Prayer Shawl Ministry

The Cathedral's Prayer Shawl Ministry began in 2006 during the early stages of the Parish Nurse and Health Ministry. It was under the leadership of the late Wendy Brien, and she soon invited Marilyn Lewell to join her in making the shawls.

Prayer Shawl Ministries exist worldwide, and provide shawls free of charge to anyone who requests one. We make them primarily for those who are undergoing stress in their lives, usually for health reasons, but we have made them for happy occasions as well, such as weddings and births. Since these are for the women, our team decided to make soft fleece blankets for men. They are washable and cozy, and provide much comfort.

Since the Cathedral Prayer Shawl Ministry began, we have made almost 300 shawls, and 82 blankets for all ages and genders. They are wrapped in tissue and presented in a gift bag, accompanied by appropriate, beautiful prayers. Some families have even buried them with their loved ones or wrapped the shawl around the urn during a funeral service.

If you know of anyone who would benefit from a shawl or blanket, please contact the Cathedral Office or the Dean.

Unfortunately, we have lost our team of crafters, and Marilyn Lewell is currently the sole maker of blankets and shawls. If you wish to become a knitter, crocheter, or blanket maker for the Prayer Shawl Ministry, or donate to the cost of the yarn and/or fleece, please let the Office know.

- by Marilyn Lewell

Volunteers needed for Corn Boil

On 15 September, 2024, we will host a corn boil and picnic, following 10:30 a.m. worship. National Indigenous Archbishop Chris Harper will preach at the Cathedral during the service, and we hope that everyone in the congregation will stay for food and fellowship!

We need your help to make it happen. Many hands make light work!

Volunteers are needed for the following roles:

* Set-up – Arrange tables on lawn, some chairs, table cloths, disposable dishes, large garbage bins, serving trays, fill drink dispensers, butter & salt, arrange sweets, etc.  

* Kitchen Duty – Boil water, cook corn, put in covered trays to be delivered to Cathedral lawn, cut watermelon, clean kitchen afterwards

* Runners – Carry trays of corn from kitchen to lawn. Get any other supplies needed from the kitchen or sacristy during the event  

* Corn Table – Serve corn (napkins and paper plates will be on the table). Direct guests to a separate self-serve table with butter and salt

* Drink Table – Serve drinks. Direct guests to a self-serve sweets table, if they haven’t been there already

* Popcorn Machine – Make popcorn using our own machine

* Clean-Up – Put away garbage, pack up leftovers, bring serving dishes to kitchen, wash drink dispensers, put away tables and chairs, etc.

The Welcoming and Hospitality Committee will organize the purchase of supplies.

Donations of sweets will be appreciated.

Contact Andreas Decken to volunteer. Email: <adecken at unb.ca>. Thank you for your assistance in making this event possible!

Cathedral Faces: Angus McDonell, Tour Guide

This summer, we are pleased to have Angus McDonell working as a Cathedral Tour Guide. He is working with Alex LeBlanc.


It’s my first time working as tour guide for the Cathedral and as a tour guide in general. I have been enjoying the work quite a lot. I love giving tours and learning the history of the Cathedral, for example, how it was built, who has been here, and so on.

I find the wide variety of people who come to visit to be quite impressive. You meet people from all over, with a lot of them travelling from Europe and Asia. You get to know them, and that’s fascinating. It’s surprising that there are so many people who come from around the world.

The tour that stood out the most for me was three weeks ago. I met a man, who grew up in the same town as my father. He was familiar with the Cathedral because of his former posting in Oromocto. During our conversation, we realized that we were third or fourth cousins! We were interested in a lot of the same things, and I found it really enjoyable getting to meet him.

It has been really great, working as a Cathedral tour guide. I am not part of the congregation, so previously, I had only been there a couple of times and never long enough to actually look around. However, it’s an incredible building with a lot to see. I found it quite interesting learning the Cathedral’s history, and I found it even more interesting being able to share the history.

This fall, I will continue working on my political science degree, and in the future, I am planning to go to law school.