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Crossroads 

September 13, 2020

Season of Creation - 15th Sunday after Pentecost
The Festival of Holy Cross
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In this week's Crossroads, you will find information on:

Holy Cross Sunday
Covid-19 Update/In-person Worship continues
Holy Communion this Sunday
Women In Faith Book Group
Blessing of Denise Pawliuk
Welcoming those who are new – Reformation Sunday
Blessing of Backpacks
Praying Friends 2020/21
Season of Creation
Kairos Climate Action Month
Video Study Group beginning this Fall
Continuing Ways to join worship on-line
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.
Holy Cross Sunday – September 13 – 10 AM

Each year since 2007, Church of the Cross has celebrated the Anniversary of dedicating the new building addition on the closest Sunday to the Festival of Holy Cross, September 14. This Sunday we will once again celebrate! Although it is of course different this year with restrictions on gathering and no cake at coffee hour, we will still celebrate! Red is the colour of the day – you may want to wear red to worship wherever you are. And we will give thanks in prayer and song for God’s many blessings on this community of the Cross. We celebrate and give thanks for a ministry “at the crossroads” that began 60 years ago, and we trust will continue long into the future. We celebrate all the saints of this community past, present, and future and the diverse gifts and experiences we share. We celebrate a fine facility to serve this ministry in the neighbourhood and beyond. And we celebrate the Spirit’s continuing to open and challenge us to new ways of following Jesus together with others in justice and reconciliation and peace for all creation. Blessed Holy Cross Sunday!
 
Part of our annual celebration and thanksgiving is a special offering for mortgage reduction. The financial challenges through the pandemic continue to be significant and we give thanks for the faithful support of everyone who has been able to contribute. For those who wish to, we will gather an offering for mortgage reduction over the next few Sundays. You may do so through the website, by e-transfer, by designating mortgage reduction on an envelop and mailing or dropping it off at the church. If you have any questions please contact financial secretary, Barry Walker through the church office. Thank you to everyone for your generous support.   
Covid-19 Update/In-person Worship continues – Sunday, September 13 at 10 AM

Worship is limited to 35 people in the congregation
. Last Sunday there were 23 people so there is lots of room for those who wish to join in-person worship. Please email or call the church office, and
pastorlyle@shaw.ca, pastorlylndon@shaw.ca to indicate your intention to be present. Worship will continue to be livestreamed as well.
 
Those who join in worship should expect the following:
  • Everyone is asked to wear a mask while in the church building, if you do not have one, one will be provided.
  • You may have to line up at the front doors as you arrive using the spacing marked on chalk on the walkway.
  • You will be asked to sanitize your hands, sign in, and then be ushered to a seat in the sanctuary
  • Seating will be distanced except among family/contact groups
  • A worship folder will be provided including the text of the songs. The congregation is asked not to sing, but welcome to hum the melodies. It is an opportunity to meditate/reflect on the words being sung.
  • At the time of Holy Communion, the presider(s) will go out to wash their hands. Ushers will invite you forward if you wish to commune, the bread will be placed in your hands by the presider, and you will be invited to pick-up a glass of wine/grape juice which are spaced in the trays. The empty glasses are then placed in the next tray before you return to your seat.
  • At the end of worship, you will be ushered outside where people may visit at a distance, if they wish.
 
The experience of those who participated in in-person worship is that it felt both familiar and good to be/commune together, and different, with a sense of loss at the limited contact and especially not being able to sing together. We recognize and respect some will be comfortable with in-person worship following the guidelines of our provincial and local Health Authorities and some will not. We will therefore offer both in-person and online opportunities to worship together. The Covid-19 Leadership Team continues to monitor the local conditions and recommendations of the Health Authorities and to adjust our practices as needed.
Holy Communion this Sunday, September 13

As part of worship this Sunday we will celebrate Holy Communion. Those who wish to join in celebrating Holy Communion at home are invited to prepare a small amount of bread and wine (or grape juice if required) on a plate and in a cup, prior to worship. You may also wish to light a candle(s) as part of worshipping at home. At the time of Holy Communion, you are invited to have the elements in front of you, join in the words of thanksgiving and to lift the bread and wine at the same time as the presiding minister. At the time of Communing, share the bread with yourself or with one another with the words: “The body of Christ given for you.” and “The blood of Christ shed for you.” After Communing, or following worship, please consume the remaining bread and wine. This invitation is for those who wish to and feel comfortable joining in Communion at home during worship. Those who do not feel comfortable are welcome to observe Holy Communion celebrated at the church as we trust in God’s Spirit and gifts of grace offered to all as and where we are. If anyone has any questions or concerns, please contact the Church office or Pastor Lyndon or Pastor Lyle.
Women In Faith Book Group
The Book Group will be meeting on Wednesday, September 30th at 1:30 pm by Zoom. We will be discussing Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng. If you have any questions, please contact Janice Nelson.
Blessing of Denise Pawliuk, entering the Diaconal Ministry program, Sunday, September 20 – 10 AM

Denise Pawliuk has made the decision and received the endorsement of our Synod to enter the Diaconal Ministry program, studying through Lutheran Theological Seminary in Saskatoon, to be ordained as a Deacon of the ELCIC. We give thanks for this calling for Denise and want to bless her as she begins her studies. We will offer prayers of blessing for Denise in-person and online as part of our worship on Sunday, September 20.
Welcoming those who are new – Reformation Sunday, October 25 – 10 AM

One of the many challenges of the pandemic has been a delay in recognizing and welcoming those who are new and wish to join the community of Church of the Cross. Two or three times a year, we have provided this opportunity though Affirmation of Baptism together. Having not been able to do so yet in 2020, we want to begin preparing for this in October. If you would like to be part of joining the congregation through Affirmation of Baptism, or if you have not been Baptized and wish to be, or if you have any questions, please contact Pastor Lyndon or Pastor Lyle. Everyone who shares a sense of connection and belonging in this community is welcome. 
Blessing of Backpacks

As part of the children’s time during Sunday worship, we are blessing backpacks of children returning to school or beginning homeschooling this Sunday, September 13, 10 AM. You can join either in person or via the worship livestream. Children are invited to have their backpacks with them as part of the children’s time and blessing. We will be mailing stickers and a copy of the blessing to each home with Sunday school age children. This is one way we lift up students and families during an unusual September during a pandemic. We thank Florentien Verhage for designing and printing the stickers.
Praying Friends 2020/21
 
The Praying Friends program is an initiative that occurs every year at the Church of the Cross. It aims at pairing every participating child with an adult praying friend, who will pray for their designated child during the school year. One of the program’s objectives is to let our children see and believe that they are cherished and an important part of our church family. Likewise, it will offer paired adults the opportunity to cultivate the practice of praying for someone, which is both a spiritual exercise and a perfect gift we can offer someone.
 
Thiago Hinkel is helping organize the program this year. To aid in the process of pairing families, two different surveys have been created. To participate as a praying friend, both new and returning, please complete this survey 
(CLICK HERE). To include you children, both new and returning, please use this other form (CLICK HERE). To add more than 2 children, please complete the second form as many times as necessary. These surveys will collect and store information in servers inside Canada and information will only be accessed by the program organizers and pastors.
 
If you have any question or concern, please contact Thiago Hinkel at
thiagohinkel@uvic.ca.
Season of Creation – September 1 – October 4, 2020

We once again celebrate the Season of Creation as part of our worship and activities at Church of the Cross. In worship, the fabric and liturgical/musical setting have changed along with themes in the prayers and preaching. In activities, everyone is encouraged to consider ways of changing our daily practices, joining in advocacy and learning more about caring for creation through various information sources including at this link:
https://seasonofcreation.org/. You are also encouraged to view this video invitation by Bishop Greg at https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wHKhQ_VpvW2G2T80MRDL4KsLi9O-3eR2/view
Season of Creation Devotions by the Leaders of Four Churches
The leaders of the Episcopal Church (US), the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Anglican Church of Canada and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada have prepared Sunday devotions for the Season of Creation. You can find more information and a link to the devotions here:
https://www.elcic.ca/news.cfm?article=575
Kairos Climate Action Month

Resiliency and hope are the driving messages of
KAIROS' second annual Climate Action Month, which began on September 1. Each day this month, KAIROS will focus on an aspect of the climate crisis, sharing resources, events, stories from our members and global partners, and actions for climate justice. The calendar will focus on five weekly themes: Season of Creation, Just Transition, Indigenous Rights, Global Climate Justice, and Water. Interested in receiving more information via weekly e-blasts during Climate Action Month? Please sign up on our online form and click Ecological Justice
Video Study Group beginning this Fall

Following the good practice of the DVD and online lecture study groups that has been in place for the past ten years, we are beginning again with a lecture-based study group this fall. It will continue on Tuesday evenings. The gathering will take place over Zoom. The 8-session course this fall is titled, “ProFuture Faith – the Prodigal Species Comes Home” with lecturer Rev. Michael Dowd. A sample lecture is available here
https://vimeo.com/322942900. To register, contact the church office. If you have any questions, please contact Pastor Lyle or Pastor Lyndon. The intended start date is Tuesday, September 22 at 7:00 PM. Past and new participants including people not previously connected to the congregation are all welcome.
Continuing Ways to join worship on-line:

Sunday Worship Livestream, 10 AM PDT:
Go to website:
www.lutheranvictoria.ca and click on the livestream link.

Copies of the bulletin/worship order for each Sunday are available for download, and printing if you wish, on the website.
 
View past worship videos by visiting “About/Videos” tab of the website:

https://www.lutheranvictoria.ca/about
 
View Sunday School videos and activities here:

https://www.lutheranvictoria.ca/kids-youth-students/childrens-ministry-sunday-school
 
Tuesday Morning Prayer continues each week at 8:30 AM PDT

On Facebook Live and you can view past videos here:
https://www.facebook.com/lutheranvictoria/

You do not need a Facebook account to view the church page.
Read ahead:   Season of Creation - 15th Sunday after Pentecost
- Sunday, September 13, 2020   Exodus 14:19-31
                                                    Psalm 114
                                                    1 Corinthians 1:18-24
                                                    Matthew 18:21-35

Worship Bulletin: CLICK HERE for Worship Bulletin
This Week at Church of the Cross
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please email or phone the church office at 250-477-6222.
3787 Cedar Hill Road, Victoria, BC V8P 3Z4
  
www.lutheranvictoria.ca
 Rev. Lyle McKenzie, Co-Pastor (O) 250-477-6222; pastorlyle@shaw.ca
Rev. Lyndon Sayers, Co-Pastor (O) 250-477-6222; pastorlyndon@shaw.ca 
 Church Office (O) 250-477-6222; lutheranchurchofthecross@shaw.ca
Our emailing address is:
lutheranchurchofthecross@shaw.ca
 
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Lutheran Church of the Cross · 3787 Cedar Hill Road · Victoria, BC V8P 3Z4 · Canada

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