Monthly Archives: November 2022

Help us support a local school lunch program

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Thank you for your support! Click here to read an update on the program.

For 'Giving Tuesday' this year, we've chosen a community outreach project - can we count on your support?

We hope to raise at least $500 towards a December $2000 commitment to a local school lunch program at Montgomery Street School, which has a number of children in need. Can you help? Donate to this project online using our Giving Tuesday donation page, or use an envelope marked "school lunch program". Donations will receive a tax receipt.

The elementary school is located up the hill from Christ Church Cathedral, beside the University of New Brunswick and St. Thomas University. The Cathedral Bishop and Chapter approved a donation in 2021 to assist with its lunch program, provide winter clothing to students in need, and assist in the creation of sensory rooms for children with developmental needs. We hope to continue supporting Montgomery Street School's lunch program for children in need, and hope that you will feel called to help.

Giving Tuesday is a global generosity movement which takes place each year after the retail sale days of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. The “opening day of the giving season,” it’s a time when charities, companies and individuals rally for favourite causes, encouraging people to give to charitable causes to transform their communities and the world.

We're pleased to help children in need in our neighbourhood. Christ Church Cathedral also provides community support with regular Monday Outreach events, providing space for community social programming, and hosting and encouraging the performing arts.

Bishop and Chapter News – November 2022

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Bishop and Chapter met 21 November 2022 in person and with video conference participation, 9 of 13 members present. The Dean led some discussion about governance structure referring specifically to the board model now in place for Bishop and Chapter since 2015. The goal is that all Cathedral ministries fall under one of eight Chapter committees which improves communication, the Chapter being elected for the purpose of making decisions not solving problems. A simple schematic was referenced. Minutes from 17 October 2022 were adopted.

Correspondence

•   request for funding from Montgomery Street School Home and School Association

From the Dean

•  Cathedral: outside Communions (1); committee/group meetings (6); baptism preparation concluded; Greater Chapter and Diocesan Synod; usual staff meetings weekly; opening of the legislature; Remembrance Day and Campus Ministry Event; First Communions; 20 November; Deanery Clericus (1)
•  Role Vacancies: Safe Church Officer; Synod substitute (16-35); Assistant(s) to the Verger; Mission Outreach
•  Diocesan: Diocesan Finance Committee (1); Synod Planning (2); Ordination 20 November; Fredericton and York Deanery Clericus (1)

For Information

Potential Restoration Project - Facilitated by Source Alliance, the draft of a Case for Support of a project responding to the Building Conditions and Issues Report is nearing final stages. In the next several weeks meetings of both Chapter and Diocesan executives will be scheduled with the goal of interviews beginning in the new year.

Nominating Committee - a motion to amend the Bishop and Chapter By-Law regarding appointment, membership, and function of the Nominating Committee was adopted unanimously and will be finalized by Archbishop Edwards.

For Decision

Electrical Contractor - Dobbelsteyn S&M retained as contracter

School Lunch Programme Support - that we support Montgomery Street School lunch programme in the amount of $2000

Transfer of Funds - that $9,669 be transferred to the investment fund having been given and restricted for special purposes

Reports

Treasurer - some significant progress was made in revenue during October with Thanksgiving and a five-Sunday month. October expenses under budget but YTD expenditures are $26,838 over. Year-to-date revenue deficit $15,019. Decline in regular offerings continues during 2022. Preparing the 2023 budget will be challenging

Communications - 2 Minutes for Ministry presentations encouraged. Christmas advertising budget to be used on Facebook

Property - moving to complete the smaller possible projects. Northside Cathedral basement doors have been identified

Finance and Administration - work on a Narrative Budget, staff policy handbook and consideration of third-party insurance continue

Welcome and Hospitality - refreshments following worship are slowly resuming. Interest is being expressed and will support a new committee

Health and Pastoral Care - Health Ministry met 10 November. Assessing possible programming under current circumstances

Christian Formation - one baptism on 05 November, six first communions 20 November. ADVENT-ures programming underway.

Upcoming

•   Advent Lessons and Carols, 4:00 pm (27 November)
•   Giving Tuesday 29 November
•   Christmas Lessons and Carols, 4:00 p.m. (18 December)
•   Usual Christmas Schedule (Christmas and New Year’s on Sunday)

GMH

Cathedral Faces: Kurt Schmidt, Director of Christian Formation

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As part of our Cathedral Faces series, we are sharing biographies of our staff members and clergy. These dedicated individuals contribute a lot to our community, in ways seen and unseen, and we are thankful for their work.

Born in Illinois but raised in Littleton, Colorado, Kurt Schmidt has lived in Fredericton since 2006.  He holds a bachelor’s degree from Colorado College (1997—major in Mathematics, minor in African Studies) and an MEd from the Institute for Humane Education in Surry, Maine (2011).

Kurt considers himself an educator at heart, and has spent the last 15 years working as a teacher in diverse contexts and at various levels.  Kurt’s own spiritual journey includes formative periods among his Jesuit teachers and mentors in high school, with monastic friends during university, and alongside members of L’Arche communities in both Canada and the United States.

A lover of music, dogs, poetry and soccer (the real football!), Kurt lives in downtown Fredericton with his wife Catherine (an occupational therapist) and daughter Rachel.

Kurt says he is honoured and blessed to be part of the Staff Team as Director of Christian Formation, serving God and the dynamic Cathedral congregation.

When Kurt was chosen for the position in 2017, we posted an article which described the role as "a turning point for the Cathedral congregation. Kurt’s title is not 'youth leader,' 'teacher,' or 'Sunday School Superintendent.' First and foremost Kurt’s role will be to facilitate, using an intergenerational approach to ministry, opportunities for us to learn from one another. Together, we will help to form, shape, mould and conform one another in Christian faith. Kurt’s job is to help make that happen in our midst."

To learn more about what brought Kurt to Fredericton and the Anglican Church, read Gisele McKnight's article, Kurt Schmidt: My Journey Here, originally published in the NB Anglican. It's an interesting story, which begins, "Had it not been for a conversation with a nun from Chicago, Kurt Schmidt might never had ended up in Fredericton"...

 

Choose your own ADVENT-ure 2022

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Happy New Year! — The new Church year is upon us!

 Why not add something to your devotional life to mark a fresh start?

Choose from the following list of diverse opportunities on the Advent weekdays to deepen your prayer and/or study and/or worship.  You are encouraged and invited to add at least one new Advent-ure to your schedule this year!

*** Events begin after the first Sunday of Advent (27 November, 2022) ***

MONDAYS

  • So What About the Bible (Anyway)? Reflective study on the nature and purpose(s) of the biblical scriptures. Led by Cheryl Jacobs. In-person and livestreamed (hybrid), 2:00-3:00 p.m. from the Boardroom of Cathedral Memorial Hall.
    * Please reserve your ‘seat’ with Cheryl or Kurt.

TUESDAYS

WEDNESDAYS

  • December—Month of Miracles: Advent 2022 Talks with retired Bishop Bill Hockin and musical guests.
    7 December - “A Friend Who Changes Everything”
    14 December - “Miracles on the Margin”
    * 12:15-1:00 p.m., Christ Church (Parish) Church

THURSDAYS

  • Virtual Taizé worship: A simple and contemplative half hour of scripture, prayer, and song. 5:30pm start.
    1 and 15 December on Zoom
    8 and 22 December in-person and livestreamed from Christ Church Cathedral
    * Link through the Cathedral Calendar or from Kurt.

FRIDAYS

  • Adoratio: A simple and contemplative, Celtic-flavoured half hour of scripture, prayer(s) and quiet in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament. 5:30 p.m., Christ Church Cathedral Side (Lady) Chapel.
    * Just drop in!

DAILY / ONGOING

  • Divine Office: Regular (and brief) daily prayer, each weekday in the Cathedral. Morning Prayer at 8:45 a.m., Evening Prayer at 4:45 p.m.
    * Just drop in!
  • Divine Comedy: Reflective study of Dante’s poetic masterpiece. Led by Alan Hall. Thursday evenings, 7:00-8:00 p.m., Cathedral Memorial Hall Lounge.
    * Just drop in!
  • Holy Eucharist: Wednesday mornings, 10:00 a.m. in the Cathedral.

 

Questions or expressions of interest can be communicated to Cathedral Director of Christian Formation, Kurt Schmidt by email <formation at christchurchcathedral.com> or by phone/text to (506) 259-3711. Thank you, and Advent Blessings!

Advent candles are available from Mothers’ Union after 8:00 and 10:30 a.m. worship on November 20 and 27. The cost is $20 for a set of five candles and the booklet 'Celebrating Advent at Home.’ Candle sets can also be ordered by contacting Susan Watson <bagel.watson at hotmail.com>.

Online Workshop: Building Genuine Community Online

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AST Continuing Education presents:

Dawn Léger

Dawn Léger (AST '06)

Not Just a Stopgap: Building Genuine Community Online

A workshop with AST Alumna Dawn Léger - Monday, November 28, 2022, via Zoom 8:00 pm Atlantic | 7:00 pm Eastern - Free of charge

About the Speaker 

Dawn Léger (AST '06) is co-pastor of Harbor Online Community, an international, fully online church ministering to a wide array of Jesus followers. You can find Harbor Online at www.onlineharbor.org.

In 2020, most churches in North America made investments in online technology to minister to their people during lockdown. A surprising result was meeting visitors from all over the world. Dawn will share the story of her online church, Harbor Online Community, from its start as a house church, to making the transition online, and why it stayed there. You will hear what is being learned about ministry and leadership and about opportunities for building more online ministries using existing investments.

This workshop is for all clergy or lay leaders who wish to begin an online ministry or to continue online ministries that started during the pandemic.

This event will take place online-only, via Zoom. Please register using the link below, and the Zoom link will be sent to you.

www.eventbrite.ca/e/not-just-a-stopgap-building-genuine-community-online-tickets-450554820597

Valuable contributions

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The Cathedral Outreach Committee sincerely thanks the congregation for fulfilling all 50 Christmas Angel requests by the November 14th deadline. Pictured are just a few of the toys and stocking stuffers delivered to the food bank to make sure needy children will have gifts under the tree this Christmas. Well done, everyone!

The toys were delivered recently to the Greener Village Food Bank. Client Services manager Chris Fougère happily accepted the donation to help needy families in Fredericton. The estimated value of the 50 Christmas Angels is $1,700 this year.

Did you miss getting an angel from the Cathedral, or would you like to help more children? Greener Village typically sets up an Angel Tree in the Regent Mall, so watch for it.

Another option for Christmas giving is to write a cheque payable to Christ Church Cathedral and indicate Christmas Outreach on the memo line. Deliver your cheque to the Cathedral office by December 16. As in past years, these funds will be divided equally among the Fredericton Homeless Shelters, Women in Transition House Inc. and the Fredericton Community Kitchens.

Cathedral Faces: Deacon Debbie Edmondson

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As part of our Cathedral Faces series, we are sharing biographies of our clergy and staff members. These dedicated individuals contribute a lot to our community, in ways seen and unseen, and we are thankful for their work.

Born in Ottawa, Ontario, Debbie grew up in Keswick Ridge, New Brunswick, where she still makes her home with Phillip, her husband of 45+ years. They have two sons and daughters-in-law and four grandchildren, who are a tremendous source of joy.

She is a life-long Anglican, with, as she describes, “a well rounded Ecumenical background.” Drawing on her rural roots, she leads workshops and retreats with humour and a down to earth sense of the sacred. Debbie was ordained as a Vocational Deacon on 01 February 2009. She completed training in Spiritual Direction with the Haden Institute in conjunction with Mount Carmel Spiritual Center in Niagara Falls in 2014.

She is employed as a Spiritual Care Practitioner at Dr. Everett Chalmers Hospital. She has always been involved with her church community through groups and activities from teaching Sunday School to serving on Vestry to being a Layreader and then being called to Ordained Ministry, which she feels is an ongoing learning and awakening experience. She is the Diocesan Representative for the Anglican Fellowship of Prayer and is also a member of the Diocesan Spiritual Development Team. She has volunteered with the Fredericton Homeless Shelters, and also was a volunteer reader with AMI-Accessible Media Inc.

Everywhere Holy

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Everywhere Holy
By Kara Lawlor
Thomas Nelson Publications / 2019 / 224 pages

Sitting with this book in my lap as I try to write a book review - a task I haven’t undertaken since Grade 12 - I am enjoying these unexpected balmy November days. I’m looking at the still pink hydrangea from my seat on the couch and reflecting on the still blooming sweet peas that I can see from my kitchen window.

The truth is I can also see the barren branches of a normal November and the squishy yellow Hosta leaves that need cleaning up. And therein lies the basis of Everywhere Holy by Kara Lawler.

Kara Lawler is a writer and teacher whose work has been featured on the Huffington Post and Parenting magazine. She and her husband and two children live on a farm in the Allegheny Mountains of Pennsylvania.

Everywhere Holy is a very easy read and the message contained therein is simple- we can see God everywhere. We just have to be open to looking.

-- by Gail MacGillivray

Publisher's Description:

Popular writer and blogger Kara Lawler shows how to embrace the sacred in mundane, ordinary life--and in the process, discover themselves. Life doesn't have to be lived on grand mountaintops for it to be meaningful. We can see God at work right where we are: in our ordinary and mundane routines, in the faces of our family and friends, and--especially--in nature. In beautiful prose, Lawler describes the unique sacredness found in God's creation and offers fifteen inspiring insights for cultivating it day-to-day. She encourages you to make this lifestyle change through the observance of small acts. In so doing, you will discover a holy space that honors God and the life you’ve been given--and will discover yourself and your unique place in the holy that is everywhere, whether it’s in the woods behind your house or in the face of a stranger on a bus in a busy city. No matter where you are, there is holy free for the taking. 

Diocesan Synod held at the Cathedral

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On Saturday, 05 November, the 138th Diocesan Synod was held at the Cathedral.

Read about the busy and productive day in an article written for the NB Anglican, by Gisele McKnight. Almost 300 attendees prayed together and worked together, considering Bishop David Edwards' charge which focused on the need for discernment of future ministry.

The video below, showing scenes from Synod, was created by Cathedral congregation member Helen Liang and features photos from a variety of sources.

Icon of Our Lady of St. Anne’s Point

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Andrew Bruce Nutter has generously donated a commissioned icon for the Lady Chapel of the Cathedral. The icon is a memorial to the Sixth Bishop of Fredericton, Harold Nutter. Below, learn about the symbolism of the icon.

This icon is a memorial to the Sixth Bishop of Fredericton. There has been a tradition in the diocese and cathedral for former bishops to be remembered with a significant gift of some sort, and this continued up to the time of Bishop Moorhead. And so this icon, a memorial, is intended to be placed, appropriately, in the Lady Chapel of the Cathedral, the mother church of the diocese, with an accompanying votive candle rack below.

It commemorates the original designation of Fredericton as St. Anne's Point, thus connecting the establishment of the Cathedral along the river, with what went before, the French regime in New France. It affirms Bishop Medley's sensitivities of renaming the original Christ Church built on the north side of the present cathedral (moved to the upper Fredericton Flat) which he redesignated as St. Anne's Parish Church.

The icon commemorates both the Mother of God, and by the inclusion of St. Anne's Point, the grandmother of the Saviour, as well as the Incarnate Word Himself. It would have been inappropriate to name this icon as Our Lady of Anywhere had there been no previous connection such as that which pre-existed in the designation St. Anne's Point.

I asked the iconographer to paint the image in such a way that the Madonna could, by her skin tone, suggestively incarnate and honour the First Nations people living along the St. John River. A stylized St. Anne's Point, actually a short distance from the cathedral, is where Our Lady is standing, and the hills of the North Side of the river may be seen just beyond. At her feet are fiddleheads, three clumps of blue violets, and a chickadee.

The icon should be firmly attached to the wall. The gold frame is painted acrylic, and is washable, but the halos are gold leaf and should not be touched. A temporary descriptive acrylic plaque is included, but I am hoping for a more permanent one with indented letters to be made in a few months' time. I will be looking for an appropriate date for a blessing.

ABCN (Andrew Bruce Nutter)
October 2022