A women expressed  gratitude for understanding how to pray when
she has a problem.  She was having
challenges during her practice teaching at the school and prayed to know that
God would provide her with a clear sense of direction.  She found she was able to accomplish her work
with a sense of calmness  which brought
bett­er improvement in her day.

 Celebrate Victoria’s cultural diversity! Learn about Victoria faith groups, promote understanding, build new relationships. Everybody of all faiths welcome!

Interfaith Open House Event Poster 1 April 2012 (2)   Click to see the poster

A number of presenters from various Christian faith groups will speak about their faith including:

• The Very Rev. Dr. Logan McMenamie fulfills roles in both the local Victoria Anglican parish and the diocese of British Columbia. As Rector of Christ Church Cathedral, he is a pastor and teacher and supervises all operations of the parish. As Dean of Columbia, he is second in ecclesiastical rank to the Bishop.
• Anna Bowness Park is a full time Christian Science practitioner of spiritual healing, and the spokesperson for Christian Science in British Columbia. She also is the founder and co-moderator a multifaith discussion blog, Spiritually Speaking,  for the Victoria Times Colonist newspaper print edition and website.
• Pastor Lyle Mackenzie is pastor of Evangelical Lutheran Church Of The Cross, on Cedar Hill Road. He also is a chaplain at the University of Victoria, and a contributor to the Times Colonist Spiritually Speaking blog.
• Margaret O’Donnell is founder and executive director of The Oasis Society for Spiritual Health offering spiritual care for the most vulnerable – those largely on the street.
• Gordon Miller is a United Church member and a professional musician with a music business that offers a wide range of services.  As a person of deep faith, he has beautifully melded his faith with his music and loves to engage people with their community through music.

 Please join us for this family friendly community faith event. Refreshments and snacks served. No registration required- but you are encouraged to RSVP at sbaileys@icavictoria.org

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Back story to the “Food, Faith and Community” Interfaith Bridging Project.

The first phase of the project included a series of cooking classes and shared meals hosted by the Sikh, Hindu, Muslim and Jewish faith communities. Each event was well attended and much appreciated by the participants. A recipe booklet containing information and photos about the prepared cultural dishes, the host faith groups and the project’s events will be produced in June 2012. The booklet will be made available in print form for participants and available online for the public at no cost.

2^nd Phase – Interfaith Open Houses (April – May 2012)

This series of interfaith open houses are being organized by the Victoria Multifaith Society and hosted by the Unitarian, Bahai, Buddhist and Christian faith communities. The Open House details for the Unitarian and Buddhist faith groups will be confirmed shortly.

2  An artist  said how grateful he is for Christian Science, and appreciates how Christian Science is a true science in applying the laws of God. He  loves to create his paintings in reflecting how he demonstrates Christian Science in his artwork.

3   A gentleman mentioned how he prayed for the health and well being of his children. They were quickly healed of colds when he realized he needed to overcome fear and understand their relationship to God, as being all powerful.

• 2  A gentleman met someone’s need while he was grocery shopping. He saw another man at the checkout counter using his debit card. The card was not processing through the interact machine.  The rest of the customers were waiting impatiently at the check-out.  The testifier approached the man and gave him some encouragement and told him not to feel badly because others had to wait. The testifier said how helpful church members had been to him when he needed help and he wanted to help others.

• 3 A women shared her experience about  memory. A group of her Sunday school students went out to buy ice-cream after church. Two years later she and her husband went to visit one of the Sunday school students recovering in hospital. They asked him what could they bring, and he mentioned ice-cream.  She stood in line at Baskins and Robin’s ice-cream store looking at the many selections of flavors.  She could not remember what his favorite ice-cream was.  She realized that God would  provide the answer to her prayer . The next thing she remembered his favorite ice-cream which was the cookies and cream flavor. When she arrived  at the hospital to give  the young man his  ice-cream he was so pleased she remembered his favorite flavor.

• 4 Another individual expressed his interest in watching the  Christian Science lectures on the Mother Church’s website.

This is just a summary of what I understand from the commentary in the Interpreter’s Bible

When Kind Ahaz rejected Isaiah’s advice to trust in God, and instead turned to the Assyrian’s for protection, Isaiah withdrew from the political scene. He quietly looked back over his life and recorded how he was commissioned by God to become a prophet. The following was his story as I understand it.

After the death of King Uzziah, Isaiah was with the priests and watched the ancient ceremony filled with rituals and drama. Isaiah, who was used to listening for spiritual and eternal values, had a sudden awareness of the divine reality behind the symbolism of the rituals and drama that he was witnessing.

His vision is described in terms of the pagan rituals (so others at that time could understand it) but he was trying to explain his spiritual awareness. He was alone with God. He was describing an overwhelming sense of glory and holiness. “God sitting upon a throne” and “His train filled the temple”. He didn’t try to describe God. As he was feeling this over-powering sense of holiness all around him, he realized his own sins, and cried out “Woe is me” ….”a man of unclean lips”.

As described in the Interpreter’s Bible – “It was this realization of sin and the overwhelming sense of unworthiness which was the first step in the making of the prophet.”

His cry for help did not go unanswered. As soon as he confessed his sins, he was touched with the “fire of God’s cleansing”. (As in the KJV of the Bible, – one of the seraphim’s placed a live coal on his lips.)- He was forgiven – or cleansed – purified.

This experience of forgiveness was the second step in the making of the prophet. In order for Isaiah to be able to talk to others about their sins, he had to have experienced forgiveness in his own life. Only the assurance of divine mercy can bring hope to sinful men – judging or denouncing them does not make them change, – loving and forgiving them does give hope.

The third and final step in making the prophet was the dedication of a life redeemed. This redemption opened his eyes to other’s needs. Later he asks “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” and he answers his own question – “Here I am, send me”.

- C.C.

• 2 A women expressed appreciation for the Church members. Recently on a Sunday she was scheduled to usher at Church and wasn’t feeling well. She realized that she should go. She went and greeted people as they arrived at the front door. When people came they expressed gratitude for her welcoming presence. Her thought changed from feeling ill to feeling appreciated by the Church members.

• 3 Another individual shared how she was out shopping for clothes and then went grocery shopping. She placed her bag of clothing under the shopping cart. When she arrived home she realized she forgot her parcel of clothes. She was grateful she remembered and prayed to know where she could find them. When she got to the grocery store she found her parcel of clothes in the shopping cart.

• 4  A another  women said how valuable  silent prayer is in a church congregation that includes prayer for all mankind. She mentioned how silent prayer helped her over come severe pain. She explained after the dentist did extensive work on her teeth he recommended she use a pain killer to alleviate the pain. She declined it and wanted to rely on prayer. After she arrived home the pain became intense. It was a Wednesday evening and she didn’t go to the Church service, but was thinking about how the Church Service includes mankind during the silent prayer. As she felt included her thought centered on the church service. She said she was filled with appreciation  for healing through the Bible and Science and Health at that instant the pain lessened and eventually left.

• A gentleman testified that he was sharing with his friend how he enjoyed attending church. He was inspired in learning how to pray.  His van’s engine was not working and he needed to take it to the garage.  After talking to his friend about his church experience he got into the van, put his key into the ignition, and drove to the garage. His friend was amazed that the van arrived at the garage without breaking down.

• A  another testifier shared how she overcame pain in her foot.  After she attended a meeting her foot gave her problems and later when she went walking her foot twisted. She found it painful to walk. She realized she had to handle fear of pain.  She turned her thought to God and knew that God does not see man physically but spiritually as “the image and likeness of God” in the Bible Genesis chapter 1: 26-27 .  As she claimed her spiritual identity and God’s love for her ,the pain in her foot stopped she was able to walk properly.

• Another women shared how a Christian Science practitioner said that hmm stood for meekness, mildness, modesty, and moderation. It is absence of the human mind’s pride. Pride signifies doubt, fear, ignorance, and human will. The Pharisees were very ridged about regulations. Jesus was humble to the Christ truth.  Saul who was a Pharisee condemned Jesus disciples until his conversion in  Damascus by Christ through Ananias of Damascus. Paul’s life was transformed and his name was changed from Saul to Paul. Acts chapter 9: 3- 9.

Testimonies

• A women shared her experience of horseback riding. The horse started to resist having a rider on his back and he reacted by abruptly shaking his head. As she held the horses reigns she prayed to know that she was not afraid, and God was in control of the situation. A thought came to her that the horse could obey her. She firmly said “no” to the horse, and the horse immediately stopped his boisterous behavior .

• A church member said how the Science and Health has helped him understand the spiritual meaning of the Bible. He said since discovering Christian Science and coming to the church he has never felt so loved.

• A testifier mentioned when she gave her coffee card to the waitress it dropped and staff tried to find it. The testifier was thinking about a reference from the Science and Health by Mary Baker Eddy on page 468. As she was praying  about the passage the staff found the card and everyone was happy.

• A gentleman was reading the Christian Science Bible Lesson on Christ Jesus. The lesson made a reference to  the  Women at the well John chapter 4. He was studying the meaning of the Bible passage and found a Christian Science Journal on the topic of the  Women at the well.

• Another gentleman expressed gratitude for his increasing understanding of the value of spiritual supply. He found a wallet and the owner of the wallet. The owner was so grateful for the gentleman’s honesty that in return he gave the gentleman a $5.00 bill.

Another woman said on a Friday afternoon she had back pain that got increasingly painful,and that she was to perform in a concert on Saturday.  She asked her husband to pray for her and she had a quick healing.

An individual remarked how her family recently moved to Victoria and were celebrating a new experience at Christmas.  She had her parents visiting and wanted to change their Christmas traditions by doing a special event that the entire family could enjoy.

Another individual said how much she loved celebrating the Christmas season. She looks forward to seeing her daughter’s family visit, and then she and her husband visit their son and his family.

We invite you to enjoy Christmas music before the talk and refreshments afterwards.

  Here’s a poster with more information.