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In this week's Crossroads, you will find information on:
In-Person Worship and Sunday School planned to resume September 12
A new Kantor for Lutheran Church of the Cross
Treasurer’s mid-year report to the Congregation
Video Alert and Invitation
Shelbourne Community Kitchen donations
Save the Date for Julius in October
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A Faithful Election Conversation 2021
Creating a Just Canada: 2021 Election Bulletin
Vote Housing
Read ahead
This Week at Church of the Cross
The deadline for all Crossroads submissions is Wednesday at noon. Thank you.
Please visit our website for more information about us and our events.
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In-Person Worship and Sunday School planned to resume Sept.12
 We have been waiting a long time for this! Church Council and many others have worked together to prepare a safe return to in-person worship and Sunday School. We are following the guidelines and orders set by the Provincial Health Officer. We realize that the pandemic continues to raise concerns for health and safety, and we will adjust our plans if/as health orders change.
Being vaccinated against COVID-19 is the best protection for the health of yourself and others. We encourage everyone who is eligible to receive both doses of the vaccine.
September 12, Holy Cross Sunday – 10 AM
Everyone planning to come to worship and Sunday School are asked to follow these requirements:
- Stay home if you are not feeling well and experiencing any Covid-19 related symptoms.
- Wear a mask when entering the building and throughout worship and Sunday School. (This is required of everyone age 12 and older. Children under 12 are encouraged to wear a mask.)
- Observe social distancing.
- Sanitize or wash hands as needed.
- You are welcome to sing, but masks must be worn.
- We will greet one another and share the peace at a distance.
- Holy Communion will be served with bread and individual glasses of wine that are well spaced in the trays. You may commune with bread or wine alone if you wish.
- You are invited to greet and talk with others after worship outside where water/refreshments will be available.
It is not required that people register for worship ahead of time or sign in as you arrive.
We will make adjustments as needed and keep you informed of any changes. Your feedback on your experience with in-person return to worship is valued. Please let any member of Church Council, the Covid Leadership Team, Pastors, or the church office know of any questions, concerns or ideas for making return to in-person worship and Sunday School safer and meaningful for everyone.
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A new Kantor for Lutheran Church of the Cross
Church Council and the Board of Worship are delighted to announce that Nathan McDonald has been hired to serve as Kantor of Church of the Cross. You will note the change to the German spelling of “Kantor” reflecting the Lutheran tradition of a music leader and director for congregational worship.
As a professional musician, http://nathandavidmcdonald.com/en/ Nathan brings a wealth of education, expertise, and experience to this role. As a Baritone singer, Nathan appears regularly in Victoria and beyond in oratorio, opera, and choral performances. He has a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Victoria in Trumpet, and Grade 10 RCM in piano. Nathan trained with soprano, Nancy Argenta, for the better part of 10 years, and has participated in workshops, festivals, and concert tours in North and South America and Europe. Nathan is on the faculty of the Canadian College of the Performing Arts, and the Victoria Conservatory of Music. He has lifelong experience in Lutheran worship music and liturgy, including choral directing, worship planning and composition, and previously served at Church of the Cross as a student choral director in 2004-2009, and as Cantor from 2011-2013.
We are delighted that Nathan expressed interest in taking on this role, and through the process of the interview and conversations, we were excited to see where Nathan’s musical leadership and vision will lead the choir and worship music now and in the future. Please join in welcoming Nathan to this role of Kantor at Lutheran Church of the Cross.
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Treasurer’s mid-year report to the Congregation
 Now that that we are moving into the second half of 2021 and are looking forward to reopening the Church for in-person worship, an update of the Church’s financial situation is in order.
At our Annual General Meeting in March the congregation approved a budget for 2021 that aimed for a possible surplus for the year. Since then, we have had ups and downs with the pandemic, but with healthy vaccination rates on Vancouver Island we are once again looking at opening the Church to in-person worship and for church and community use. At the same time, Church Council remains committed to continue livestreaming and connecting face-to-face via Zoom.
Over the first seven months of 2021 we ran about a $29,000 deficit on operations, a number that is significantly greater than expected. While there are many factors that contribute to the financial picture as it currently stands, the two main reasons for this are (1) giving has not risen by as much as we hoped it would based on last year’s pledges, and (2) there have been several significant unexpected repair costs that the Church has had to cover over the past several months.
We are currently looking for some bounce-back over the remainder of 2021 in terms of our bottom line. In this regard, your Church Council will continue to closely monitor developments as we move along the path back to a safe resumption of in-person worship. As always, your past and future support in all of this is greatly appreciated.
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Video Alert and Invitation
Another week and another video from the Greening Committee with the link found here. Video #8 features Susanne Standeven in what I call, a “show and tell” conversation recorded at the church earlier in the summer. Tune in to see what Susanne has to share with ‘green’ products and environmentally friendly ideas. Older videos are cached on the LCC YouTube site if you missed any since the start of the series in July.
In other news, the Greening Committee invites you to join to welcome speaker Beth Edin on Sept.11th at LCC, 3787 Cedar Hill Road, from 930-11:00. Beth will address the challenging issues of climate change facing our world and following the talk, will take questions from the audience. Our schedule for the morning is as follows:
9:30-10:00 Arrival and refreshments
10:00-10:10 Welcome and Introductions
10:15- 10:45 Beth Edin
10:45-11:10 Q & A
11:10-11:15 Wrap-up with thanks
You are welcome to attend this in-person event as we follow the BC Government COVID protocols in which masks are required inside public spaces, safe distancing, and the use of hand sanitizer upon entering the church. If you are unable to attend but would like to tune in, the event will be lived-streamed on the LCC YouTube site.
Please RSVP if you plan to attend in person to the LCC office at the following: lutheranchruchofthecross@shaw.ca
Thanks,
Susan Beiderwieden
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FOR A LIMITED TIME, YOUR DONATION WILL BE MATCHED BY A GENEROUS DONOR!
We provide FRESH & HEALTHY food to 650 adults and 90 children through our Pantry Program.
The Shelbourne Community Kitchen's (The Kitchen) latest fundraising effort has been given a huge boost by a generous donor who wishes to remain anonymous. The donor has offered to match any donations up to $20,000.
This generous offer could not have come at a better time as the need for our programs has more than doubled due to COVID. Amidst the pandemic, our organization also had to renovate and move to a new, larger location. We are so grateful for donors who step up at times like this.
Our organization currently has over 1,100 members and 830 participants who access programs, and we have faced numerous challenges over the past year. We are so proud of how our team pivoted in 2020. We never missed a day of service and went above and beyond to keep healthy food accessible even as our numbers doubled. Even amidst the facility transition, our team has distributed fresh produce from our gardens as well as grocery vouchers.
Growing need, coupled along with the expense of renovating and moving to a larger space has resulted in the need for additional funding. We hope the campaign will raise enough funding to meet the growing need for support and help with the final push to reopen in our new facility, expected in early September. The new location is in Unit 101, 3787 Cedar Hill Road, just a few blocks from the old location.
Donations can be made through the website www.shelbournecommunitykitchen.ca or directly through www.canadahelps.org and search for the Shelbourne Community Kitchen. |
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Save the Date for Julius in October
The  Social Justice Committee and Church of the Cross invite you to save the date of Tuesday October 5th at 7 pm to meet Julius Maslovat, the first speaker in the 2021/22 series on anti-racism.
Julius Maslovat was 2 1/2 years old when he became the youngest prisoner in Germany's Buchenwald concentration camp. Both of his parents were killed in the Holocaust. Maslovat says. “I survived because of other people, people who were concerned enough, despite their own condition, to help someone else.”
Julius tells his story in a powerful documentary Why am I here? The documentary summarizes Maslovat’s journey to discover his own past and to learn about the people who kept him alive. The purpose of the film moves beyond documenting a tragic event into encouraging viewers to learn about injustices in our current world as the audience is encouraged to ask themselves the question 'Why am I here'?
Susanne Standeven
on behalf of the Social Justice Committee
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Election Reflections
A Faithful Election Conversation 2021
Martin Luther University College together with its partners The Baha'i Community of Canada, Centre Oblat - A Voice for Justice, and Citizens for Public Justice will hold an event, A Faithful Election Conversation 2021. Please join them from across Canada for questions on reconciliation, climate, poverty, and xenophobia on Wednesday, September 1, from noon until 1:30 p.m., Eastern Time. To join this event, please register when you click here.
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Creating a Just Canada: 2021 Election Bulletin
Citizens for Public Justice (CPJ) is providing a 2021 Election Bulletin: Creating a Just Canada that covers relevant public justice issues. CPJ is encouraging voters and electoral candidates alike to do "everything in love" (1 Corinthians 16:14) and for all people and all creation. CPJ believes in working together to build a just Canada. To download this resource, please click here. For more information on CPJ and its various initiatives, please click here.
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Vote Housing
 Vote Housing is a national non-partisan campaign designed to engage and mobilize Canadians to pledge to Vote Housing in the upcoming federal election. In the 2013 Joint Assembly Declaration, Lutherans and Anglicans committed to addressing issues of homelessness and affordable housing. For more information on Vote Housing, please click here.
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Read ahead: Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost
- August 29, 2021 Song of Solomon 2:8-13
Psalm 45:1-2, 6-9
James 1:17-27
Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23
Worship Bulletin: CLICK HERE for Worship Bulletin
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This Week at Church of the Cross
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