joel Hefty, as they talk about the realities of advance directives, the tax implications of how your will is set up, and how to support the ministry of our church community for the future.

Sister Ingrid encourages you to take some times to plan the funeral service that YOU would like, so that we can celebrate your life in a way that you choose. It makes it easier for your family when that time comes.

Please sign up in the Narthex, or at the link below.

There is no Book Study this coming Tuesday because of Parish Council. We continue next week with our study of Bishop Budde's book How we Learn to be Brave. The Book Study comprises 7 sessions, and will be held on Tuesday evenings, from 7pm - 8 pm, in the St John's room on the following dates:

April 29
May 6

To attend online, please use this link: https://bc-anglican-ca.zoom.us/j/86314562121 

Don't be concerned if you cannot attend every session - read the book and attend the sessions you can.

We've received a few queries about our hard or hearing devices with headsets.  We are pleased to report that we now have 3 complete systems which will allow the parishioners to wear them and amplify the service including the sermon.  If you would like more information, or instructions on the use of the system, please see Mike Armstrong or call him at 250-857-2225.

Readings for this Sunday's services:

Isaiah 65: 17-25

Psalm 118: 1-2, 14-24

Acts 10: 34-43

John 20: 1-18

Read Sunday's readings online:
1. Go to https://lectionary.anglican.ca/  
2. Select next Sunday's date in the space at the bottom.
3. Click "Link to full text for this day".

For anyone who would like to explore the concept of self-emptying (kenosis) mentioned by Sister Ingrid in her sermon last Sunday, Cynthia Bourgeault’s excellent book, The Wisdom Jesus: Transforming Heart and Mind, is on this week’s Top Shelf.

Also on display this week is a selection of books from the new Celtic Christianity section:

Jane Bentley and Neil Paynter. Around a Thin Place: An Iona Pilgrimage Guide. An illustrated descriptive guide with reflections, Bible readings, prayers, and poems.

Oliver Davies and Fiona Bowie. Celtic Christian Spirituality: An Anthology of Medieval and Modern Sources. An introduction to Celtic Christianity, followed by prose, poetry, and works from the oral tradition.

Mary C. Earle and Sylvia Maddox. Praying with the Celtic Saints. An anthology of descriptions of the Celtic saints with prayers and reflections.

James P. Mackey. An Introduction to Celtic Christianity. A comprehensive introduction and history.

Michael Mitton. Restoring the Woven Cord: Strands of Celtic Christianity for the Church Today. Organized around themes, and linking them to particular saints, this book also poses questions for reflection on how Celtic Christian insights might be applied in the modern Church.

To borrow any book, please fill out a green loan slip from the small bookcase in the narthex, and put it in the pink box labelled “Library.” If you have a book due for return, please fill out a yellow return slip instead, and leave your book beside the box. Thank you.

All are welcome to join us on Thursdays for our relaxed and interesting Zoom online Bible Study, to look at the readings for the following Sunday. No experience or prior knowledge is needed.

Time: 10 AM - 11 AM.

Zoom Link:  

https://bc-anglican-ca.zoom.us/j/88378461340?pwd=cU9wSUNEZG02M3h3bGVrUmpyMjRNZz09

Meeting ID: 883 7846 1340
Passcode: 4743031

All are welcome to join us on Thursdays for our relaxed and interesting Zoom online Bible Study, to look at the readings for the following Sunday. No experience or prior knowledge is needed.

An opportunity has arisen for us to reschedule our lively, interactive Bible Study to an evening slot from 6 PM - 7 PM. This would allow people who work during the day to participate. We will begin and end promptly and on time. We can unfortunately not meet at a later time, as we have older participants.

We are considering either: 

- Wednesday evening 6-7 - hybrid, St John's Room, so that choir members can leave and go straight to practice.
- Thursday evening 6-7 - online.

Please vote at the link below.

Holy Week:

                Wed Evening Prayer, 6 PM – led by Linda Van Sickle

                Apr 17 Maundy Thursday Agape Meal & Services, 6:30 PM
                Apr 18 Good Friday Service, 10 AM

Easter:

                Apr 19 Easter Vigil Service (Spanish & English), 6 PM
                Apr 20 Easter Sunrise Service, 6 am at Esquimalt Lagoon
                Apr 20 Easter Sunday, 8:30 & 10 am Services

Apr 23 Ladies Guild Lunch, Noon

Apr 26 Messy Church, 10 am (Church of the Advent)
             Spring Potluck, 6:30 pm

April 28 – Election Day in Church of the Advent Hall

Apr 29-30 Garage Sale Prep Week

May 3 Garage Sale Day

May 10 Death & Taxes Workshop, Church, 10 am - noon

Lent is the season of 40 days leading up to Easter. This season is a time of intentional reflection when we make space in our lives for God to change our hearts in preparation for the new life that awaits us in the resurrection.

Click the link below to watch the sixth video in our lenten series, Staying Grounded in Times of Chaos. In this series, voices from across our diocese have shared practices from our tradition that help us live out our faith when the world feels crazy. This is the last video in the series. 

In this week's video Dean Jonathan Thomas reminds us that Lent is not the season that gets us ready for Good Friday but rather it is the season that prepares us to celebrate Easter. Where the world today induces anxiety, he encourages us to push back with intentional acts of joy and signs of resurrection hope. 

To watch this week's video or all the videos in the series, please click here.

Faith Tides is the online, faith-based publication of the Anglican Diocese of Islands and Inlets (BC). Through news stories, reflections and feature articles Faith Tides aims to showcase the work God is doing through our churches. It is a space where people of faith and doubt can walk alongside one another, share their stories and grow together.

This month, there is an article about our own Taylor Gossman and her Environmental Expo!

To read the March/April issue online or download a PDF version, click READ MORE.

The next installment of the John Albert Hall Lecture Series is Where We Live: Critical Perspectives on our Built and Natural Environments. This event is taking place on Saturday, April 26, 2025 at Christ Church Cathedral in Victoria, and will include two sessions.

During Session One: The Natural Environment (9:30 am - 12 pm) Catherine Keller, professor of Constructure Theology at Drew University, and Mari Joerstad, associate professor of Hebrew Bible at Vancouver School of Theology, will discuss the most current thinking on how Christians do, can, and must connect their faith lives with the plight of our global climate. 

Session Two: The Built Environment (1 - 3 pm) is a panel discussion moderated by CBC radio host Gregor Craigie. Among the panelists will be diocesan executive director Brendon Neilson. 

To register for this event, click the link below, or click READ MORE.

Sunday
 8:30 AM - Traditional Eucharist, Book of Common Prayer
(no choir) Chapel

10:00 AM - Contemporary Eucharist, Book of Alternative Services,
with choir 

First Saturday of the Month
5:00 PM - Taize service with singing  Chapel (except August and January)

Fourth Saturday of the Month
6 PM - Spanish Language Anglican Eucharist Service  

Office hours are Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays

from 9 am until noon.