Visit the Cathedral on Sunday, 03 October for an exciting collaboration between Atlantic Sinfonia String Orchestra and Thomas Gonder, Cathedral organist and Director of Music. Looking Back is part of MusicUNB, an annual concert series that features chamber and cutting-edge classical music performances.
Over the centuries, composers have looked to those before them for inspiration. This program explores the music of a Canadian and a British composer who were inspired by music from years ago, as well as that of the Italian, Respighi, who was a twentieth century composer that bucked the trends of his day to explore music from the past.
Presented by the UNB Centre for Musical Arts. The concert will be held at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, 03 October. Click here for ticket information.
Bishop and Chapter met 13 September 2021 by video conference with 10 of 14 members present. An article by Rich Birch: “5 Mindsets Church Leaders Need to Change Post-COVID” unSeminary, June 2021 was circulated in advance basing a conversation on the return to pandemic green. Minutes of 21 June 2021 were modified slightly and adopted.
From the Dean
• a list of usual commitments was provided for review
• vacation 02-29 August
• diocesan clergy conference 20-22 September - Renforth
• staff reviews were completed in June
• currently processing feedback regarding Sunday worship schedule
• Day of Truth and Reconciliation September 30th • Diocesan Synod 06 November 2021
Discussion
Returning to green - primary current considerations are the Sunday worship schedule moving into the fall. The Dean is listening. While some are quick to count the pandemic past, many others are not. Considerations necessary are many, including our capacity for volunteers, vaccination stats, and several new post-pandemic realities. We’ll strive to proceed cautiously and responsibly with safety in view and in a way that accommodates the comfort level of the majority
Items Arising
Window venting - the project to vent Cathedral stained glass is complete without breakage of the lexan covering at a cost as quoted without breakage
Shared space initiative with the Diocesan Synod - the conversation with Bishop and Synod regarding space needs at memorial hall continues as we attempt to meet needs this fall. With planning consultants finishing this fall, the Synod will be paying per square foot rental for office space
Decision
• Housing First Project - a lengthy discussion to clarify status and risks both financial and otherwise. The current request is to sign project agreements and begin construction. Chapter is concerned about the congregation volunteer base necessary to manage this project, potentially a 20 year commitment. The Executive will take steps to consult with the congregation to determine if we have that capacity
• Home Communion - that the dean request permission from our Bishop for Kurt Schmidt to administer the reserved sacrament
• City electrical on the Green - a letter to outline liabilities the Cathedral will give permission at the request to install electricity on the Green on the north side of Queen for seasonal lighting
Reports
Treasurer - revenue year over year is down while to August we have continued to meet expenses. Several items of expense are upcoming including: venting of stained glass; sprinkler system repair and resuming the salary of the Parish Nurse.
Health and Pastoral Care - Sarah Ecker began work on 01 September
Mission and Outreach - decision item for Housing First. Monday morning programme has continued one day per month
Property - authorized necessary replacement of valve and compressor for fire suppression sprinkler system $8000-$10,000
Christian Formation - Godly Play and Taizé worship both scheduled to resume this month. Committee meeting next week
Communications - website and social media content possibilities discussed. February 2020 survey results were shared with members of the Chapter
The Difference Course returns this fall, hosted by the Anglican Diocese of Fredericton. Running online 06 October - 03 November, it will be facilitated by Cheryl Jacobs and Shawn Branch. Register here.
In 2 Corinthians 5 we read that God "has committed to us the message of reconciliation." God has taken the initiative to bring us back into relationship with him. And he calls us to be reconciled reconcilers. Reconciliation is in the DNA of the disciple.
Many of us feel that conviction to cross divides and to transform broken relationships. We long for our faith to have a positive impact, to be the starting place for change.
But the world we live in is complex and overwhelming. Despite all our good intentions, relationships are hard. What's more we live in a world where we see — and many experience - deeply entrenched inequality and injustice, discrimination and exploitation, violent conflict and greed.
Sometimes it can feel like the Church, rather than being part of the solution, is too often part of the problem.
We know that the world is not as it should be, and that the Kingdom of God offers an alternative possibility. We feel the prompting of our faith to speak into these issues, but the sheer scale of brokenness means we can be left feeling stuck and unsure of where to start.
Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has a passion for equipping the Church to be a reconciling presence in a complex and divided world. It is one of our greatest challenges but it has never been more vital.
... equipping the Church to be a reconciling presence in a complex and divided world ...
He's brought together leading thinkers and peacemakers to create Difference: a 5-session course that explores how we can follow Jesus in our everyday relationships.
Jesus' life points to what's possible when we follow him, making crossing divides, navigating disagreement and practicing forgiveness a part of our everyday discipleship.
This course provides a supportive and dynamic space for people to bring before God their own experiences and relationships and to learn the everyday habits and actions that help us live out our faith within them.
We can be a generation that crosses divides, bringing transformation to relationships, communities and societies through everyday acts of courage.
A people equipped by the Holy Spirit to embody hope in those difficult, broken spaces, and who have learned to persevere when it feels as if nothing will ever change.
It starts in the everyday moments of courage and risk, where we choose to join in with what God is doing. The Difference course is an opportunity to discover where God is inviting us to engage.
Pope Francis, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and the Archbishop of Canterbury join together for the first time in urgent appeal for the future of the planet
For the first time, the leaders of the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Anglican Communion have jointly warned of the urgency of environmental sustainability, its impact on poverty, and the importance of global cooperation.
Pope Francis, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and Archbishop Justin Welby urge everyone to play their part in ‘choosing life’ for the future of the planet.
In a joint statement, the Christian leaders have called on people to pray, in this Christian season of Creation, for world leaders ahead of COP26 [the 26th United Nations Climate Change conference] this November. The statement reads: ‘We call on everyone, whatever their belief or worldview, to endeavour to listen to the cry of the earth and of people who are poor, examining their behaviour and pledging meaningful sacrifices for the sake of the earth which God has given us.’
The joint declaration strikes a clear warning - ‘Today, we are paying the price…Tomorrow could be worse’ and concludes that: ‘This is a critical moment. Our children’s future and the future of our common home depend on it.’
The three Christian leaders spoke against injustice and inequality, saying: ‘We stand before a harsh justice: biodiversity loss, environmental degradation and climate change are the inevitable consequences of our actions, since we have greedily consumed more of the earth’s resources than the planet can endure. But we also face a profound injustice: the people bearing the most catastrophic consequences of these abuses are the poorest on the planet and have been the least responsible for causing them.’
The statement calls on people to:
Pray for world leaders ahead of COP26
For individuals: To make meaningful sacrifices for the sake of the planet, working together and taking responsibility for how we use our resources
For those with far-reaching responsibilities: To choose people-centred profits and lead the transition to just and sustainable economies
We are grateful that from your communion of love you created our planet to be a home for all. By your Holy Wisdom you made the Earth to bring forth a diversity of living beings that filled the soil, water and air. Each part of creation praises you in their being, and cares for one another from our place in the web of life.
With the Psalmist, we sing your praise that in your house “even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young.” We remember that you call human beings to keep your garden in ways that honor the dignity of each creature and conserve their place in the abundance of life on Earth.
But we know that our will to power pushes the planet beyond her limits. Our consumption is out of harmony and rhythm with Earth’s capacity to heal herself. Habitats are left barren or lost. Species are lost and systems fail. Where reefs and burrows, mountaintops and ocean deeps once teemed with life and relationships, wet and dry deserts lie empty, as if uncreated. Human families are displaced by insecurity and conflict, migrating in search of peace. Animals flee fires, deforestation and famine, wandering in search of a new place to find a home to lay their young and live.
In this Season of Creation, we pray that the breath of your creative Word would move our hearts, as in the waters of our birth and baptism. Give us faith to follow Christ to our just place in the beloved community. Enlighten us with the grace to respond to your covenant and call to care for our common home. In our tilling and keeping, gladden our hearts to know that we participate with your Holy Spirit to renew the face of your Earth, and safeguard a home for all.
In the name of the One who came to proclaim good news to all creation, Jesus Christ.
Due to the ongoing pandemic, Choral Fest is postponed to Spring of 2022. Instead, NBCF is holding a one-day online workshop, Saturday, October 16, on the Choral Fest repertoire, in preparation for next year’s event.
Choral singers are invited to register for Choral Fest 2021, to be held in Fredericton 15-17 October, 2021. We are pleased to welcome this long-running musical event to Christ Church Cathedral and Memorial Hall, and to share that Thomas Gonder, Cathedral Director of Music, will serve as accompanist for the event.
For almost 40 years, singers from New Brunswick and beyond have gathered for the NB Choral Federation’s Choral Fest to rehearse and perform a significant work of choral music under one of Canada’s leading conductors. Choral Fest 2020, like choral events everywhere, was cancelled due to necessary public health restrictions, with singers sacrificing the activity they love to keep their communities safe by preventing the spread of COVID-19.
Thanks to vaccinations and ever-increasing knowledge of how to prevent transmission, the performing arts are coming back to life. The coronavirus pandemic continues to limit activities, but this year's Choral Fest will celebrate the music that we can make together.
Where: Christ Church Cathedral, Fredericton NB When: Friday October 15 to Sunday October 17 Music: - Requiem by John Rutter (selections)
- Aesop’s Fables by Bob Chilcott
- Sing Praise to God Who Reigns Above by Robin Bayley
- Ambe by Andrew Balfour
Clinician: Dr. Kiera Galway Accompanist: Thomas Gonder
Singers are asked to pre-register by email or by using the online form available on the Choral Fest website. Spaces are limited. A certain number of spaces are reserved for tenor and bass voices.
Choral Fest 2021 will follow all public health guidelines, and will incorporate additional expert recommendations specific to choral events. Registrants’ health and safety will be the top priority. Details about health precautions can be found on the Choral Fest website.
Choral Fest 2021 is supported by the Fredericton Community Foundation, the City of Fredericton, and the New Brunswick Department of Tourism, Heritage and Culture.
Pioneer, trailblazer, a man of firsts — they’re all good adjectives to describe Gerry Carty. The man had a list of talents, skills and hobbies that would boggle the mind. He was always busy, always enjoying himself, always making friends.
He was the first Black pilot in the Royal Canadian Air Force, and the youngest commissioned officer at 18. He flew 35 sorties over occupied territory during the Second World War.
While recovering in England from a plane crash, he studied electronics, and when, post-war, Air Canada rejected him as a potential pilot, he opened his own electronics store.
He was the first to bring cable television to Fredericton. He set up a tower in his backyard to facilitate an early communications system for the Fredericton Police Force. And with partners, he opened a charter air service in the province.
But that’s not all. He taught people to fly and helped found the Fredericton Flying Club. He was a beekeeper, Air Cadet commanding officer, musician and gymnastics coach. You could often find him at the YMCA. And he was a family man, raising four children.
It’s difficult to overstate the positive impact Gerry Carty had on his community, his province and his country...
[Continue reading below]
Read the full article about Gerry Carty, a longtime member of our Cathedral congregation. The article was written by Gisele McKnight and published in the September 2021 edition of the NB Anglican.
