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Dear members and friends of Gloria Dei, 

          It is still hard for me to believe that we will not be able to be together to celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord tomorrow. Nevertheless, there are ways for us to join and celebrate in spirit and truth via the internet. 
         Al and I will be in the church courtyard tomorrow morning to announce the Resurrection by ringing Gloria Dei's church bell at 9am and digging up the Alleluia banner. Watch for the video in your email tomorrow morning (or afternoon if we run into tech issues). Our music minister, Sonja Koruga has also recorded a beautiful Easter hymn written especially by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette for this extraordinary Easter in this time of pandemic. I will send you the link and lyrics for it later this afternoon/evening. 
        Also, congregations and our Synod have worked together to bring us three services to help us celebrate the central feast day of our faith--an Easter Vigil service this evening, an early Sunrise Service and a Sunday morning service. I encourage you to join one of these and hopefully experience a sense of the community that is being formed online. Bishop Greg has prepared an Easter message which you can view by video or read the text in the linked file below. Details of all these services can be found on the homepage of the BC Synod at https://bcsynod.org/ and listed here:
Easter Vigil

Trinity Anglican + Lutheran Church is a shared ministry of 20+ years.  People come from across the Alberni Valley to be a part of this community.  Through these years of ministering and worshiping together, the congregations had become so interwoven that, this past December 1st, the two merged into one even though both were growing.  Now the whole faith community is part of both the ELCIC and the ACC and is committed to being shaped by both.  All are Anglican, all are Lutheran.  Most importantly, all are beloved children of God in Christ.  We are known for our inclusive welcome to all as symbolized by the rainbow bench outside our main doors.   The Rev Brenda Nestegaard Paul has served as pastor/incumbent since Dec 1, 2016.  

 How to connect:

  • On Saturday, April 11th, click this link for the pre-recorded video on YouTube:
    https://youtu.be/iEvjcTHE8e0

  • Use the attached bulletin to follow along
 Easter Sunrise Service

The mighty Fraser River connects many communities in British Columbia and is the source of life for fish and wildlife.  As we journey more deeply into life during COVID-19, rivers like the Fraser become powerful images of our connectedness to this land and our connectedness in Christ through the waters of baptism. Join Pastor Rebekah of First Lutheran Church (Vancouver, B.C) as she reads an adaptation of a 3rd century meditation by Hippolytus on the banks of the Fraser River.   

How to connect:

Easter Sunday Service

Portions of this Easter worship service are shared from St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Prince Rupert, a faithful congregation for 96 years. We are situated on the far north west coast, some 50 miles south of the Alaskan border at land’s end of the Yellowhead Highway. Rev. Diana Edis has been the pastor at St. Paul’s for two and a half years having returned to serve the congregation where she had previously completed her internship. Our reader is Carol Bulford. We are an inclusive church where love is an action word. 

Portions of this Easter worship service are also shared from Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church in Langley, BC, a congregation that has been active in ministering to and with the people of Langley since 1974. Rev. Kristen Steele has been pastor at Shepherd of the Valley for almost 11 years. The congregation has a number of very talented musicians and some of them have offered their gifts for today's service. We are an accepting and caring community sharing God's love, grace and forgiveness with all. 

How to connect:

  • Use one of the two attached bulletins to follow along during the service.
    • One version has been prepared for those who are using a hymnal
    • The “worship plan” version includes full text and music
  • Use the attached sermon text to follow along with Bishop Greg’s sermon during the service

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I hold you all in my prayers and send my heartfelt wishes for a Holy Easter as we celebrate from our homes God's promise of new and ever-living life rising from the ashes of our deaths and sorrow.

Pastor Vida 

 

Messages
Pastoral Message