The annual meeting of the Synod of our Anglican Diocese of Ottawa was held last week in Ottawa. Thank you to all members of synod from the Parish of the Valley for your participation and engagement in the work of our diocese, and for sharing news from synod across our parish in the weeks to come.

Synod opened on Thursday, October 19th with Eucharist at Christ Church Cathedral Ottawa. Bishop Shane Parker delivered his charge to synod, which you may read here or watch here.

On Friday, October 20th we began our day with prayers. Our prayers included remembering the members of synod who have died in the last year. In particular, we remembered George Hodgekinson, who died this past July. As well as being a member of synod, George was a member of Diocesan Council for the last four years, and an active member of our Parish of the Valley, most recently as Rector's Warden at Holy Trinity Pembroke. 

We then heard reflections from the Dean of St. George's College, Jerusalem, Richard Sewell, and his wife JulieAnn. Dean Sewell offered some reflections on the ongoing war in the Land of the Holy One and read a letter from Archbishop Hosam Naoum to our Diocese. You can read Dean Sewell's opening reflections here, and Archbishop Hosam's letter to our diocese here.

A excellent summary of the work of the 143rd Synod of the Diocese of Ottawa is available on our Diocesan Website. You can find that summary here, or by clicking the blue button below.

Finally, congratulations to Marie Cheesman and Rev. Matthew Brown for their elections to Diocesan Council for a three year term. Diocesan Council serves as "synod out of session" and is the senior governing body of our diocese in between synod meetings. Marie and Rev. Matthew join Rob Hanson as members of Diocesan Council from the Parish of the Valley. 

Now is the last chance to register to join St. Stephen's Ottawa and our Parish of the Valley for An Advent Retreat for Women. Please register by October 31st by contacting office@ststephensottawa.org or 613-828-2472.

All women of both parishes are invited to attend this retreat at the Galilee Centre (398 John St N, Arnprior). The retreat will include time for personal reflection, times of fellowship for women across our two parishes, worship services, and a group session. The retreat will be facilitated by Rev. Claire.

The retreat begins Friday, December 8th (arrival between 1-4pm) and continues until Sunday, December 10th (departure after 11:30am). Meals included: Friday Supper, Saturday Breakfast/Lunch/Supper, Sunday Breakfast and coffee & tea throughout. Cost to be determined, based on number of participants, to a maximum of $250.

On Sunday, November 12th from 3pm-4:15pm, join St. John the Evangelist, Eganville, for a sponsored free skate at the Eganvile Arena!

All are welcome to come and ice skate together with members for the Eganville community. Toonies will be provided to all children to help purchase snacks at the canteen.

All Saints, Petawawa presents the annual Christmas Tea & Bazaar. Saturday, November 18th from 11am-2pm. Join All Saints for a bake table, Santa’s Shoppe, some Glitz and Glamour and a very lovely Christmas Tea.

All Saints is located at 1173 Victoria St. in Petawawa, with parking available beside the church.

Church of the Epiphany, Barry's Bay hosts its annual Wine & Cheese Pairing fundraiser on Saturday, November 25th from 2-5pm at the Barry's Bay Legion (250 John Street (Hwy 62) at Stafford).

Come for a tasting of gourmet cheeses paired with fine wines presented by an Ottawa epicurean extraordinaire. Tickets are $50/person with all proceeds going to Church of the Epiphany.

This year, there will be new combinations of specialty cheeses to compliment good wines and as usual there will be some Christmas baking and other tasty treats to try. At the end of the event, there will be a wine & cheese cash auction for those who wish to try some more at home or for gifts.

For more information or for tickets, please contact Shawn & Dave Eagles at 613-756-6353.

Please mark your calendars for the annual Advent Celebration of Light at St John the Evangelist, Eganville - a traditional service of choral evensong with prayers of remembrance on Sunday, December 3rd at 4pm. A reception will follow in the church hall.

All proceeds will support the sponsorship of students through St John's longstanding partners in Uganda, Wide Smiles For All Through Education, led by Kenneth Kasule.

We also invite you to share the names of those whom you wish to be remembered in prayer during the liturgy -- both names of the departed and names of the living who help to share God's light in our world. Please submit names before Sunday November 26th by contacting Joan Boldt at 613-628-6503, or joan.boldt@live.com. 

Please note the following upcoming Council meetings taking place across the Parish of the Valley:

Worship times and locations for Sunday, October 29th are:

8am & 10am - Holy Trinity Pembroke 

9am - Ascension Killaloe

9:30am - St. George's South Alice (Morning Prayer)

11am - Epiphany Barry's Bay 

11am - St. John's Eganville

11am - St. Paul's Cobden 

11:15am - All Saints Petawawa 

In addition to worship in person, we are pleased as a parish to be continuing to offer worship online and via television. 

For online worship this week, you can watch the service that was filmed live at Holy Trinity Pembroke last Sunday. It will be available for watching anytime from midnight on Sunday onwards. Click the blue "Click to Pray" button below to be taken to our online service page. This service will also be broadcast on YourTV Ottawa Valley. Our weekly service airs on YourTV (Cogeco Channel 12, HD Channel 700) every Sunday at 10am.

We also invite you to watch this Sunday's service live from Holy Trinity. It will be live-streamed at 10am on our YouTube Channel.

Thank you for joining us for prayer across the Valley and beyond!

We continue to be grateful for the many ways that members of the Parish of the Valley share gifts of time, talent, and financial resources to further God's mission across the Valley and beyond. To ensure the continued financial health of our ministries, all members of the Parish of the Valley are encouraged to make regular offerings to their home congregations and chapels. There are a many ways that you can give:

1. Donations can be placed on the offering plate at your local church or mailed using the postal addresses provided in our offerings directory, available for download by clicking the blue button below. 
   
   
2. Some of our congregations offer the possibility of giving through Pre-Authorized Remittances from your bank account (PAR). If you are a member of Holy Trinity Pembroke, St Paul's Cobden, All Saints Petawawa,  St. John's Eganville or St George's South Alice and would like to sign-up for PAR or increase your monthly PAR contribution, please download and print the forms available at the bottom of the page at the link below and mail them to your home church using the addresses provided in the offerings directory. 
   
   
3. Members of Holy Trinity Pembroke, All Saints Petawawa, and St George's South Alice can give directly to their churches online using credit card through our Parish website. Click on the church names in this paragraph and scroll down to the green "Give" button.
   
   
4. Members of the Church of the Epiphany, Barry's Bay can give to the congregation via secure e-transfer. The email transfer address is epiphanybbay@gmail.com. Questions can be directed to Tom Smith, Treasurer, at 613-756-1712. 
   
   
5. Members of other churches in the parish can also give to their churches online using credit card or PayPal through the website Canada Helps. Click on the blue button below and then scroll down to #4 and find your church's name to go to their donation page. Your church will receive a cheque in the mail with your donation, less a service fee, in about a month 

Thank you for your continued support of the Parish of the Valley.

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.