This is our first email newsletter of 2024!

We had hoped to send this newsletter out last Friday, but technical difficulties with the newsletter function of our website prevented it being sent until today. Our usual schedule of a bi-weekly parish newsletter will resume on January 26th.

There are lots of exciting things happening across the parish in the coming weeks: from the return of the Parish of the Valley Winter Party to Shrove Tuesday meals, Branches of Hope, and prayers for Christian Unity - please mark your calendars and plan to join in!

All are invited to join this Prayer Service for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in Eganville. 

This year, Eganville's service is being held at St. James the Less Catholic Church, 78 Wellington St. Eganville, this Sunday afternoon, January 21st at 2pm.

Join St. George’s South Alice at the Alice & Fraser Recreation Centre for a delicious lunch of soup, Bernie’s famous garlic cheese bread panini, scrumptious dessert & tea/coffee for $15. Lunch is served from 12-1pm.

Music Jam 1-4pm: Bring your instrument and join the fun!

This community event is in conjunction with the Laurentian Valley Alice in Winterland Carnival. 

The Parish of the Valley Winter Party returns!

On February 4th, join the Parish of the Valley for a winter party at Patty and Thane Childerhose's farm in Lower Stafford (1440 Ross Road, Cobden). Potluck Lunch beginning at 1:00pm.

Come and join a time of fun, food, and fellowship together as a parish.

Join the Parish of the Valley for Pancakes on Shrove Tuesday!

Shrove Tuesday is February 13th this year, and we have three opportunities to get your fill of pancakes that day:

Pancake Luncheon at Holy Trinity, Pembroke - from 11am - 1pm

Tickets available at the door: $10 for adults, $7 for children 5-10, children under 5 are free.

Featuring local maple syrup, pancakes, sausages, beans, and dessert.

Pancake Supper at St. John’s, Eganville - from 4pm - 6:30pm

Tickets available at the door: $10 for adults, $5 for children age 4-10.

Featuring real maple syrup, pancakes, sausages, baked beans, and dessert.

Pancake Supper at St. George's, South Alice - from 4pm - 6pm

Tickets: Freewill donation

Featuring pancakes with a fruit topping bar, potato pancakes and sausages. Gluten free available.

The Diocese of Ottawa's PWRDF Working Group has a goal of planting 500 native trees across the Diocese of Ottawa this spring and will match trees planted in the diocese by planting 500 trees in Uganda through PWRDF's partner St. Jude's Family Projects.

Donate $10 to plant a tree in Uganda, and PWRDF Ottawa will match it with a tree for you to plant at home or somewhere across the parish.

For more information or to request a tree, please email the Ven. Patrick Stephens, chair of the Ottawa PWRDF Working Group, by February 1st.

All trees planted across the Diocese will be counted as a part of the Communion Forest, an initiative launched across the Anglican Communion at Lambeth Conference 2022 which seeks to support local activities of forest protection, tree growing and eco-system restoration by Anglicans around the world.

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

• Wednesday Jan 24, 7pm — Pembroke Congregational Council (Zoom)
• Thursday Jan 25, 2pm — Killaloe/Tramore Congregational Council (at Sue Fulcher's)
• Sunday Jan 28, 1pm — Eganville Congregational Council (at St. John’s)
• Tuesday Jan. 30, 7:15pm — Alice/Petawawa Central Council (at Alice)

Councils play an important role in our parish's governance, acting on behalf of congregational Vestries in between meetings and advising our Incumbent, churchwardens, and clergy team on a wide range of issues. Please speak with your local churchwardens or council members if there are any items of business that you wish to raise before your local congregational or central council. 

Worship times and locations for Sunday, January 21st are:

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.