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A Renewed Call to Reconciliation"It has been devastating and heartbreaking to hear in the news that the remains of 215 children buried in unmarked graves have been found on the Kamloops Indian Residential School grounds,” say ELCIC National and Synod Bishops in a letter to the church released today. The letter invites ELCIC members to join in prayer for the families of those children, for the Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation, for the City of Kamloops and for First Nations Communities across Canada as they grieve this loss. Our bishops also call for a renewed call to re-engage in the work of reconciliation. Read the full letter in the file attachment below. The image is the memorial candle installation in Gloria Dei's courtyard for the 215 children buried in unmarked graves. The installation will be part of the video Worship Service for Indigenous Sunday on June 20 prepared by Cari Klaassen. (Photo credit: Rev. Nathan Fong). If you are looking for further resources, please consider the following: 2011 ELCIC Convention Resolution on Encouraging Right Relationships with Indigenous Peoples 2015 ELCIC Convention Resolution repudiating the Doctrine of Discovery Indigenous Ministries award winning film Doctrine of Discovery: Stolen lands, Strong Hearts The KAIROS Blanket Exercise Faithful God, |
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Return to In-Person Worship in the Sanctuary - June 13Your Worship Committee is planning for our first indoor service on Sunday, June 13. Public Health Orders require faith groups to pre-register all participants in order to ensure that the event does not go over the capacity limits set out for COVID-19 Safety purposes. The maximum allowed is 50 or the number of people the space allows so that at least 2 metres distance is available between participants not of the same household - whichever is less. The Gloria Dei sanctuary can accommodate around 40 people with physical distancing (inclusive of the presider, singers and musicians).
Therefore, if you are planning to attend the 10AM Service of the Word on June 13, please pre-register by sending an email to gloriadei5838@gmail.com entering "June 13" in the subject line and saying you plan to attend, listing the number of people from your household. By the same token, if for some reason your plans change after pre-registration, do let the church office know, so that we can accomodate someone else.
At this time, we will be accepting pre-registrations on a first come basis. We need to have all pre-registrations in by next Thursday, June 10.
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Message from the Hutson FamilyDear Gloria Church Family, We so wish we could've been at the service last Sunday as planned. Harper was doing better in the morning, but we kept her inside the whole day to ensure her recovery.
We are blessed to already be part of the Gloria Dei family for nearly two years now, and we look forward to when we'll be able to be there again for worship and to make our membership official.
Geoffrey and Thommy Hutson
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Gloria Dei's Rainbow TreeOn May 26, Pastor Vida received an email from Geoffrey and Thommy Hutson, that the rainbow colors had been ripped off the giant fir tree on the church property along Gladwin Drive. The "rainbow tree" had only flown its colors for only 13 days, but it had already made a big impact in the neigborhood. On the day it went up, neighbors, M and C were driving by and stopped to ask about it. They told Pastor Vida they were looking for an LGBTQ+ welcoming church and were interested in coming to our outdoor service last Sunday - A shoutout to M and C - it was a joy to welcome you to our gathering! The North Shore News also wrote up a story about the Rainbow Tree and how it symbolizes Gloria Dei's and the ELCIC's welcome to the LGBTQ2SIA+ as full and equal members of our church--including reception of the sacraments, eligibility for leadership positions and ordination to minsitry. Here is the link to the story. And When Pastor Vida posted about the vandalism of the rainbow tree on a neighborhood social network here are just a sampling of the comments that came pouring in: - I’m sorry. It made me happy to see it every time I passed by. Can we do anything to help to make something else more permanent/vandalism proof ? - I live up the street from there, and I saw you guys putting it up and thought that was a great addition to the neighborhood. I’m very sad to see someone has so much hate in them that they would take that down. I hope it gets put back up to show them the community won’t put up with that kind of behavior. - As a LGBT person in the neighborhood I really appreciated seeing the rainbow on the tree. I’m disappointed that someone tore it down - So very sorry to hear this! I hope you put it up again until you find a more vandalism proof solution, it is such a good message to those who think Christians in general are not inclusive. These demonstrations of love and inclusiveness are so important in our world. - I was a pastor of a North Shore church some years ago. I would like to support your inclusion and the repair of your welcome rainbow or sidewalk painting. May I send a financial contribution? - What church is this? I'm looking for a more inclusive Church to attend. - So good of you to create this symbol of love. Sorry this happened! Just keep loving, as it seems you clearly are. The events of the last couple of weeks reminded Pastor Vida of the story of Zacchaeus in the gospel of Luke - how Zaccheus climbed up a tree in order to get a better view of Jesus. When Shelley climbed up the ladder to wrap the tree in its rainbow colors, we had no knowledge of the kindness and love of Jesus down in the neighborhood around the church and in the wider community. Sometimes, we need to take the risk of standing up and standing out, in order to see Jesus and experience God at work in the world welcoming us home. News1130 also published an online story today about our rainbow tree - you can view it here |
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Sermon for Trinity SundayFor those who could not join us last Sunday, here is Pastor Vida's Sermon for Trinity Sunday |
