She may still be a newbie when it comes to leading the congregation at Church of the Advent in Colwood. But Rev. Sandra Hounsell-Drover has felt at home in her newest community for a while now.

Having lived on Bear Mountain since arriving in Greater Victoria with her military pastor husband, John, and their two sons about a year and a half ago, this native of Newfoundland already has a sense of home.

B次元官网网址淚 love living on the West Shore. ItB次元官网网址檚 got a small-town feel, but itB次元官网网址檚 not (a small town). You can run into people at the grocery store, but then not run into anyone some days.B次元官网网址� One thing that is true, she says, B次元官网网址渢hereB次元官网网址檚 a sense of community about the West Shore.B次元官网网址�

With her boys in various activities, including West Shore Basketball, there was an instant connection with other parents, she says.

When she led the congregation for the first time on Nov. 27 B次元官网网址� Hounsell-Drover is this Anglican churchB次元官网网址檚 first female rector B次元官网网址� she got a sense of what her future might be like there. B次元官网网址淓very worship space is different, and thereB次元官网网址檚 a certain comfortableness to Church of the Advent. ItB次元官网网址檚 very bright and modern,B次元官网网址� she says, unlike some of the churches she led in Atlantic Canada.

Ordained as an Anglican priest 15 years ago after receiving her masterB次元官网网址檚 degree at QueenB次元官网网址檚 College, the oldest theological school in North America, Hounsell-Drover was stationed most recently in Fredericton. She also served in Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and her home province. She brings those Newfoundland sensibilities and matter-of-fact style to her new position.

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 very what you see is what you get,B次元官网网址� she says. B次元官网网址淚nvariably my story comes out, it shapes who I am. Why not embrace it?B次元官网网址�

Aware that diminishing numbers are a reality for most churches, she comes in with a congregation of roughly 150 parishioners at Church of the Advent, with a relatively young median age between 50 to 55, she figures. But she supports the notion that B次元官网网址渋tB次元官网网址檚 not all about the numbers, itB次元官网网址檚 about what we do with the numbers.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淢y job is to feed them spiritually so that theyB次元官网网址檙e prepared to go out into the world and share that,B次元官网网址� she says.

Bringing more people into the fold can certainly help strengthen a churchB次元官网网址檚 ties to and roots in their community.

Hounsell-Drover, who worked with St. PeterB次元官网网址檚 Church at Quamichan Lake near Duncan, and an Anglican church at Nanoose Bay before taking the job in Colwood, has an idea of how that might happen.

B次元官网网址淚f we are going to build the congregation, I would likely target my own generation and younger,B次元官网网址� says the 43-year-old pastor. She points to studies that have shown millennials are starting to come back to the B次元官网网址渜uiet, the sacred and the traditionalB次元官网网址� to make sense of their world.

She admits that reaching out to younger people, using tools like social media, is not where her strengths lie, noting her skill set and comfort zone is in working with seniors and the elderly. Dealing with B次元官网网址渄eath and dyingB次元官网网址� is where she excels.

A communityB次元官网网址檚 elderly residents can sometimes be under-appreciated or at worst, forgotten, Hounsell-Drover notes.

B次元官网网址淪ometimes people just need to have their stories heard,B次元官网网址� she says, adding, B次元官网网址淚 think itB次元官网网址檚 important for people to know that these people have lived full lives.B次元官网网址�

Asked how she feels following former Church of the Advent pastor , whose passion for combining music and worship resulted in the popular Jazz Vespers concerts, Hounsell-Drover admits she has B次元官网网址渂ig shoes to fill.B次元官网网址�

But sheB次元官网网址檚 been in similar situations at her previous churches, she says, replacing longtime or beloved rectors.

With both her sons enrolled in programs at the Victoria Conservatory of Music, and herself a hobbyist on the bass guitar, she looks forward to continuing the tradition of the Jazz Vespers, which happened on Dec. 4 but normally occurs the third Sunday of the month at 7 p.m. at the church.

For more information about Church of the Advent, visit .

editor@goldstreamgazette.com