Announcements – 29 July, 2026
Worship … at 9:30am. We hope that you will participate in person. If you are unwell, please join the live streamed service. Pastor James will this week’s service.
To access the live streamed service, please go to the Knox’s YouTube channel or click here.
The printed service will be available before Sunday morning.
Sunday Coffee Hour … the Knox Hospitality Team will be providing coffee through August! Everyone from Knox and Hollydene are welcome to attend a shared social hour in the lounge.
Joys & Concerns…may we experience the healing presence of Christ as we uphold one another in prayer – sharing joys and concerns draws us together as a community of faith. Please pray for …
Please let your elder or a member of session know if there are changes to your prayer requests!
Kittie, Bruce and family wish to thank you all for the cards, calls and emails and support following the death of Kittie’s brother. Thank you! — Kittie
Celebrations
August 13 Ian Sturgess
August 22 Joan Hartemink
August 29 Dennis & Lilian Sutherland
August 31 Jim & Wendy Jeatt
or 250-592-6323. Please do NOT use the St. Andrew’s office contact information or your inquiries may not be answered. Additionally, please help Wendy keep her church and work life separate by keeping Knox business limited to her office hours, so she can enjoy her church life to the fullest. Welcome to the office, Wendy!
Lost and Found … please check the lost and found bin in the narthex. It will be emptied at the end of the month.
Knox Book Club … New attendees are always welcome! Here is a list of books and dates for 2026. The next meeting is Saturday August 8 at 1:00pm at Anne’s house. We will be discussing “The Lion Women of Tehran” by Marjan Kamali.
VIP (Victoria Island Presbytery) Summer Camp 2026 … A program of the Presbyterian Church in Canada. This year’s locations and dates are as follows: Rathtrevor Provincial Park July 25 – 30, Rathtrevor Provincial Park July 30 – August 3. For more information go to our website or contact the registrar at [email protected].
Collective 2026 (Aug 12 – 15, 2026 at Brock University) … Collective 2026, an event for youth,young adults, and their leaders. Register here
Journey for Hope … Team ‘Together in Motion & Song’ is raising money for the Journey for Hope, which supports PWS&D’s food security projects. For more information please contact our Team Captain, Patti Jackson. Members of Knox Victoria, Knox Sooke, Saanich Peninsula, Trinity, and St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Churches are invited to join us for the following events:
- Sing for Hope: a charity hymn sing at Trinity (2964 Tillicum Rd.) on Thursday, September 17 at 7:00 PM.
- Walk for Hope: a charity walk at Esquimalt Gorge Park (1070 Tillicum Rd.) on Saturday, September 26 at 9:30 AM.
Sunday, August 2, 2026 – Mission Moment
When someone has a stable career they are less likely to move from their place of origin to seek work. That was the case for Eliezer Israel Cortez, a 24-year-old in Nicaragua, who participated in an entrepreneurial skills initiative supported by PWS&D and its partner, INPRHU. Previously, Eliezer repaired clothing with his mother, who taught him how to sew. However, he aspired to be more than a tailor, which pushed him to develop a strong branding strategy focused on personalization and quality. Today, at Israel Tailoring, he designs, makes and sells garments tailored to his customers’ preferences. Participating in the entrepreneurial skills program transformed Eliezer’s life. No longer at risk of migrating in search of work, he is now well-placed to earn an income from clothes of his own design.
Prayer Partnership
Wednesday, July 29 Lord, we praise you for church schools that have raised funds for PWS&D’s development projects in the past 75-plus years, and ask that you inspire church school leaders and all people to respond to Christ’s call to serve those in need.
Thursday, July 30 (World Day Against Trafficking in People) We pray for safety and healing for victims of human trafficking, for human rights advocates working to end all forms of slavery and for those working to protect vulnerable people.
Friday, July 31 We pray for staff and campers at Camp VIP in Nanaimo, BC, as they learn and grow together in faith in a Christian camping community.
Saturday, August 1 (Emancipation Day) Help us to remember and maintain the freedom of all people, especially those who do not share our culture, language, religious beliefs or country of origin.
Sunday, August 2 We pray for clergy who are enjoying a time of spiritual renewal.
Monday, August 3 We pray for staff and campers at Camp Geddie in Merigomish, NS, as they learn and grow together in faith in a Christian camping community.
Tuesday, August 4 We pray for WMS members and the church and ask for God’s guidance as we seek to love our neighbours as ourselves.
Wednesday, August 5 We pray for students of The Presbyterian College, Montreal who are serving in summer placements. May these be rewarding experiences for them and the communities that they serve.
Thursday, August 6 (Anniversary: 1945 Bombing of Hiroshima) We pray for peacemakers working for a world free of nuclear weapons.
Friday, August 7 We pray for the Rev. Dr. Mark Glanville as he leads the Centre for Missional Leadership team, including their Guder Retreat Program for ministers, in early August at St. Andrew’s Hall.
Saturday, August 8 We pray that international young adults attending Collective, the PCC’s youth conference, will be warmly welcomed, blessed by new friendships, and return home with a strong sense of our unity in Christ.
Social Action Spotlight: Nuclear disarmament and peacemaking
In our current global climate, it is more critical than ever to work for a world free of the threat of nuclear weapons and to hold to the principle that Canada remain free of nuclear weapons. Advocating for global nuclear disarmament, while also supporting peacemaking efforts that strengthen bonds within and across community difference, builds communities where all God’s creation can flourish.
Peacemaking is an intentional way of relating (to people and the earth) that centers mutual wellbeing. It works against injustice, oppression and anything that diminishes the integrity of God’s creation. Nuclear weapons undermine that work. Catastrophic and indiscriminate, they are incompatible with any vision of a just peace. Words from a report adopted in 1983 by General Assembly remain apt: “no nation, including our own, has the right before God to resort to nuclear weapons, either offensively or defensively.” (A&P 1983, pp. 373, 44).
Peacemaking advocates have worked for decades towards the negotiation of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (Ban Treaty), which passed in 2017 and came into force in 2021. Unfortunately, no NATO members, including Canada, support the Ban Treaty because NATO’s strategy includes nuclear weapons. The Treaty’s significance, however, lies in the audacious collective hope of people, including the 122 nations that supported the Ban Treaty for a world free of nuclear weapons. Living Faith, a subordinate standard of the church, states “We protest against the world arms race that diminishes our ability to fight hunger, ignorance, poverty and disease. We fear nuclear war and the devastation it would bring. We affirm that God is at work when people are ashamed of the inhumanity of war and work for peace with justice.” (8.5.3) That work for peace with justice is no less important today than when Living Faith was written.
Reflection Questions
- The church has repeatedly spoken out against nuclear weapons and as recently as 2018 has advocated that Canada sign and ratify the Ban Treaty (A&P 2018, pp. 286-288, 22). Why do you think the church has taken this position? What do you think about the quote from Living Faith tying the arms race to the diminished collective ability to fight the kinds of things feeding conflict (like “hunger, ignorance, poverty and disease”)?
- What aspects of peacemaking and justice work are most critical in your community and what can you and your church do to support them? A recent study guide, “Peacemaking: a reflective resource” is available online at presbyterian.ca/justice/social-action/peacemaking, under “Educational Resources.”
What can you do?
- Advocate with elected officials for peacemaking initiatives, including supporting the Ban Treaty. Template letters for the Ban Treaty and other topics are on the church’s Advocacy webpage (presbyterian.ca/resources/advocacy) under “International Affairs.”
- Support the work of faith-based peace organization, and church partner, Project Ploughshares (ploughshares.ca).