The committee works together with the Cathedral congregation to reflect the teachings of Jesus and the heartbeat of Christian history. The committee's goals are to: raise awareness about mission work, prayerfully and financially support missionary efforts, and encourage action by the congregation.
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the committee has been conducting business virtually, primarily through email, and has been able to continue communications and support for several long-standing mission partners.
Annual financial assistance of $1500 was provided to support the stipend for Canon Paul Jeffries at Bishop McAllister College in Uganda as well as $1500 for Reverends Kara and Nelson Mejia and their Honduras Mission Fund.
A $350 donation supported the mobile medical clinic in Ho, Ghana - a campaign initiated by the Diocese of Fredericton.
The Cathedral Missions Committee has remained in touch with members of the Refugee Family Sponsorship Team. In October, members of the committee assisted others in helping the Weah-Gmah family move to their new home.
A related committee under the Bishop and Chapter responsibility of Mission/Outreach maintains communication with St. Hilda's Anglican School in Belize.
Like so many others across the globe, our mission partners faced unforeseen challenges over this past year. School closures threatened to jeopardize the entire ministry at Bishop McAllister College. A shut down of the tourism economy in Roatan placed Rev’s Nelson and Kara in the position of needing to feed regular meals to over 200 residents in their community. When both of these partners reached out, the Cathedral offered additional assistance of $250 each and shared their messaging with the congregation via the missions web page and corresponding links on the Cathedral website and Facebook pages.
The committee posts online updates to keep the congregation informed of ongoing developments with our mission partners and continues to ask for prayerful support. In the year ahead, it is hoped that guest speakers can be invited back to the Cathedral.
The Missions Committee welcomes new members and is happy to answer questions. Contact the Cathedral Office or communicate directly with committee members Brad McKnight, Sam Mayo, John DosSantos or Kurt Schmidt.
Details from the Missions Committee update in the Christ Church Cathedral Annual Report for 2020.