We extend our deepest condolances to Bishop Michael and his family as they mourn the death of his mother, Florence Bird, this past weekend.

A small family funeral service is being held on Thursday in Oakville. Please keep Bishop Michael and Susan in your prayers as they travel to be there, and as they join their family to mourn this loss. 

Rest eternal grant to Florence, O Lord. And let light perpetual shine upon her. May her soul, and the souls of all of the departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.

The full obituary for Bishop Michael's mother can be read by clicking the link below.

With the return to Red Stage in our Diocesan COVID guidelines, the Parish of the Valley resumes worship exclusively onine and on YourTV this Epiphany-tide. A service, pre-recorded live at Holy Trinity Pembroke this week, will air on Sunday for the Second Sunday After the Epiphany.

The Reverend Canon Susan Clifford is our Celebrant, Reverend Gillian Hoyer proclaims the gospel and is our preacher, Bev York reads the lessons and offers prayers, and Paula Lundrigan leads us with music.

The service will be available online from Sunday morning at the link "Click to Pray" below. The service will also air on YourTV Ottawa Valley at 10am on Sunday morning.

Last Sunday Canon Susan shared the news of her upcoming retirement. In her words:

My journey with Christ has brought me through nearly 18 years of ordained ministry, but this chapter of my life is now drawing to a close and I will be retiring as of March of this year. I have learned to love you all. But I feel strongly that the time has come back for me to step back and begin a new chapter in my life, just as you begin a new chapter in your life as we all emerge from this latest wave of the COVID virus.

Thank you for all that we have shared together, for many wonderful years of shared worship and service. My ministry would have meant very little without your love and generosity and patience and humour and without your strong faith and prayer. Thank God for the interconnectedness of all life. Through God’s spirit we are all one body no matter where we find ourselves and through prayer we remain connected. 

Bishop Michael summed up how many of us across the Parish are feeling when he replied to Canon Susan's announcement,

Your message concerning your retirement comes with mixed emotions. On the one hand we will all feel a sense of loss as you leave active full-time ministry among us because you have served with such great distinction for all of those many years… you have touched so many lives so richly and so beautifully. We will feel a real sense of loss as you retire. But we are also feeling a real sense of blessing and thanksgiving for your ministry and a sense of joy for you that you may have such a well-deserved retirement and we pour out our love, very best wishes, and congratulations to you.

Canon Susan's last Sunday in the Parish will be March 13th. We will all miss Canon Susan being a part of our clergy team in the Parish of the Valley. Plans for a Celebration in honour of her ministry will be shared as soon as we are able.

If you didn't get a chance to hear Canon Susan's full message, you can find it here in her sermon from last Sunday. Bishop Michael's words in response can be found a little later in the service, just before the Eucharistic Prayer.

Everyone is invited to join the next free lecture in the Diocese of Ottawa 125th Anniversary Lecture Series. The next one is on Monday, January 17th at 7:30pm. Registration information is available clicking the button below.

The lecture is entitled, "The Church as Commons: A Theological Case for Affordable Housing," by the Rev. Dr. Jason McKinney.

Jason McKinney is a theological educator and priest and his work, life, and family are all rooted in his local neighbourhood. At the parish level, Jason has leveraged an aging church building to develop a network of value-aligned community partners. Although the congregation is small, the building is generating a huge local impact through food security, social enterprise, the arts, and urban agriculture. He is currently working with the congregation to redevelop the church building to create additional impact through affordable housing.

The Good Book Club is an invitation to all Anglicans & Episcopalians to join in reading Exodus during Epiphany 2022. We invite you to start the new year with a renewed spiritual practice of reading God’s Word. Forward Movement, the creators of "Forward Day by Day," with support from partners from around the Episcopal Church and Anglican Communion, will celebrate the time of Epiphany with a new round of the Good Book Club.

The second book of the Bible, Exodus recounts the journey of the Israelites from slavery to freedom. We hear the great stories of Moses, from his discovery by Pharaoh’s daughter on the bank of the river to the burning bush to his presentation of the Ten Commandments. Along the way, we encounter God’s covenant and explore the grand theme of redemption.

The Office at Aborn House, Holy Trinity Pembroke is closed to the public until further notice. If you need to speak with the parish administrator, Gail Marion, please call 613-732-4658 between 9-12 Monday-Friday, or email office@valleyanglicans.ca.

Here you will find our parish prayer list, scripture readings according to the Sunday lectionary, and links to worship by the Parish of the Valley and other Anglican resources and services.

Please download from the link below.