PGIMF Worship Services

Carla Funk (author and teacher in Victoria) spoke on the image of a green olive tree as the fulcrum in the poetry of Psalm 52, turning in verse 8 to portraying how we can flourish by remaining rooted in the presence of God.

Ruth Enns spoke on the binding of Isaac by Abraham in Genesis 22:1-14, and referred to Benjamin Britten’s musical re-enactment of the story based on the 15th-Century Chester Mystery Plays. What a blessing that most of us are never tested to this extent, and that God is faithful in his ongoing care for people. NOTE: a […]

On a weekend when we celebrated World Refugee Day, Indigenous Peoples’ Day, and Father’s Day, we heard John Klassen speak on the historical and Biblical importance of ensuring that spouses and children (including widows and orphans) have their material needs taken care of.

Chan Yang spoke about the importance of Hope in the face of what can feel like the overwhelming forces of reckless hate with reference to the themes in Isaiah 5 and the Lord of the Rings novels by J.R.R. Tolkien.

Garry Janzen (Executive Minister for Mennonite Church BC) used Colossians 3:12-14 to encourage all congregations to be wise, courageous, creative and safe as our communities begin to reopen and we reflect on the challenges of climate change and racial injustice. NOTES: Slides were presented during the Zoom meeting, but the video recording is not retained […]

Catherine Cooper shared a meditation connecting the promise implied by the necessary fall of Babel (Genesis 11) to our hope for universal communication made possible by the pouring out of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

Laura Sportack shared a meditation in our Zoom online worship service about the Ascension of Christ based on Acts 1:6-11.  She related her experience of Ascension Sunday to other inexplicable events like today’s pandemic that leave us as uncertain as to how to respond, as Jesus’ followers were on his ascension. The Ascension of Christ […]

Henry Neufeld challenged us to consider: how do we love God? Can we find the inner light of God shining out of other people, even in ones we may not get along with? Will will love God by loving others, as Jesus told us to do?

For the fifth Sunday of Easter, we intended to hold our first service at our new home at St. James Community Square, but instead, we held our worship meeting via Zoom. Janice Kreider spoke on “Dwell and Restore” based on John 14:1-17.

On Sunday May 3, 2020 PGIMF intended to hold its final service at the Menno Simons Centre, our home for more than 33 years. Until public health measures related to the COVID-19 pandemic permit us to begin meeting together at the St. James Community Square, we have been conducting online Zoom worship services. Thomas Bergen […]

Janice Kreider spoke about the stories that were recorded as miracles in Jesus’ day, and the times of inexplicable blessing in our modern lives. We all know the story of how five loaves and two fish led to the feeding of thousands (John 6:1-14), but do we recognize God working through the volunteers at our […]

Henry Klippenstein gave the second of two talks entitled, “How do we experience God?”, in which he explores two contrasting approaches to experiencing God as individuals, as well as the ways in which people can experience God through relationships. The first method, which involves a careful and at times imaginative listening of thoughts, is covered […]

Henry Klippenstein gave the first of two talks entitled “How do we experience God?”  Since Peter suggested that we are to be “participants in the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:3-4) and since Jesus prayed in Gethsemane that it be possible for us to be one with God (John 17:16-23), just how do we experience our […]

Margaret Trim (Coordinator of Academic Records and Admissions at Vancouver School of Theology), spoke from the lectionary text of Matthew 17:1-9 about the Transfiguration.

Frances Kitson (VST student and candidate for ordination in the United Church of Canada) asked us why we care about the Bible. She challenged us to engage with the text — not only intellectually — but also as a relationship. While Scripture holds different perspectives in creative tension, it can give us the language to […]

Annika Krause spoke about the awkwardness of “proclaiming the good news” in a post-modern world. Relativism and Moralistic Therapeutic Deism (God as a Genie in a bottle) add to society’s skepticism of organized religion, which is already provoked by the cringe-worthy versions of Christianity that we see in the news and on social media. In […]