Church Updates
among us, around us, beyond us
Year End Giving Deadlines
As we wrap up the year, we want to ensure you receive important information regarding year-end giving at Victoria Alliance Church.
If you wish to see your year-end gifts reflected on your 2025 Charitable Tax Receipt, please note the following deadlines from our office:
• Cheques or cash: Sunday, December 28 by 12pm
• Online giving (e-transfer or Nucleus Give): Wednesday, December 31 by 11:59pm
Thank you! Please feel free to reach out to the office or our Treasurer with any questions.
Regular Financial Update from the Board
Out of a desire to keep our community well informed, the Board aims to provide financial updates regularly throughout the year.
This update comes on Giving Tuesday and in the lead up to the Christmas season as a way of expressing our gratitude to our community for all who have given in 2025. We also wish to support our community with further information as you make year end decisions around giving in your household.
There are many facets that contribute to the health of a faith community. One piece of that overall health assessment is to maintain a watchful eye on the finances of our church.
We are grateful for the generous givers in our community, for the wisdom brought to our decision-making through our Board, Treasurer, and Finance Committee, and above all for the faithfulness of God to provide for our needs as we have sought to keep in step with Christ's leading.
We do not seek to manipulate or control giving through this information, or make commentary on the numbers. Rather our hope is simply to make clear our financial situation, and to invite all in our community to form a response shaped through prayer and discernment.
For more information about Giving, click here.
If you have any questions about this report or are interested in learning more about how to financially support the mission of Victoria Alliance Church, please do not hesitate to reach out.
Thank you for your partnership in the mission of Victoria Alliance Church to make Jesus known among us, around us, and beyond us.
Russ Bell, Board Chair
Greg Kuhn, Board Treasurer
Interview - Pastor Kyla’s Sabbatical
🎉We’re very excited to welcome Pastor Kyla back from her sabbatical this Sunday!
As she eases back into ministry life, our shared goal is to help make her return restful and unhurried. We know many of you are eager to connect, and we encourage you to do so with gentleness, allowing her time and space to re-engage at a healthy pace.
To help answer some of the questions you might have, we’ve included a short interview with her below. Pastor Kyla will also be preaching and sharing her sabbatical reflections on Sunday, November 9.
Pastor Rob and I encourage you to join us in praying for Pastor Kyla and our team during this transition. May Jesus guide us with wisdom, joy, and teamwork.
Would you share a few highlights of what you got up to while you were away?
Unencumbered time spent with my family was really special. To pick one or two highlights is impossible, but I will remember this as a season of great walks.
Did anything surprise you about sabbatical?
I think I'm still processing this, but one thing that stands out is that early in my second month I came to really appreciate a deep relaxing in my body.
What are you looking forward to about returning to your pastoral role?
Hugs. :) I really missed the warmth of our weekly gatherings.
What would you like to share with the Victoria Alliance Church community as you transition back to work in the coming weeks?
I have a lot to share, and hope to do so as part of my teaching time on Sunday, Nov 9. I hope to carry forward with me lessons from this sabbatical that invite us to abide in Jesus. I will be thinking about what it looks like to lay down, let go, release burdens, live with purpose, slow down, go further, grow in curiosity, and resist distraction.
Is there a question you wish we’d asked you?
Yes - Is there anything I'd like to say to the people of our community? THANK YOU! I spent much of this past season feeling truly grateful for this experience of sabbatical. I am humbled by the service and engagement that so many put in so that I could be released in this manner. I am truly grateful.
2025 Fall Groups Summary
Groups are a chance to make friends and encourage each other along the way during the week. We’re always happy to support new groups, so if you have a thought let us know!
Women’s Wednesday Daybreak - Wednesdays, 10:00-11:00am.
A weekly Wednesday morning gathering for women to study together and enjoy friendship.
Quilting Group - Thursday Sep 18, 1pm-4pm, Youth Room.
This group of women meets every 3rd Thursday to assemble quilts for missions via Compassion Warehouse. No experience necessary!
Women’s Sunday Study - Sunday Sep 21, 1pm-2:30pm, Board Room (Balcony).
This group meets weekly and often eats lunch together beforehand (12pm). This fall they are studying ‘Into the Promise: A Journey through Joshua’.
Men’s Monday Gathering - Monday Sep 22, 7:30pm-9pm, LOCATION NOTE: First meeting is off site - email the office for info. Otherwise, this group meets in the Fireside Room.
A group of men of all ages who love deep conversations and interesting topics to chat about. The study topic this fall will be a New Testament Study by Scot McKnight. This group meets every other Monday.
Young Families Group - Pizza Kick-Off - Sunday Sep 27, Lansdowne South Playground (or Fireside if rain).
The Young Families Group meets once a month after the service for casual hangouts and is geared for families of all shapes and sizes with children aged 0 - grade school. To be added to the Young Families email list, contact the office.
Elevate Youth Group - Coming soon!
It’s our typical pattern to wait to kick off youth group until our students have had some time to settle into the school year and get past the hectic first few weeks of school. We are working hard to plan a schedule for youth and will keep you in the loop! In the meantime, to be added to the Elevate Youth email list, contact the office.
Regular Financial Update from the Board
Out of a desire to keep our community well informed, the Board aims to provide financial updates four times a year. In April, we gave our fourth and final update for the 2024 ministry year. This update is the first for 2025.
There are many facets that contribute to the health of a faith community. One piece of that overall health assessment is to maintain a watchful eye on the finances of our church.
We are grateful for the generous givers in our community, for the wisdom brought to our decision-making through our Board, Treasurer, and Finance Committee, and above all for the faithfulness of God to provide for our needs as we have sought to keep in step with Christ's leading.
Here is a link to a PDF file showing budgeted vs. actual income to the General Fund to June 30 2025.
We do not seek to manipulate or control giving through this information, or make commentary on the numbers. Rather our hope is simply to make clear our financial situation, and to invite all in our community to form a response shaped through prayer and discernment.
For more information about Giving, click here.
If you have any questions about this report or are interested in learning more about how to financially support the mission of Victoria Alliance Church, please do not hesitate to reach out.
Thank you for your partnership in the mission of Victoria Alliance Church to make Jesus known among us, around us, and beyond us.
Russ Bell, Board Chair
Greg Kuhn, Board Treasurer
Pastor Kyla’s Sabbatical
It has been some time since a pastor has received a Sabbatical at Victoria Alliance Church. To prepare us for this transition, the staff team has collaborated on some “Frequently Asked Questions” we anticipate. More questions? Reach out to us at the office!
Q: What is the purpose of a Sabbatical Leave?
A: A sabbatical is an extended period of time intentionally set aside by pastors as an occasion for reflection, recreation, and revitalization unencumbered by their usual responsibilities.
The responsibilities of pastoring are continual, often with little distinction between on and off hours. While we aim to maintain healthy daily, weekly, and annual patterns for rest, after a significant number of ministry years it is a wise and recommended practice to take a longer step back from the regular duties of a pastoral position for deep rejuvenation. Sabbatical finds expression in study, rest, spiritual retreat, and prayer away from normal ministerial responsibilities and in a manner that is not possible during the busy-ness of a typical work year.
Q: Is Sabbatical leave a paid leave?
A: Yes. During an approved Sabbatical leave the pastor will continue to receive their salary and benefits. It should be noted that one way a congregation can demonstrate care for their pastor and their faith community is to continue to practice generous giving throughout a Sabbatical leave. Such generosity is appreciated and contributes to the overall health of our spiritual community.
Q: How long is Pastor Kyla’s Sabbatical?
A: Pastor Kyla applied for 16 weeks of Sabbatical leave, and has combined it with her regular annual holiday time as well. This means she is on leave from Wed June 11 – Tues October 28. Upon return, our policy suggests a graduated return with limited hours for the first 2 weeks.
Q: Will Pastor Kyla still be attending our Sunday services?
A: No. As you can imagine, it is difficult for a pastor on Sabbatical to truly lay down their ministry duties while remaining a part of Sunday services. Pastors on Sabbatical are strongly advised by our District Superintendent to temporarily participate in an alternate pattern of connecting with God in worship.
Q: How do I reach Pastor Kyla while she is on Sabbatical?
A: In order for a pastor to benefit from a period of deep rest and restoration that Sabbatical can offer, communication with congregants needs to be suspended for the period of time off. The remaining pastoral staff are available to handle any pastoral care requests, and have been given instructions on how to contact Pastor Kyla should an emergent need arise.
Q: Who is picking up all Pastor Kyla’s duties while she is on leave?
A: Pastor Kyla has been working hard with our pastoral staff, Board members, and many amazing preachers throughout our District to create a schedule for preaching that does not put additional strain on our regular pastoral staff. Many of her duties will be “paused” during her Sabbatical, and other tasks are being delegated to the pastoral staff and volunteers as necessary. If you have a specific issue that would typically require Pastor Kyla’s attention, please reach out to Pastor Rob or Pastor Bekah for direction.
Q: What if I bump into Pastor Kyla in the community? Should I say ‘Hello’? Can I invite her over for a visit?
A: While on Sabbatical Pastor Kyla is likely to spend much of her time in Victoria. This makes it likely that you may cross paths at some point. Do say hello! Give a hug if you like. This will be a welcome gesture. Please refrain from making pastoral care requests or asking for church related information. A good rule of thumb is to follow the lead of the person on Sabbatical. Let them initiate. Let them invite.
Q: Does a Sabbatical indicate there is an underlying problem or employment issue?
A: No. Sabbatical is not a tool ever to be used to address employment issues or other “problems.” At Victoria Alliance Church, our Sabbatical policy is that applications may only come from full-time pastors who have completed a minimum of 6 full years of service since any previous Sabbatical leave, and who are committed to continued service to this local congregation moving forward. Sabbatical leave at Victoria Alliance is understood to be a healthy practice of stepping away to ensure continued future service.
Q: How can I support Pastor Kyla on her Sabbatical?
A: Pastor Kyla really appreciates the heart of this question. There are two things Pastor Kyla entrusts to Victoria Alliance’s community while she is on Sabbatical:
- Please remember her and her family often in prayer.
- Please show up for each other. Continue to love well, pray for one another, generously support the ministries of Victoria Alliance, and extend a warm welcome to all who set foot in our sanctuary.
The Nucleus Prayer Hub
The Nucleus Prayer Hub is a secure online tool on our new website that allows our community to:
- Submit requests to a prayer wall. Anyone can submit a prayer request, but viewing the prayer wall is only accessible via login to those in our community.
- Submit prayer requests to the staff team (called "Prayer Team").
- Pray for Prayer Wall requests together as a community in real time.
- Be notified via email when a new request is posted.
It's important to us to keep this tool as accessible as possible - I know technology is not everyone's friend - so you have a couple of options for participating in the Prayer Hub:
- Full Online Access: Set up your own account to view the Prayer Wall, pray, submit requests, and sign up for optional notifications when new prayer requests are added.
- Email-Only Access: Receive semi-regular email updates with prayer requests — no login needed
Or both!
Scroll down to read the guide to this tool. We are going to be slowly rolling this out and learning this together over the next few months, so don't feel like you have to be an expert right away; and as always, Pastor Bekah is available for questions and troubleshooting!
NUCLEUS PRAYER HUB GUIDE
To Get Started with Online Access:
- Click the green Launcher Button (bottom right).
- Select “Get Prayer” > “View Prayer Wall (Sign In)”.
- Sign in or create an account.
- Click “Request Access” to be approved to view the Prayer Wall. Only those known to our community will be granted access to the prayer wall to protect the privacy of those submitting requests.
To Get Started with Email-Only Access:
- Sign up here OR
- Email Pastor Bekah and she will add you to the list
Note regarding submitting prayer requests: You can submit a prayer request to the prayer wall through the Prayer Hub without an account, or by emailing the office and we will add it on your behalf. As always, you can still email or call your pastors with a prayer request and we will be praying with and for you.
Using the Prayer Wall:
When you're logged in (which you should only need to do once), you will find the following actions under "Get Prayer" in the launcher (green button in the bottom right corner of victoriaalliance.ca):
- Turn on email notifications via “Get notified of new prayers”
- Pause to pray through current requests using “Pray Now (Focus Mode)” - a low distraction screen mode that lets you flip through the requests during prayer
- Submit a Prayer Request to either the Prayer Wall (our community) or the Prayer Team (Staff only). You are also able to submit anonymously if you wish.
Sabbatical for Rev. Kyla Ward
We joyfully announced a Sabbatical for Pastor Kyla on Sunday Apr 27.
She will be away from June-October.
Click here to watch the announcement by board member Russ Bell, and know that we’ll keep you updated as plans unfold.
2024 AGM Video Recap
Pastor Kyla recaps our AGM Discipleship Culture Conversation with a short video here.
Transcript:
I’ve been wanting to bring a follow up report from our April 6 Annual General Meeting and discussion night. We had some really yummy food, enjoyed great company, and hosted a fruitful discussion around Discipleship and the strategy we are employing around building a discipleship culture at Victoria Alliance Church.
First, we reminded ourselves of what we are about at Victoria alliance – we desire to glorify God by becoming a Christ centered, Spirit empowered Church – AND we hope to be found on mission making Jesus known, among us, around us, and beyond us. This combined vision and mission helps us know who we are becoming, and what we are to be doing. We also had the opportunity to review our commonly held core values: Trust in God, Gathering, Community, and Mission. Everything we are and all we do is clothed in these core values that contribute to the culture of Victoria Alliance Church.
I wonder: when was the last time you enjoyed a really good meal? Tasted something absolutely spectacular? How did it make you feel? Did you find yourself wondering if you might be able to recreate it? What ingredients you might be able to identify? These were questions we asked ourselves about the culture of Victoria Alliance Church. What does it taste like? What are the ingredients?
There was pretty strong alignment in the responses at our AGM. Some said we taste like a home cooked meal – comforting and welcoming. Others suggested the sweet and tangy diversity of a traditional fruit salad felt appropriate. Many in the room agreed with one young women’s assessment that Victoria Alliance tastes like homemade Apple pie. Made from humble ingredients, once brought
together by an experienced baker, it makes a stand-out dessert that just begs to be shared with many others. It is easy to affirm that our core values are not just written down, at Victoria Alliance Church our core values are lived out. Trust in God, gathering, community, mission – a perfectly prepared, ready to be shared, warm apple pie.
As we consider the work of discipleship in a post-covid landscape, one of the strategies our church leaders are encouraging us to embrace is that of intentionally building a culture that forms Christ in its members. This is different than a programmatic approach. Discipleship programs, classes, seminars – these have worked in the past, and may yet work again, but in this season at Victoria Alliance Church, they don’t appear to be as effective as they once were. It has left us to wonder what other methods of discipleship might we explore.
I asked the group at our AGM to consider how we think about raising children. How might one raise a child to be trustworthy for example? Would we enroll them in a trust building class? Ask them to do a word study? Or would we be more likely to keep our word to them, honour others with the same faithfulness, live out our lives in a way that others can depend upon? To teach trust to children, parents act in trustworthy ways - to their spouse, their friends, employer, neighbours. They nurture a family culture that supports this Christ-like trait. They redirect kids when they make mistakes, and help them discover the freedom and value that comes in living a trust-worthy life. That is not a program, that is a discipling culture. And it is so effective that most parents trust their children to it as a method of child-raising.
So what might this kind of discipling culture look like in a church? What would it taste like? What ingredients might we curate for our church culture to grow in such a way that it supports the formation of Jesus followers who embody the Gospel?
There are a few ingredients we believe such a discipleship culture will require. It will need to be a culture that is marked by grace-soaked relationships. Where people feel loved, and experience grace, kindness, and warmth as commonplace. Just as Christ’s life patterns one of surrender, grace, redemption and transformation, a discipleship culture will follow similarly. It will be expected that mistakes will be made, just as it will be the pattern for grace to be freely given.
A discipleship culture will also model amplified diversity. The Kingdom of God is best reflected when both women and men mutually embrace the story of God in the lives of those from various ethnicities, cultures, and generations. We will all experience greater Christ-likeness as we address barriers and biases, known and unknown to us, that have hindered any move toward becoming a fully intercultural, multi-generational, and mutual community.
A discipleship culture will welcome wonder. Curiosity and inquiry are to be encouraged. Questions are not seen to challenge, rather they are understood as a common tool of discipleship, used often by Jesus as He spoke with His early followers. Conflict will be de-escalated as we lean toward others with curiosity. And the high value we place on the scriptures will be expressed both in the care we display as we hold them, and through the way we harness space, pace, and volume to support wonder within the Word.
Collaboration is another marker we will notice in a discipleship culture. Shared decision making and shared ministry result from the intentional move to flatten hierarchies, and follow the power-emptying pattern of Jesus in our midst. This kind of collaborative ministry twins well with another distinctive of discipleship culture – that of with-ness. With-ness is the word we’ve invoked to capture compassion in action, the sharing of wisdom one to another, and the hope-filled act of encouraging others in Jesus. With-ness can look like moving alongside another, praying, providing care – or it may be the radical act of being a non-anxious presence who ushers in the peace of Christ.
And a discipleship culture will support an On Mission mindset. The act of reaching others with the good news of Jesus will be expressed among us as intentional, outward looking, and cooperative. We are a part of a much bigger story as we align with others to make Jesus known among us, around us, and beyond us – and we welcome God’s story as He leads us On Mission.
One thing for us to be aware of is that it is much simpler and more familiar to build a program than to shape a culture. This means as we embrace a discipleship through culture approach, we must also be aware that we may quickly be tempted to return to a “doing” rather than “being” model. This was evidenced at the AGM as well. Interestingly, there was far less alignment in our group around programmatic ideas. Personal preferences and ideas were varied and could quickly leave a church community such as ours feeling overstretched. I am always mindful that Jesus invited His followers to a yoke that is easy and light – where those who feel heavy laden can find rest. As we follow this new discipleship pathway of curating culture to support the development of Jesus followers who embody the Gospel, we will need to resist leaning on our own previously tried patterns, understandings, or ways – and intentionally lean into Jesus, and the way of His leading.
So this is my prayer for us going forward, as we live out our desire to glorify God: May we all be found empowered by the Spirit to be followers of Jesus, continually formed to embody the Gospel, making Jesus known among us, around, and beyond us. Amen.
I love being on this discipleship journey with you. I hope you are encouraged, for you are certainly an encouragement to me.
- Pastor Kyla
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Victoria Alliance Church gratefully acknowledges with respect the lək̓ʷəŋən peoples upon whose traditional territory we have made our spiritual home since 1939, and the Songhees, Esquimalt and W̱SÁNEĆ peoples whose historical relationships with the land continue to this day. As a faith community we are committed to an intentional journey of learning, listening, and participation in reconciliation as our imperfect expression of the perfect love of God.
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