February 5, 2025 Announcements

Knox Book Club … New attendees are always welcome! Here is a list of books and dates for 2025.  The next meeting is Saturday, February 8 at 1pm in the vestry. Please read “Fowl Play” by Iona Lam (our very own Dorothy Wong!).

Community Dinners … Gather in the Knox Church kitchen to prepare a meal and eat together. Please sign up so we can plan to have plenty of food ([email protected]). Sunday, February 9 – Super Soups + Heart-shaped Biscuits with jam; Sunday, March 16 – Baked Potatoes with toppings + Rainbow Rice Krispie Treats.

Apple Tree Lunch … We will be meeting at the Apple Tree restaurant at 1501 Admirals Road in View Royal on February 16th!

Pancake Lunch … Please mark your calendar for March 4th, when we are planning to celebrate Shrove Tuesday by inviting our neighbours from Artemis Place to join us for a Pancake Lunch.   The Knox community always enjoys this annual event, sharing time with the students, toddlers and staff next door. Both volunteer and attendance sign-up sheets are on the hall shelf.  Speak to Lilian Sutherland (on behalf of Mission & Outreach) for more information.

Our Place will be walking Downtown and we are excited to continue our partnership with Pacific Centre Family Services Association for the walk in the Westshore!

Coldest Night of the Year is a family-friendly walk that raises awareness and money for charities serving hungry, homeless, and hurting people in our community. Gather or join a team of friends, family, workmates or congregation together and as a community, lets walk, spread awareness and provide a sense of hope, love and belonging to our neighbours in need.

Credit Card Donations: The Best Option! Simple, secure, automatically tax receipted for gifts of $20+. Visit the Victoria Donate page and follow the directions.

Cheque Donations: The Old Faithful – made out to Coldest Night of the Year with your name on the Memo line. Mail them to CNOY Head Office along with your completed pledge form.

Seedy Sunday …  Gorge Tillicum Urban Farmers invite you to save the date and your seeds for Seedy Sunday on Feb 23, 2:00 – 4:00 PM. Location: Bell Irving Room at Saanich Neighborhood Place, Pearkes Recreation Center (turn left as you walk into Pearkes, and then go to the end of the corridor). Entrance Donation: Please bring $3 to donate so we can “pay it forward” to Saanich Neighborhood Place for making the space available. Children are welcome, and if supervised, they are allowed to play outside. Save and sort your seed stash for sharing at this wonderful community event! There will also be a plant and tuber give-away table plus a snack potluck table, tea and a children’s activity table.

Dear neighbours in Christ,

Please join us at St Philip Oak Bay for a candlelit service of song, silence, prayer and contemplation, in the style of the Taizé Community, on the 4th Thursdays of the month at 7pm:  27 February and 27 March. The event series is on our website.

International Women’s Day

Join us on March 8 – International Women’s Day, as we celebrate the incredible achievements of women and girls around the world!

This year’s International Women’s Day theme is “For ALL women and girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment.” This theme serves as a reminder that progress for women and girls must always be inclusive and embrace diversity;whether we are advocating for education or strengthening marginalized communities’ voices, our shared efforts must ensure no one is left behind, regardless of background.

At PWS&D, we believe that regardless of race, ability and class, every woman and girl deserves to have rights, access to health care, education and opportunities. PWS&D is committed to a world where every woman and girl has rights and is empowered. Through our projects:

In Guatemala, PWS&D works with partners to support Indigenous women as they fight prejudices about their abilities. Through workshops and solidarity formed through community groups, women learn greater self-esteem and strengthen their voices at the institutional level.

With our partner in India, PWS&D supports outreach to women and girls to provide them with the tools they need to access appropriate health care, address issues of gender, empowerment and sexual and reproductive rights, and address child marriage.

In Malawi,  PWS&D provides scholarships for girls to attend Neno Girls’ Secondary School. These scholarships enable girls to stay in school and access a quality education. According to the United Nations, every additional year of school a girl attains increases her eventual wages by 10-20%. Education encourages girls to marry later and make informed choices about how many children to have, increasing opportunities for gender equity to be realized.

In Pakistan, PWS&D is supporting a project aimed at improving girls’ access to education; this initiative incentivizes school enrollment and retention by providing nutritious meals in regions heavily impacted by food insecurity. The project also engages communities and local leaders to highlight the critical importance of girls’ education and its impact on families and societies.

Discover how PWS&D is bringing this year’s theme to life and turning it into action.

Meet Esmy in Malawi.
Read about Sapna in Paksitan.
Learn about Lilawati in India.

As we continue to work towards an equitable world, we must remember progress for one must also mean progress for all. —by Stephanie Chunoo

VIP Women’s Retreat … at Camp Imadene on Fri/Sat/Sun, April 25 – 27. Contact [email protected] with questions. More details will be available HERE soon!

Camp VIP … This year’s VIP camp dates are as follows: Little Qualicum Falls June 9 – 13, Goldstream July 3-7, Rathtrevor August 11 – 18. More details will be available HERE soon

Sunday, February 9, 2025 – Mission Moment