Pastor's Message - Chris Kibble
JI Packer writes in ‘Knowing God’ - ‘The Christmas message is that there is hope for a ruined humanity—the hope of pardon, the hope of peace with God, the hope of glory—because at the Father's will Jesus Christ became poor and was born in a stable so that thirty years later he might hang on a cross.’ This is a great reminder for us at this time of year.
We ask that you remain fully masked apart from the situations described under ‘Masks’ below. Those who are fully vaccinated (required for age 12 and up) should continue to gather in the Sanctuary and those who are not vaccinated, and others if they choose, in the Fireside Room. Our Farsi group is in the Stage Room. When seated, we would encourage a ‘respectful’ distance between family groups.
We aren’t having refreshments after the service, but by all means fellowship either in the foyer for the vaccinated, the Fireside Room for the unvaccinated, or the Stage Room for the Farsi group.
For those who would prefer to join us from home, you can do so by joining our brand-new Livestream. The stream is hosted on the WVBC website – you will see a large “JOIN NOW” button at the top of the home page when the service is live at 10:00am. For our Mandarin participants, you can still watch the Livestream on ZOOM to hear the translated message. You can join using this link.
Livestream service: we are still learning the intricate details in providing the Livestream on our website, on YouTube, and on Zoom. Please be patient with us as we had a glitch last Sunday, but we were able to overcome it and provided an online service. This is a work in progress and just like Zoom, we will be able to get a quality presentation in due time.
Masks: masks are required for all. They may be temporarily removed when physical distancing if you are partaking in communion, and if you are ‘officiating’ – emcee, giving announcements, leading prayer, calls to worship, benediction, spotlights on ministry presentations, preaching, scripture reading, advent candles - and if you are the lead singer of a song, hymn or carol.
Karen and I wanted to send greetings for Christmas to our friends at West Vancouver Baptist Church. We have moved to Victoria and are settling in. Karen is here on weekends, as she continues to teach her much loved Kindergarten students in the Lower Mainland. She has a room there with a colleague. I have been busy making our own again, the house we have owned since 2003 but not lived in since 2009. I am enjoying this new stage of life. My father (92 years) has come with us to the Island, and we have been blessed to line up promptly all his health care needs. May the peace and joy Jesus brings fill your lives this Christmas and always!’
Events
Mark your calendars for these great events coming up.
Powerpoint Operator: our Christmas Eve service lacks a Powerpoint Operator. If you have familiarity with Powerpoint, your help would be most appreciated! Full training is given, by Judy or Don. Please call Toni Pankratz at the church if you can help.
Year-End Donations: A reminder that tithes and offerings for 2021 must be in the office by December 31, 2021, or postmarked no later than the same date. Charitable tax receipts will be available once the year-end financials have been closed, but no later than mid-February. If you want to know what your year-to-date giving is, please call or email Judy Thompson, she is in the office on Mondays from 10am to 2pm. Or email jthompson@ westvanbaptist.com. We will be sending out the charitable tax receipts by email again this year. If we don’t have an email on our database the receipt will be mailed or available for pick-up in the office. If you need more envelopes please contact the office at 604.922.0911.
We are thankful for your generosity during the pandemic. If you need to make any changes to your Pre-Authorized Giving through your bank, please call or send an email to Judy Thompson. If you make a change directly at your bank, we don’t get notified then our records don’t balance. Follow-up would be appreciated.
Baptism classes: if you are interested in baptism, by all means, contact Tom Walker at walkert@shaw.ca or Nancy Lee at easy1666@hotmail.com
Sanctuary washrooms: following Final Inspection, sanctuary washrooms are now fully available. Congratulations to Peter and Liz Burnett!
Prayer Room Please don’t use the Prayer Room. It experienced flood damage during the recent storms and our insurers are addressing the damage.