A letter from Archbishop David Edwards regarding celebrations on the Day of Pentecost and the conclusion of his Pilgrimage through the Archdeaconry of the Fredericton.
10 June 2022
The Most Reverend David Edwards Archbishop of Fredericton 168 Church Street, Fredericton NB E3B 4C9 Phone (506) 459-1801 • [email protected]
Christ Church Cathedral 168 Church Street, Fredericton NB E38 4C9
Dear Friends, I am writing to you to convey my thanks and appreciation for your generous welcome and hospitality while I visited you during my final walking pilgrimage, this year through the Archdeaconry of Fredericton.
Thank you that so many came to join us on the bridge for the final walk to the Cathedral. I'm particularly glad that we were able to have a service in our Mother Church to celebrate the end of the series of archdeaconry pilgrimages.
Thank you for the heartfelt welcome and your company; but also for praying for and with me. It was a privilege to be with you and to hear of the joys and challenges you face.
Bishop and Chapter met 16 May 2022 by video conference with 10 of 13 members present. There was discussion of an article by the Dean titled: “Looking back and forth.” Looking to the past is much easier than looking forward but the decisions we make today will influence the future. Adoption of minutes of the March meeting was deferred to the next meeting.
From the Dean
A brief summary of activity since the last meeting:
leadership vacancies include Hospitality Committee, Safe Church Officer and Synod Substitute (16-35 yrs)
Monday lectionary studies continue through Easter
advertising currently for tour 2022 tour guides
Easter Day attendance at about 200
update on honorary clergy
issue with office file synchronization has been solved
in the process of a design refresh of the weekly email. A problem receiving mailings seems is being experienced by some.
Decision
Investment account - Creation of an Investors Edge account for the purpose of trading a specific block of stocks on behalf of a Cathedral group
Discussion
Future restoration - the recently received report on condition and issues regarding the Cathedral focuses on necessary work to be considered a priority, listing with advice on the urgency of those renovations and repairs. The Report will be shared with the congregation before summer with the hopes of accompanying it with some interpretation and an opportunity for informed discussion.
With the involvement of our Bishop, some consideration is being given to the kind of professional support needed for such a project and to date one informal interview has been conducted exploring those ends. Decision on if and when action will be taken will follow.
Reports
Treasurer - work continues as we fine-tune accounting now using new accounting software – modifying reporting templates and adjusting processes. Expenses over income was about $630 in the month of April. To 30 April expenses exceed revenue by $28,630 with offerings about $27,000 below what was budgeted / expected. Establishing the Investors Edge Trading account. Canada Employment Wage Subsidy diocesan surveys continue to be submitted each month but no additional payments are expected
Property - no Committee meeting to report. Several conversations and connections during the past several months
Christian Formation - a recent meeting dealt with some informal evaluation and review of Lenten programming. The Committee now looks ahead to Thy Kingdom Come and summer
Communications - a recent meeting discussed the issue of compensations for video live streaming for outside groups. Articles and items of interest are always needed for the website – writers welcome
Worship - a meeting is being planned conscious of some upcoming opportunities and continuing re-evaluation of our pandemic status
Health Ministry - Parish Nurse Sarah Ecker is currently on a medical leave. Specific circumstances not known at this time.
Administration and Finance - advertisement for tour guides. Work will continue on narrative budget and staff employee handbook.
Correspondence
That we convey our congratulations to Wayne Squibb on the occasion of his receiving an honorary doctorate of letters degree from the University of new Brunswick on 26 May 2022.
That we offer our thanks to the donor, whose wish is to remain anonymous, of $15,000 for the Cathedral sound system upgrade project.
Upcoming
Thy Kingdom Come - 26 May - 05 June
Day of Pentecost and conclusion of Bishop’s Pilgrimage 05 June
This June, join the Great Canadian Giving Challenge!
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Anglicans in Canada and around the world may find themselves singing some new hymns this spring. As this article was being written, Sing a New Creation, a supplement to the 1998 hymnal Common Praise, was set to be released- and was said to be already attracting interest both inside and outside the country. Read more.
Looking back is very easy for us. When we want to see the influence of God in our lives, looking back is the best direction. From our perspective of the present we can easily see the weaving road of our lives, its turns and curves and, see the sometimes gentle, sometimes powerful tugs and pulls that redirected us. We remember decisions along with the memories of just how difficult or easy they were for us at the time. Sometimes we remember why we went this way and not another but, sometimes it's not that clear. The believing soul will chalk those times up to the influence of the Divine.
Looking into the future, however, is quite a different story. Sometimes it's almost impossible to have the assurance that God will be present in the days to come in the same way as the days past. The future is completely unknown. Although we can have hopes, dreams and intentions, the final script has not yet been written. Our decisions now will without a doubt have an influence on where and how we will go there, but it's impossible to know all of the obstacles and helps we will encounter along the way. I know a fellow who buys a lottery ticket each week and claims it to be his best plan for his future. On the other hand, I never buy a lottery ticket and he promptly reminds me whenever possible about my lack of faith.
The Church also has this ability to comfortably look backward, seeing that God was indeed part of the journey and provided care, especially in the face of turmoil or adversity. For the Church as for us, looking ahead is quite a different matter and more of a struggle. We all have this sense that our context is changing rapidly. We readily see much with which we are so familiar being threatened, especially in the area of church life. Where a Sunday worship service and a long history of taken-for-granted ministry in our local community was considered a given, we suddenly find a lack of resources available for it to continue. People in church pews who have given seven dollars per week, every week for fifty-plus years, just as their parents had done before them, are shocked to learn that their beloved church just down the road is in danger of being closed. “One service a week is all I want,” said one life-long church member. It must be the fault of the Bishop? It must be the fault of expensive clergy? Something is not right! Indeed. Some skillfully divert the argument, shaming those who attempt to address the grassroots issues and blaming it on the fact that “all you talk about is money.” And things continue to keep changing all around us.
... Looking ahead is no easier than it has ever been
Looking ahead is no easier than it has ever been. Do we really look into the future with the kind of unwavering commitment of our ancestors? Is there really an expectation of the necessary place of sacrifice present in our commitments that comes close to that of those who went before us? I look at some of our beloved little rural church buildings and wonder how the people there over a century ago found the resources, let alone the wherewithal, to erect them from nothing when it is beyond us now to keep the roof on. Our beloved Cathedral, perhaps a similar example times 10! As we find it easy to look at younger generations and how differently they view the world, do we remember our own hand in passing on the values they have come to hold? What we value most is in fact what we pass on. Can we continue to look ahead and be willing to make the changes now in our own patterns of behaviour to see something of that which we say we value most live on?
All of those questions have answers I expect, even though it may take years for them to become evident. In any case, my suspicion is that being the church may be no more difficult now than it has ever been. What has changed is how well we take our view of the past and project it forward to shape the future with an assurance – that the God who has guided history will do the same for us when we earnestly pray for it to be so.
Join the Dean for lectionary studies during the Easter Season beginning Monday, 18 April, 2-3:15 p.m.. Both online via Zoom or in-person are options. See the Dean for printed materials and please contact him by phone or email if you plan to attend. Everyone is welcome. No former biblical scholarship necessary!
Mary Magdalene’s encounter with Jesus at the tomb is a call to disciples everywhere to live in the power of the risen Christ and encourages us to continue to the story of Jesus. God’s love cannot be contained – in a tomb, closed rooms, or from the world. Stories of a spirit-filled community moving into the world lead us through the Easter season.
The story of Jesus continues through people like Peter who denied Jesus, Paul once a persecutor of Jesus’ disciples, Ananias who gives the gift of healing and reconciliation, Tabitha who lives in solidarity with the most vulnerable, and Lydia whose tenacity and hospitality facilitates a movement beyond boundaries and stereotypes.
We join our stories with these life-giving, liberating, boundary-breaking, resurrection stories and are challenged by the ever-present possibility of radical change and for the church to be a disruptive influence on the way things are.
This Easter season invites us into conversations for self-reflection and change on such things as anti-Semitism, diversity and inclusion, systemic injustice, anti-racism, multiculturism, chains of oppression.
THE Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus is firmly rooted in historical events to which Christians have given witness throughout the centuries. The biblical witness is familiar to us. The historian Josephus writes in the first century about “all these things,” interestingly specifically, from an historical perspective not one of faith. The Early Church Fathers bore witness, arguing fiercely as the fundamentals of Christian faith were being drawn together and as the catholic creeds came into existence. Since those early days, many have died for Jesus but, far more have begun to live for him.
Christian faith is nothing to take lightly. The world continues to claim the great unlikelihood of gospel truth and perhaps more so the improbable validity of its tenants even if recorded in history. Yet holding or upholding a Christian perspective on the world is far more than simply agreeing with some historical facts. Confessing Christian faith is also taking a stand and holding a unique perspective on life and the meaning of it. To be Christian is to choose life even in the midst of the death all around us. St. Paul said that Christians are “always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible ...” 2 Corinthians 4:10
By the power of God, Jesus rose from the cold dark reality of death. When the Gospel is proclaimed, it is not complete without the shouts of Alleluia! that confirm his final victory of Jesus. When we submit ourselves to a God who has the power to overcome death itself we obtain the promise of the realm of that same God’s eternity forever. When we truly lean into the fullness God intends and live like it’s true we make a difference.
Close to home and on the world stage, fear and death are all around. We’re gripped as we watch the horrors of war, now in 4k video. Having been through times of pandemic isolation, we’re still seeing its effects even now that it has ceased to be the death sentence it once was. Considerable uncertainty about the stability of our world, its politics and its economy continues. The need to witness to the power of life and the fact of Resurrection is as great now as it ever was. Alleluia! Christ is risen. Death does not have the final word.
Join us this season as we walk the way of the Cross through Holy Week, as we watch for the first glimmer of Paschal Light on the Eve of Easter and as we listen again to familiar words on Easter Day. In-person, if possible, but be reminded that a live stream and podcasts will be available for most of our worship events, your visible witness marked and of value even as a virtual attendee.
If you are unable to make your Easter Communion in person, contact the Cathedral Office to make an appointment for a home visit. We have a Team of administrators eager to respond to such requests. A schedule of our Holy Week and Easter worship follows. Alleluia! Christ is risen. The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia!
The Holy Eucharist on 16 April is the first of Easter
Passion/Palm Sunday
(10 April 2022)
8:00 a.m. Liturgy of the Palms and Holy Eucharist
10:30 a.m. Liturgy of the Palms, Dramatic Passion and Holy Eucharist
Bishop and Chapter met 28 March 2022 by video conference with 10 of 13 members present. There was discussion of an article by David Odom (Faith and Leadership) titled: “How to rehabilitate in the midst of pandemics.” The author highlighted the need to tend integrity, mission and morale and we briefly discussed some of what we need to build into a time of rehabilitation. Adoption of minutes of the February meeting was deferred to the next meeting.
From the Dean
A brief summary of the time since the last meeting included:
• March Farraline and Windsor Communions cancelled due to COVID
• Diocesan Finance Committee
• Diocesan online safe church training completed
• Diocesan returns submitted by the 15 March deadline
• informal staff review with S. Ecker following probationary 6 months
• leadership vacancies include Hospitality Committee, Safe Church Officer and Synod Substitute (16-35 yrs)
• arrangements for summer tour guides should begin soon
Decision
Report on Cathedral Conditions and Issues - Revision 1 (2022-03-21) of the report was accepted by the Chapter with plans underway to share it more widely
Discussion
Cathedral Conditions and Issues - A lengthy discussion on the report by Heritage Standing followed feedback and suggestions on the draft recently presented to the Chapter, Property, Administration and Finance Committees and Cathedral Staff. Significant consideration was given to the process of sharing the report including how and when and the supports necessary for effective communication of its content. The report provides a high level of detail, is very well done and outlines both short and longer-term priorities for Cathedral maintenance and restoration. All items identified are important, some critical while others could be postponed. The Chapter Executive was charged with considering the rollout in more detail soon.
Funding future restoration work - T. Maston provided a summary of recent contacts and research regarding approaches to fund-raising according to the magnitude detailed in the Conditions and Issues Report
Reports
Treasurer - Regarding recent revenues, we had a strong conclusion to 2021 with January below anticipated offerings. February seems to be ‘trending in the right direction’ with a February deficit of about $17,000. Finetuning of Sage Accounting software continues. The survey to determine eligibility for government subsidy (unlikely) was submitted. E-transfer has been set up especially for groups making donation or rental payments
Property - the Committee is considering maintenance prioritization based on issues having been documented by Heritage Standing.
Christian Formation - Lenten programming continues with many devotional and study options this year
Worship - the Committee met with items of the scheduling of lectors, intercessors and servers in the coming weeks. Having an overseer of the scheduling is very helpful for reminders and smoothly filling
Health Ministry - recent review of the calling list and looking forward to re-establishing social opportunities for many who feel isolated
Mission and Outreach - an inquiry about the possibility of erecting an outdoor food cupboard. Committee will explore re the proposal
Upcoming
• Tentative meetings: 16 May, 20 June
• Holy Week begins 10 April usual schedule
• Easter 17 April: 8. 10. 11:45
A Lenten gathering on Zoom designed for lay people
Friday, April 1 (evening), and Saturday, April 2 (morning)
Join in these enrichment sessions from the comfort of your home
or with others in a gathering space at church.
Online retreat hosted by the Diocese of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island
Feeling parched and spiritually dry? Are you weary and thirsty to have your soul refreshed? Come away with friends and soak in prayer, scripture, relaxed discussion and worship. Encounter Christ who offers the hope and revitalization of living water.
A Lenten gathering on Zoom designed for lay people - takes place Friday, April 1, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., and Saturday, April 2, from 9 a.m. to 12-noon. Join in these enrichment sessions from the comfort of your home or with others in a gathering space at church. Clergy are warmly welcomed to attend too.
Living Water includes a deep dive into several Bible passages, short talks, quiet reflection time, small group conversations and inspiring worship.
Hosted by the Diocese's Creating Missional Communities Team (VSST).
Got questions? Contact staff support, Lisa Vaughn (902) 789-4840 or <lvaughn at nspeidiocese.ca>.
Living Water Planning Team
Heather Carter, Cathedral Church of All Saints, Halifax, NS
Eva Evans, St. James, Brooklyn (Valley), NS
Kent Gregory, St. Mark's, Halifax, NS
Scott MacQuarrie, Christ the King/Resurrection, Sydney, NS
Ann Moore, Parish of Hatchet Lake & Terence Bay, NS
Tanya Moxley, St. Nicholas' Westwood Hills, NS
Janet Vieth Forbes, Parish of Summerside & St. Eleanors, PE
Joe Young, St. Francis by the Lakes, Lower Sackville, NS
This article about Taizé worship was originally written in 2018. Taizé is held weekly during Lent 2022, alternating between in-person at the Cathedral, and Zoom online sessions. Consult the Ad-LENT-ures schedule for details.
Candles flicker in the semi-darkness of the cathedral on a cold winter's evening as people seated in a circle begin to softly sing in Latin to piano accompaniment.
“Laudate omnes gentes, laudate dominum.” The two simple phrases, which mean “Sing praises, all you people, sing praises to the Lord,” are repeated many times by the singers. The effect is calming.
So begins a Taizé worship service. It includes liturgical readings from the psalms and gospels, a couple periods of silent reflection, meditative prayers, chant-like songs in English or Latin, but no sermon or eucharist. The service, which lasts less than 40 minutes, is offered on the third Thursday of the month at the cathedral.
Jim Morell attended recently for the first time.
“I enjoyed it,” Jim said. “It was a chance to be with God in a peaceful, prayerful, quiet environment at the end of an otherwise busy day. Taizé will be a priority on my calendar of events, especially during Lent.”
Cathedral member Ann Sherman led such services occasionally and, after she died in 2017, this quiet style of worship was revived by Kurt Schmidt, Director of Christian Formation at the cathedral.
“Response has been great,” Kurt said. “The words, music and silence invite people into a stillness where they can listen for the voice of God, which is very important in today's noisy, hectic world.”
READINESS – Director of Christian formation Kurt Schmidt lights candles in the cathedral to prepare for a recent Taizé service which is a short service of simple, meditative prayers and chant-like songs.
He explained that this style of contemplative worship stems from an ecumenical, monastic community founded in the 1940s in the village of Taizé, located in the Burgundy region of France. Thousands of people, especially youth, have attended annual international conferences to learn from the monastic brothers who hail from many nations and who devote themselves to service and community. Catholics and Protestants around the world have adopted the Taizé style.
Chris and Diane Stevenson frequently attend the Taizé services.
“I like the quiet and the meditative time,” Diane said. “The Holy Spirit's presence can be felt here.”
Chris agreed. “During the service, it seems like a thin place – a place where God is definitely here and very near,” he said.
Beverly Morell said she likes the peacefulness of the service and the opportunity to reflect on the messages in the scripture passages. She was pleased to hear there will be expanded opportunities to take part during Lent.
“I invite people to visit the cathedral during Lent to try this lovely way of praising and meeting God,” Kurt concluded.
More information about the Taizé community is available at www.taize.fr
10 June 2022
