Pacific Mountain Regional Council of The United Church of Canada

08/21/2026

On Thursday, we had some extra-cute visitors at the PMRC office! Lisa Munro, our colleague from First Third Ministry, fosters pregnant cats and cares for their litters and she generously brought some of her kittens in for a visit.

There was plenty of kitten cuddling, playing, and general delight as we took turns enjoying some very adorable company. And, because apparently kittens weren't enough, we also shared a pizza lunch together. A pretty great day at the office!

08/18/2026

Back again over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, our Pacific Mountain Region Intercultural Family Retreat is OPEN FOR REGISTRATION! An Intercultural Christian Community for all ages and ways of being a family, we invite you to join us at Camp Fircom for rest & renewal, nature-focused activities, worship & singing, and conversation & connection.

MORE INFO & GET REGISTERED HERE: firstthirdministry.ca/interculturalpmr

08/18/2026

08/15/2026

Amid a difficult few weeks of wildfires that have destroyed homes and impacted communities across our region, we want to pause and say thank you to Naramata Centre for showing us what it looks like to love your neighbour.

As wildfires have forced people from their homes across the Okanagan, Naramata Centre made a remarkable choice to cancel all planned summer programming and accommodations and instead open their rooms to people who had nowhere else to sleep. They have welcomed evacuee families, even in the middle of the night, created free programming for children and youth, and opened a food pantry for evacuated households in the area.

Loving our neighbour is not always an abstract idea. Sometimes it looks like opening a spare room. Sometimes it looks like making breakfast for a family who has lost their home. Sometimes it looks like giving children a place to laugh and play while their parents have a moment to breathe. And sometimes it means giving up something we had planned so that someone else can have what they need.

Naramata Centre has been a place of hospitality, community, spiritual life and connection for generations. This summer, they are living that purpose in a particularly profound way.

And this response comes with a real cost. Cancelling weeks of programming and welcoming evacuees means a significant financial impact for the Centre at a time when its long-term sustainability already matters. If you are able, we encourage you to support Naramata Centre and their wildfire response with a donation.

Thank you, Naramata Centre, for reminding us that loving our neighbour is something we do- even when it means setting aside our own plans to make room for someone else in need.

If you would like to support Naramata Centre's wildfire response, you can make a donation here: https://www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/148515

08/14/2026

With thousands fleeing their homes, Naramata Centre, Oasis United Church and other congregations are offering shelter, food and comfort

08/13/2026

Dear Pacific Mountain Region,

It is in the spirit of care, comfort and concern that I write to you. I can’t imagine the deep fear and distress the hundreds of wildfires now burning in your region must cause, for congregations and communities nearby. The emotional and physical distress, property damage and loss of habitat, homes and wildlife is incalculable.

I have been praying for your region, especially for the families who are under threat of evacuation, or who have left their homes and possessions behind to flee the destruction. I think especially of communities near Bradley Creek and Quilpituk Creek, and the Okanagan Indian Band reserve near Vernon, and other First Nations communities who have lost their homes to fire. I also think of the most recent evacuations in Summerland, where the whole community, including one of our own churches, is under threat of destruction by fire.

And now as wildfires threaten Metro Vancouver, the sheer density of people could take this climate disaster to another level. I pray for the firefighters who are stretched to their limit, and that no harm comes to them or to residents living in proximity to these fires.

I have also been praying for those who care for physical, emotional and spiritual needs through this, including clergy and regional staff. May you and the congregations in your care have the strength to accompany them as they recover, heal and rebuild.

I also pray for a future free of these kinds of climate-crisis-induced disasters. While fires consume our homes and other things that are important to us, they cannot burn away God’s promise of new and renewed life.

I pray for peace of mind to return in its time. And for you and the congregations in your care to walk together to lighten the load. If there are fundraising opportunities for the wider church to engage in, please know you have our support.

The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. –Psalms 34:18

In the hope of resurrection,

The Right Rev. Dr. Kimberly Heath
Moderator

08/08/2026

Dear Friends,
Today I, and all of you, are holding in prayer all those affected by the wildfires burning across British Columbia, and especially the people of Summerland and surrounding communities. Our hearts cry out for the people and communities affected, and for the earth we share and are called to cherish and protect.

We pray for those who have been evacuated or are waiting anxiously to know what comes next; for firefighters, emergency personnel and all those working to keep people and communities safe; and for those who are facing loss and uncertainty.

I am grateful, too, for the many ways people are stepping up to care for one another. Within our church and across the wider community, neighbours are helping neighbours, offering shelter, food, practical support and simply being present. In moments like these, we are reminded of the strength and generosity that emerge when we recognize our responsibility for one another.

And even as we respond to the immediate crisis, we cannot ignore the larger reality in which these fires are happening. We are living with the consequences of a changing climate, shaped in part by the choices we have made as human beings. Our faith calls us not only to care for one another, but also to care for the earth that sustains us.

May this be a time not only of prayer and compassion, but of renewed commitment to the stewardship of creation and to the choices, large and small, that honour the world entrusted to our care.

For all who are in harm’s way tonight, and for all who are responding with courage, generosity and care: you are in our prayers.
Blessings, Treena

08/08/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/19MM3eaeVL/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Dear Friends,

This is a hard morning in the valley. Summerland is empty. Whole streets of people we know left their houses in the dark, and this morning many of them do not know what they will go home to.
Fifteen of them came to us in the middle of the night. More are on their way today.
We have said for a long time that we are here for our neighbours. This morning our neighbours need somewhere to sleep. There are times when we are called to be in service, and we believe this is one of them.

So we have cancelled Gospel Week and all adult programming for Week 5, August 9 to 15. We are offering those rooms to people who have nowhere else to sleep because of an emergency evacuation order.

Some of you have been coming to this week for decades. You have been looking forward to it since last summer. Cancelling it was difficult. We are sorry, and we would not have chosen this. Our values are leading our decisions and we are committed to them.

Naramata Centre is not under an evacuation alert or an evacuation order. Naramata Road is open, and so is the road south into Penticton. This is not a decision about danger here.

Your booking
Anyone booked with us between August 8 and 14 will be credited in full, and the credit is good until August 31, 2027.

To set it up, please fill in our cancellation form at https://forms.gle/9FWnwHJcBWYpuUYd9 Please complete this online if possible, as our office is quite busy with evacuation related issues.
Week 6 programming

We will decide about Week 6 by the middle of next week, and we will write to you as soon as we know.
What we are hoping for is a bigger choir than we planned. If you would like to sing with us in Week 6, please let us know here: https://forms.gle/vQEjA4EnPyDdbXEu9

If you are here now
You are welcome to remain. The kitchen, the beach, the labyrinth, and the grounds are all still here.
If the roads make leaving difficult, or you would rather not travel today, please talk to the front desk about more nights and we will help where we can.
If you are checking out today, please have a look at DriveBC before you go, and let the front desk know you are on your way. It helps us keep track of everyone.

Highway 97 is closed in both directions through Summerland, from Peachland south to Kickininee Provincial Park. If your road home runs north toward Peachland or Kelowna, that is the way you would normally go, and it is not open today. Everything south of us is unaffected.

Smoke, and somewhere to sit indoors
Smoke will come and go through the day.
Columbia Hall is open all day for anyone who is camping, and for anyone who would rather be inside for a while.

N95 masks are at the front desk. Please take one if you would like one, for any reason at all.

Beyond that, please go by how you feel. You know your own lungs better than any forecast does, and there is no need to push through a smoky afternoon.

If you have been evacuated
If you are under an evacuation order and you need somewhere to sleep, you can ask us here: https://www.naramatacentresociety.org/wildfire-evacuee-resources
Please pass that on to anyone you know who needs it.

If you would like to help you can donate using the link below https://www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/148515

Where to look
BC Wildfire Service: wildfiresituation.nrs.gov.bc.ca/map

Emergency Info BC: emergencyinfobc.gov.bc.ca
DriveBC, for the highways: drivebc.ca

If you need anything

Come and find us at the front desk. Any question at all, however small. You will not be interrupting us. It is what we are here for today.

Thank you also for your patience this morning, and for the kindness you are showing one another and our staff.

The Naramata Centre team

08/07/2026

Naramata Centre Offering Accommodations to Wildfire Evacuees https://mailchi.mp/united-church.ca/supporting-our-neighbours-naramata-centre-offer-space-for-households-under-evacuation-orders

07/22/2026

Emancipation Day Service: Let Freedom Reign on All Humankind

Saturday, August 1, 2026
10:00 a.m. Mountain Time / 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time

Preacher: Rev. Dr. Catherine F. MacLean
Worship Leader: Rev. Dr. Paul Douglas Walfall

Join us in person or online!

In person: Pilgrim United Church, Edmonton

Online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8CoAO6chz0