September / October Graceview Newsletter

Minister’s Message- September 1, 2025

This past August, I was given the privilege of being one of the selected scholars to participate in the annual Guder Scholars gathering at St. Andrew’s Hall, University of British Columbia. This year’s event, which centred around missional leadership and discernment, brought together pastors from across Canada, along with some from the United States and other traditions beyond the Presbyterian Church. It was a …

Memoirs of a Christian Education

I am the product of a thoroughly Christian education – Catholic elementary schools through Grade 8, and Saint Joseph’s High School, a private, all-girls convent school, through Grade 12. Public funding was not fully extended to Catholic high schools until 1984, under Premier Bill Davis. Whether this should be the case in our modern diverse society is an argument for another day, but the first…

Bell Ringers Choir – New and exciting fun for Graceview!

On Sunday, August 17, we had our first practice of the bell ringers’ choir. It was an introductory session, without the bells, to let us know how it was done. There were eight of us present, and there is a rumour that there are two or three other interested people who were not at church that day. It’s fun for everyone. Nobody needs to read music, nobody needs to be able to sing, and everyone can participate. It’s based on a numbering system, from 1 to (I think) 24. If there are eight in the group, everyone will have three bells to manage; if there are twelve, we will each have two bells. We are assigned numbers which will match the bells, and it’s simply a matter of following the number charts in front of us. Easy. At our next practice in September, we will work with the bells, and hopefully our first performance will be on Thanksgiving Sunday. Thank you, Glen, for introducing us to something new and different!

Bits and Bytes at Graceview

Have you ever thought about how dependent we have become on computer technology that we once shunned as totally unnecessary? About how the Presbyterian church managed to get along just fine for five hundred years, without screens or microphones or live streamed services? Or, for that matter, about how most of us now walk around with a computer in our pockets that is a million times more powerful than the room-sized computer proudly owned by…

Coming Soon – The Chosen, Season Five

An eight-week Bible Study at Graceview

Tuesday, September 30 until Tuesday November 18, 12:15 pm

Adamson Lounge

This is a remarkable TV series that has been the subject of our Bible Studies for the previous four seasons. Everyone is welcome. Please join us as we watch each episode together and share our thoughts and impressions with each other.

Prayer for Home and Family

This is one of my favourite prayers. As I read it, I picture a family, father, mother, several children, and perhaps grandparents, sitting around a table in reverent attitude as one of their members thanks and beseeches God in this perfect prayer of thanksgiving and intercession. It would be equally suitable for our church family as we assemble each Sunday for worship.

Charles Wesley – more prodigious than Wordsworth!

One of my favourite hymns in our Book of Praise, which unfortunately we very rarely sing, is And Can it Be That I Should Gain, by Charles Wesley. We sing many of Wesley’s hymns, and I have often wondered just who he was, that he seemed to be able to provide a hymn for every occasion. Our Book of Praise contains 19 of them. The Methodist hymn book Hymns and Psalms contains 150. I had a vague idea that he was a churchman, perhaps from the eighteenth century, but I knew nothing else except that he wrote a lot of hymns. (I didn’t know that the total was close to 9000!)

Halloween,Then and Now

Facebook, that ultimate time-waster, is known for all kinds of crazy stories, memes, political rants, recipes (which often feature a perfectly good chicken breast or pork chop smothered in brown sugar, cheese, or other calorie-laden ingredients), etc. etc. etc. The other day on Facebook I ran across the following statement: “Thanksgiving, Halloween, or Christmas – one of these holidays must go. Which one?” Clickbait that I couldn’t resist.

Something New – Welcome Back Pot Luck Lunch

Sunday, October 5

Downstairs after church

All welcome – please join us

A sign-up sheet will be posted on the bulletin board

Grand Slam Ham

If I am serving ham at Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, or any other occasion, this is the way I do it. If a holiday meal features both turkey and ham, the ham is…

Next Newsletter – Deadline Sunday October 26

I hope you have enjoyed the September/October issue of Graceviews. The next issue will be available early in early November. The deadline will be Sunday, October 26.

If you have anything you wish to share with your church family,please make your editor very happy by writing it up and sending it to me by email. If it interests you it is bound to interest someone else. And don’t forget my plea for recipes! I need your help, as my supply of recipes is dwindling.