What's Happening This Week at CSL Kelowna
Sunday, December 15: Taizé Service: Spiritual Leadership
Last Sunday’s Talk: A Christmas Memory: A Special Holiday Reading by Rev. Barbara Samuel and Neal Klassen
Celebration of Light: December 16, featuring Seasonal Music and an Inspirational Message from Rev. John DePalma
Secret Santa: Support CSL Kenya
Vision Board Workshop: Start the New Year by Setting a New Vision
Inspirational Song of the Week: O Holy Night by Rev. Barbara Samuel
Join us every Sunday at 10:30 a.m. at Studio 9, 1180 Houghton Road, Kelowna, BC. Doors open at 10:15 am. Please visit the event page for more details and a map. Everyone is welcome!
Or, WATCH US ON
IT’S THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR… and the “most busiest” time of the year at CSL Kelowna, with two back-to-back special events. First, on Sunday December 15th, it’s a beautiful Taizé service. Then, on Monday December 16th it’s our annual Celebration of Light, featuring seasonal music by Sista B & The Boyz, and an inspirational talk by Rev. John DePalma.
Taizé Service
Sunday, December 15
You are invited to enjoy a beautiful Gift of the Season, a time to join a
Taizé gathering, deepening our experience with the metaphysical meaning of the Christmas story.
This is an opportunity to enjoy a mindful, mystical, contemplative, and intentional Journey, with inspirational readings, music, and in the moments of silence, the “still, small voice” within.
This is an experiential Sunday Service of setting a sacred tone for the holidays. We’ll simply enjoy a time to be together in consciousness, to experience the active presence of Spirit within, as we open our hearts and minds to the flow of Love and enhancing the sense of Oneness.
This is a beautiful opportunity to experience a place of rest and comfort at this busy time of year, and we’d love to see you there!
It all takes place at Studio 9 (1180 Houghton Rd, Kelowna, BC V1X 2C9). Doors open at 10:15 am. Enter the building by the side entrance behind the staff parking lot. Look for our signs to guide you! Please use street parking or park at Ben Lee Park (1.5 blocks away).
Or you can always watch our live stream on Facebook Live via Centre for Spiritual Living Kelowna's Facebook page.
After the service, you can find all talks on our YouTube channel.
LAST WEEK'S SERVICE
A Christmas Memory
With Rev. Barbara Samuel and Neal Klassen
There were lots of laughs and more than a few tears shed during last Sunday’s special reading of Truman Capote’s, “A Christmas Memory.” It was both moving and captivating.
The largely autobiographical story, set in the 1930s, describes a period in the lives of the seven-year-old narrator and an elderly woman who is his distant cousin and best friend.
If you missed the reading or want to hear it again, click here:
Celebration of Light
Monday, December 16
MARK YOUR CALENDAR: Monday, December 16th, 7:00 p.m. at the Mary Irwin Theatre, Rotary Centre for the Arts (RCA) for the 32nd annual CSLK Celebration of Light. Bring a friend. Bring two friends or more. Let’s fill the place with love.
We’re asking our Members to support our time of hospitality by bringing along some baked goods or finger-food to enjoy following the performance.
Here's the program we have lined up for you:
Song: Do You Hear What I Hear?
Welcome & Opening Treatment: Rev. Corinne Crockett
Song: O Christmas Tree
Song: Silent Night/There’s Always Tomorrow
Seven Attributes of Spirit: Irene Kowalchuk RScP
Chant: Love, Life, Light, Joy, Beauty, Power and Peace surround me
Song: Ornaments
Song: Mary Did You Know?
Celebration of Light: Rev. Barbara Samuel
Song: One Voice
INSPIRATIONAL TALK: Creating the Beloved Community: Rev. John DePalma
Song: O Holy Night
Offertory, Gratitude & Blessings: Rev. Corinne Crockett
Song: Feliz Navidad
Song: White Christmas
Please join us after the service for refreshments in the upper lobby
There’s opportunity to purchase Secret Santa gifts for CSL Kenya.
Bring a donation (non-perishable food item) for the Kelowna Food Bank
Secret Santa 2024
Together, we create a world that works for all where no child goes hungry, where no one feels unloved, and where prosperity and peace prevail for all living things, reclaiming the memory of this planet as paradise.
We’re creating miracles this Christmas season for needy children and families at Briton Slum School in Kenya for the third year.
Lives were changed in Kenya because of the generosity of our congregants and friends last Christmas and we we’re doing it again this year.
Through the ‘sponsorship’ of Children and Staff of Briton Slum School for the mere cost of $60, families who often live on the edge of starvation are fed. Briton School is the sole source of education for many children who live in the area.
Through sponsorship of an individual, they receive food boxes with staples like oil, rice, maize, and wheat flour. For families who live without electricity or running water and often subsist on less than a dollar a day, these small gifts make a profound difference.
With your sponsorship, you’ll receive a lovely hand-made decoration with a picture and information on the individual(s) you choose to support. These beautiful decorations make the perfect gift for family and friends and are beautiful when hung on your tree.
Only two opportunities remain to participate in this wonderful project at our Centre: this Sunday, December 15th, as well as at our Celebration of Light, Monday, December 16th, 7:00 pm at the Rotary Centre of the Arts in Kelowna.
Monday Night Book Study - Update
Having completed a transformative 12-week journey through Jim Lockard’s profound work, “Creating the Beloved Community”, we now hold a blueprint for building a truly inclusive, compassionate, and spiritually enriched community.
This book challenged us to reimagine our shared spaces as sanctuaries for the soul, where individuals feel safe enough to be vulnerable, and brave enough to grow.
A central theme was the concept of "safe space"—not as a refuge from discomfort, but as a supportive environment where individuals can confront the challenges and transformations necessary for deep healing.
The book emphasized how embracing our shared humanity—acknowledging both our strengths and our wounds—can dismantle divisions and foster authentic connections.
Through rich conversations, we explored the integration of spiritual practices, accountability, and radical hospitality as tools for cultivating a community rooted in extraordinary respect and compassion, safety, and accountability.
By examining our own habits and biases, we began dismantling traditional frameworks of thinking, replacing them with holistic approaches that nurture both individual and collective well-being.
This work provides a guide, not just for reflection, but for action. It calls us to co-create spaces that inspire growth, foster connection, and encourage everyone to become the fullest expression of who they are meant to be.
Together, we are empowered by our evolutionary purpose, “transforming lives and inspiring people to make a positive difference in the world” to create our own Beloved Community right here in Kelowna!
VISION BOARD WORKSHOP
with Rev. Melody Bailey
Start the New Year with a New Vision
Sunday, January 5th, after service
DO YOU WANT TO CREATE THE LIFE YOU WANT TO LIVE? Do you want to let your inner child out and have some crafty, intentional fun? If so, join us for a Vision Board Workshop where we will focus on all four quadrants of life: Creativity (work, play); Health (spiritual, mental, emotional, physical); Loving Relationships and Abundance.
Supplies will be provided but if you have specific pictures cut out from magazines or printed that you wish to bring with you and include, please do so.
We will be holding this workshop on Sunday January 5th following our Sunday service from approximately 12 noon until 3 pm. If you’re staying after service, please bring a lunch that doesn’t require extra preparation. We will take some time for a bite to eat before beginning the workshop. There will be a sign-up sheet at Sunday service and an RSVP on our website as we do need to know numbers to prepare.
INSPIRATIONAL SONG OF THE WEEK
O Holy Night
Rev. Barbara Samuel
This performance by Rev. Barbara Samuel was recorded live at the 2016 Celebration of Light. There are no words to describe this thrilling performance. You just have to hear it! You can listen to it by clicking the link above AND experience it live by coming to our Celebration of Light on Monday, December 16, 7:00 pm, at the Mary Irwin Theatre at the RCA center in downtown Kelowna.
LET’S CONNECT
Rev. John DePalma’s contact information
Contact Rev. John via email: jdepalma@cslkelowna.org
He is also available for one-on-one telephone conversations. To schedule a connection, visit his online calendar:
Fill out your membership here, https://www.cslkelowna.org/membership
Regular Events at CSLK
See Upcoming Events on our home page. Stay informed of all the latest news from CSLK! Subscribe now to receive notifications of future blog posts.
Sunday Celebrations start at 10:30am PT at Studio 9, 1180 Houghton Road, Kelowna. Please park on the street or at Ben Lee Park (1.5 blocks from the school). You can also watch us live on Facebook or watch the replay later on YouTube.
Our volunteers are immensely valuable to CSLK! If you can help out with making coffee, setting up and/or after-service taking down, please contact Rev. Corinne Crockett at 250-868-9090 or email corinne_crockett@telus.net.
Do you have an idea for CSLK community opportunities you’d like to experience? We'd love to hear your thoughts! Please contact Rev. Corinne Crockett at 250-868-9090 or email corinne_crockett@telus.net.
Practitioner Support
Our ministers and practitioners are in service to all of us. If you need help to see the Truth in a situation; if you are looking for clarity; if you are struggling; our ministers and practitioners are here to support you. You can contact them through the About page on our website, or you can submit a prayer request on the Contact page.
Bring Nature’s Fare Receipts to CSLK!
Nature’s Fare grocery store receipts are worth a pretty penny to us! Bring your shopping receipts to Sunday service and place them into the receipt box on the table in front of the stage in the Studio 9 auditorium. Nature’s Fare will donate 3% of the total of your purchases to CSL Kelowna! Every receipt helps! Thank you!
Your Support Means So Much to Our Community!
We’re grateful for the ways CSL Kelowna is able to accept donations:
Online via the Ways to Donate page of our website (PayPal or credit card).
By Interac e-transfers sent to donate@cslkelowna.org.
Cheques can be mailed to: Suite 131, 101-1865 Dilworth Drive, Kelowna, BC V1Y 9T1.
For more information, please contact Rev. Melody Bailey.
MINDFUL MOMENT
"The best way to take care of the future is to take care of the present moment"
– Thich Nhat Hanh
Copyright © 2024, Centre for Spiritual Living Kelowna.
All rights reserved.
Vol. 1, Issue 40
Comments