As I write this piece we are encountering our first heat wave of this summer.  It may be hot, but we are so fortunate to live in a part of the world which has seas, mountains, forests, urban and country spaces. 

Summer is the time many people travel and go on vacation to places often far from their home base. Many of these travellers come to Salt Spring Island for their holidays. Some will join us on Sunday morning for our weekly worship service. It is my hope that each of our visitors finds their experience at All Saints Anglican Church to be a blessed experience, enjoyable and uplifting of spirit. As we move from week to week through the summer, I ask each of you, the members of our congregation, to welcome our guests and to show them the same hospitality Christ modelled with the people he shared both food, healings, and teachings as he ministered to all who sought to know him better.

As we move into the Fall of 2024, we will be offering new adult education opportunities in our parish. Watch for more information about book study opportunities, a new bible study group, mid week worship service, and our regular Sunday morning worship. Besides all this, we will be celebrating the 35th anniversary of the beginning of regular worship here at All Saints. Plans are being made to hold a special 35th anniversary service on or about the Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend. More details will be made available in the coming weeks and months. If you are interested in helping plan for this anniversary, we would be pleased to have you join the team. And one final note, our music director, David Storm, is planning a special concert to help celebrate this anniversary. More to come as the summer draws on.

Finally, I wish to thank the wardens, parish council, Joe our parish administrator, our active retired clergy, our lay ministers, our musicians – Deb, Jim, Simon, and John, and our music director David; our pastoral care team, our prayer team, our altar guild, and all those many others I have missed, for making the past eight months a memorable experience. We have come a long way, and there is still some distance to go before we will call our next incumbent to be our spiritual leader. Keep praying for our parish leaders and our journey as God’s people.

This Sunday July 14th - the worship service will be led by Rev'd Canon Bill Tarter, CFC - all are welcome – 10:30am!

Blessings.

Paul+
Interim priest-in-charge

Summer is passing quickly. We continue to worship with joy and to strive to be an inclusive and welcoming community. People worship in different times and in different ways and we hope above all that all are welcome.

I have included below updates from Simon and Sally and Gloria. In addition, there is a great crew assembled to restart investigation of replacement or repair of the ramp. 

Bill Morrison has offered to coordinate the kitchen project. While his participation may add cost to the project it will be money well spent as it will hopefully mean the kitchen project moves forward. 

Our wonderful music-maker team has announced their upcoming retirement. We are extremely grateful for their ministry and will thank and celebrate them properly and officially in the coming weeks.

The Pride Flags are flying! There are three flags – the rainbow flag, the inclusive flag and the two spirit flag. We hope that their display helps assure our community that we are open to all. 

Finally on a personal note. This has been a different kind of summer for me. A new job which I choose to do, family issues requiring travel, visits from people near and dear. While I do my best I am not always in Church on Sunday. I am always available for suggestions and concerns! 

Ruth, Bishop’s Warden

Update on St Mary’s:  A small committee looking at St Mary’s continues to meet.  The major items we are looking at are the water supply system and a replacement for the oil-fired heating system.

The water supply system is an on-going problem.  Our well is next to a creek at the far end of the churchyard and the level in the well responds to the level in the creek.  Needless to say the level is now very low and has fallen below the intake that feeds through to the church, which means no water in the building.  A professional plumber who looked at it was of the opinion that the situation would not change until the autumn rains arrive.  Fortunately, the major user of the church – the Star-of-the-Sea program – have no meetings planned during the summer. We are working on finding a solution for reliable water supply throughout the year.

And we are looking at replacing the oil-fired furnace with an electrically-driven heat pump. We have received two quotations for the work and are awaiting a third.  We will be applying for a funding assistance through the CleanBC rebate program.

Simon Wheeler, St Mary’s Committee chair

From Sally and Gloria - Volunteer opportunities!

Sunday Baking:  At present we have openings for 2 bakers.  Work description: At your own home, prepare a treat to share and bring Sunday morning before the service.

We love to receive dessert goodies - cookies, slices, loaves, cakes - really anything that can be finger food - fruit ,scones, muffins - the list is endless.  You would be paired-up with a partner (so that you don't duplicate), and your turn would happen once a month.

We are finding that more people are staying after the service to have coffee or tea; and this is a great way to get to know others and a chance to find out what others are thinking about our parish's growth.

We would appreciate if each baker could bring about 2 dozen pieces.

Please contact Sally Carr (250) 537- 1556 if you can help us as a regular monthly baker, or to help out as a "spare".  Your tummy will be thankful too!

Gabriel's Kitchen - Come one and all!   SSI has a new group that our church is working with: Their mandate is to help feed and encourage the marginalized on the island by offering a free meal and provide a welcoming presence.  Since January of this year, the group has served an evening meal on Thursdays at All Saints.  There is no charge for admission, and donations help cover expenses.  There are established restaurants and grocery stores that have donated supplies, however it all started with a small grant from the government.

At present, their funding will last until Fall; and now they are busy working on establishing "charitable status" so that funding might continue.  During the summer, they have switched to serving an outdoor luncheon. These luncheons are held on Thursdays, based in the All Saints parking lot.  Food is prepared, and experienced chefs with volunteers provide salads, BBQ'd meats and seafood for whomever arrives.

YOU are cordially invited to drop by for a chance to meet the crowd.  Different members of the congregation are there to answer questions and provide extra helping hands when needed.  No need to call ahead for a reservation, this is a very flexible group!   Food arrives around 1 to1:30pm and is served by volunteers who will add your choices to your plate.  Seating at tables will await you!

The wardens are very pleased to support this outreach opportunity in our community.  Drop by on a Thursday around lunchtime and sample a surprise meal - it may be a hamburger, grilled salmon or pork kabobs on the menu!