The Parish of the Valley is delighted to welcome a limited number of musicians and singers from Christ Church Cathedral Ottawa for two very special services to be held this Sunday, December 13th. A sung Holy Eucharist will be held at St. Paul's Cobden at 10am. It will be followed by a service of Lessons and Carols at Holy Trinity Pembroke at 4pm. Seating is limited and added physical distancing will be in place in accordance with our diocesan COVID-19 protocols. Unfortunately there will be no congregational singing at these services, but we do hope that you will join us in welcoming the talented members of our cathedral choirs who are looking forward to sharing their musical gifts with our community as we journey through Advent. Those who would like to attend the afternoon service at Holy Trinity Pembroke are asked to pre-register online using the link below, or by telephoning the Holy Trinity office at 613-732-4658. Holy Trinity recently received permission to increase its maximum capacity for this service from 50 to 65; as of publishing there are still a few empty seats remaining for this service. 

As we approach the Christmas holidays our online worship opportunities as a parish will be adapting to allow for some well deserved sabbath time for our hardworking clergy team and lay worship leaders. Beginning this week there will be no Zoom Evening Prayer service on Sunday afternoons. The clergy team plans to resume Zoom worship opportunities for the parish early in 2021. Please watch this space in the coming weeks for more information.

For online worship this week we are pleased to offer a recording of a service filmed at Holy Trinity Pembroke. Please click on the "Click to Pray" button below to view the service on our website. Plans are also now in place for our clergy team to pre-record a special Christmas service that will be shared with the parish on our website, YouTube channel and YourTV Ottawa Valley. This Sunday's Lessons and Carols service at Holy Trinity Pembroke is also being filmed for broadcast over the holidays. We hope that these, and other online worship offerings that will continue to be shared through our website, will help us all to experience some joy and cheer as we celebrate Christmas!

The Winter 2020 issue of our parish's Revelations newsletter is now available for download by clicking the button below. Paper copies will be delivered across the parish in the coming days and will include a Christmas offering envelope. This quarter's issue includes articles by Canon David Lethbridge, Canon Roger Steinke and a profile of the Reverend Allan Studd. There's also a picture and update from Baby Lily at the Petawawa Rectory! Our heartfelt thanks as a parish family go out to Jean Ostrom, Naomi de Repentigny and Alexis Anderson for their faithful ministry as the Revelations editorial team. We hope you'll grab a warm mug and enjoy perusing the latest news and stories. Happy reading!  

This year the Parish of the Valley is pleased to be offering Christmas Eve and Christmas Day worship opportunities in-person, online and on television. A full schedule of our Christmas Eve and Christmas Day services can be found by clicking on the blue button below. In some churches there will be multiple services taking place due to COVID-19 space restrictions. Pre-registration will be required in order to attend at some locations. Please follow the online instructions for making a reservation or speak to your local churchwardens for further details. 

Looking for a great Christmas gift idea on short notice? "Fear not," says the angel, there is a solution! 

Advent and Christmas are a time of reflection, memories and reminiscing. For many who are grieving, memories are often focused on family members and friends who have passed away. Each year the Malcolm, Deavitt and Binhammer Funeral Home in Pembroke is pleased to offer a Christmas Service of Remembrance in collaboration with local community partners. This year's service will be offered virtually on Saturday December 12th at 2pm. Messages of comfort and support will be offered by Pastor Bruce Thompson and Pastor Leena Jensen of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada. To join the service please visit www.mdbfuneralhome.com and click on the service link beginning Saturday December 12th.

The Parish of the Valley is pleased to share our annual programming for Advent. This year due to COVID-19 we are offering a weekly Advent Bible Study via Zoom. The Bible study is taking place on Wednesday evenings at 7pm and is led by Jennifer Cross with the assistance of Lorna Sibley. Jen and Lorna are two of our parish's very capable Lay Readers in Training. Sessions last approximately 90 minutes and there are lots of opportunity for prayer, questions, and the exploration of the Advent scriptures. To join the weekly study click on "Join the Advent Bible Study" below on Wednesday evenings. The Zoom session will be open from 6:30pm.

We are also pleased to offer Weekly Advent Candle Lighting Prayers to use with your Advent wreaths at home, as well as a Weekly Advent Hymn Study prepared by Bishop Michael. We hope that these and other Advent at home resources made available through our website will help to strengthen us all in our walks with God as we journey through the coming season of joyful anticipation. 

Advent Zoom Study Telephone Information - Wednesdays at 7pm

You can also join our Advent Bible Study via telephone by using the following dial-in information (and if you dial 10-10-710 before one of these numbers, it only costs one dollar for the long distance charge for one hour): 

Join us today via Zoom at 10am for a virtual Bible Study for our parish.  Each week we explore the coming Sunday's readings together and share in fellowship and conversation. All are welcome! Today's session will be our last Bible Study meeting until 2021. For further information please call Canon Susan at 613-732-0313 or email: eganvilleparish@gmail.com

To join the Zoom meeting click "Come to Bible Study" below.

To join the Zoom meeting by telephone, call one of the telephone numbers below and be prepared to punch in the Meeting ID number and the Passcode when prompted.

Meeting ID: 863 6933 3800
Passcode: 381963

Dial by your location
+1 647 374 4685 Canada
+1 647 558 0588 Canada
+1 438 809 7799 Canada
If you dial 10-10-710 before one of these numbers, it only costs a dollar for the long distance charge for 1 hour.

Lois Goldberg of St. George's South Alice has created 125 beautiful face masks that are now available for sale. Many feature seasonal colours just in time for Christmas! The masks are available for a free will offering to St. George's. Those interested are asked to telephone Bernard Raglin at 613-732-7101 to arrange a time for pick-up.

Services from Holy Trinity Pembroke are now being broadcast on Sunday mornings at 10am on YourTV Ottawa Valley (Cogeco Cable Channel 12; Cogeco HD Cable Channel 700). YourTV is a service exclusively available to Cogeco customers and broadcasts along the Highway 17 corridor between Arprior and Deep River.

Holy Trinity worship services are broadcast on YourTV with a one week delay. This holiday season Holy Trinity will also be offering a televised Christmas service that will air on Christmas Eve at 7pm and Christmas Day at 10am. We will also be continuing our ministry of posting video recordings of sermons and special services from across our parish to our Parish of the Valley YouTube channel as upload speeds allow. Please click on the blue button below to see our full catalogue of past services and sermon recordings, and help us spread the word that worship from the Parish of the Valley is now on YourTV!

Please continue to register your seat in advance prior to worshiping in-person at Holy Trinity Pembroke. Pre-registration is a big help in speeding up the COVID-19 check-in procedures at the door, and also helps us to ensure that there are always enough seats for everyone who wishes to attend. Any member of the Parish of the Valley wishing to worship at Holy Trinity can register online by clicking on the blue button below; registration is now open for services through to the middle of January, including Christmas Eve. For Christmas Eve we ask that parishioners register for one service only: either 5pm or 8pm. You can also register by telephoning the Holy Trinity church office before Thursdays at noon: 613-732-4658.

This Advent all members of the Parish of the Valley are invited to "Say Yes" and support our parish's first ever Valley Advent Appeal.

We know that some of you are experiencing extraordinary challenges and financial difficulties brought on by the pandemic, and that an additional donation to your local Anglican church may not be possible at this time. If you are able, however, to offer added financial support to your local congregation as we all cope with decreases in church attendance, reduced Sunday collections and lower fundraising revenues, then we would be exceedingly grateful to receive your contribution to our Parish of the Valley Advent Appeal.

An Advent Appeal letter from our clergy team, together with a reply form, is now available for download from our webiste. Paper copies of this letter and reply envelopes are also being delivered to all households across our parish. Please click on the blue button below to learn more. Thank you for your faithful financial support!

Don't forget to download and read The Valley Bulletin from the Latest News section of our parish website. Click "Read The Valley Bulletin" below to access this week's issue, including our parish prayer list.