Clothes for Zambia

Shelbourne Street Church of Christ is engaged in a Clothing Exchange, through which folks can route their no-longer-used clothing to people in Zambia who have need of it.

Victorians are invited to drop off such clothing items to the Exchange, located at the church, at 3460 Shelbourne Street, May 4 – 7.

A special arrangement, scheduled May 8, will permit people who bring in clothing to take home some items as well. Then, the remaining items will be packed into a container and sent to Kalomo, Zambia.

The church, through the Zambia Mission Fund Canada, have been helping Zambian children through orphan care and student sponsorship programs since 1988. The stated objective of the fund is to “help Zambian children to become godly leaders ,who joyfully serve and live productive lives.”

More info is available from Joan Mann at 250.477.9383 or joanmann@telus.net. Website:shelbournestreetchurch.com.

On the steps

Faith in Action was working, last month, to bring together a multifaith ‘witness’ on the steps of the legislature in Victoria April 28, as a means to “support the poor and vulnerable in our communities.”

According to Susan Grace Draper, coordinator for the event, it was “not your ordinary protest,” but rather an opportunity “to show the government that people of faith are watching, that we hold them accountable and we aren’t going away.”

The event was intended to employ prayer, reflection and music to “help us beg for real change and work toward the world we really want.”

Phaseout on Pandora

St. Andrew’s Elementary School, a landmark Catholic institution on Pandora between Quadra and Cook, will close its doors in a few years, in a restructuring announced recently by Bishop Richard Gagnon of the Diocese of Victoria.

Suggesting the plan is meant to “create a strong foundation for the future by amalgamating our schools in Greater Victoria,” Gagnon said St. Patrick’s on Trent Street near Oak Bay and St. Joseph’s on West Burnside will be, respectively, east and west elementary schools of 400 each.

St. Andrew’s High School on Mackenzie Avenue will continue to enroll 400 as the regional high school. In due course and with area growth, a Catholic elementary school will be built in the Western Communities.

The Pandora school will stay open at least a couple of years. Constructed in the 1930s, it functioned for many years as St. Louis College, a Catholic high school, before moving to elementary status.

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The building changes at all schools will include seismic upgrading. For info, contact Cynthia Bouchard-Watkins, 250.479.1331.

Development delay

Plans for redevelopment at St. Paul’s United Church in Sidney are being delayed for the time being, until the general financial climate improves.

The St. Paul’s Outreach Society, which is handling the plans, notes there has been a delay in securing financing for the project. People interested in the nature of the redevelopment project may contact the church at stpauluc@stpauluc.com.

Fergie grows up

Nancy Cocks, minister of St. John’s Presbyterian Church in Medicine Hat and author of a series of kids’ books featuring Fergie the Frog, will be the speaker May 14 – 16 at the Vancouver Island Presbyterian Women’s Retreat 2010.

The conference will take place at Capernwray Bible School and Conference Centre on Thetis Island.

Taking the theme ‘God’s Grace through the Generations,’ Cocks will lead the group into how to interact with younger generations in a variety of roles and relationships. She will draw on research for a book she wrote, entitled Growing Up With God, as well as work she did at Vancouver School of Theology in children’s and adolescent spirituality.

More info from Mary Connolly at marwhit@shaw.ca.

Leadercast coming

May 7 is the date of a Simulcast set to occur at Glad Tidings Church in downtown Victoria.

At press time, tickets were still available, according to the Glad Tidings website, gtonline.org.

Dubbed a ‘Leadercast,’ the speaker line-up will include John Maxwell, author of The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership; former CNN anchor Sachi Koto; Ed Bastian, president of Delta Airlines; and Connie Podesta, an authority in the psychology of human behaviour and leadership development.

The session will run 8 am – 3 pm.

– Lloyd Mackey

May 2010