Author Archive: Geoffrey Hall

Bishop and Chapter News – October 2021

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Bishop and Chapter met 18 October 2021 by video conference with 10 of 14 members present. The article “Which Suckers are Holding You Back” (Victoria Atkinson White) was read in advance and briefly discussed. The need to review how active programme and ministries are meeting real needs requires constant attention. Minutes of meetings on 13 and 20 September were adopted.

From the Dean

The usual summary of what’s been accomplished since the last meeting was provided. Of note:

•  a quick turnaround and somewhat unilateral decision was made in September regarding the requirement of COVID-19 vaccinations
•  “Prayers for Truth and Reconciliation” held on 30 September
•  Preparation for Baptism to begin this week
•  Training is being arranged for those who have Bishop’s permission to administer the reserved Sacrament
•  September conference for clergy and November Synod cancelled
•  We’ll begin to make progress soon on the installation of security systems (approved project)
•  Choral Evensong scheduled bi-weekly for the foreseeable future
•  Diocesan responsibilities/meetings

Items Arising

City re electrical on the Green - following Chapter approval, a decision has been made by the City of Fredericton to postpone the installation of electrical outlets on the Green north of Queen

Shared space initiative with the Diocesan Synod - the Cathedral continues to do its best to meet space requirements and requests of the Diocesan Synod. A schedule of a future rental arrangement is being prepared. The current youth room (Hall second floor) is being vacated to create several more office spaces for Synod staff at their request

Housing First - while considered somewhat unfortunate, a special meeting on 20 September made the decision to withdraw the Cathedral from the Housing First Project. The long-term commitment, especially in terms of the skillset and the volunteers required, presented an uncomfortable level of risk. Fortunately, another organization is willing to step in and fulfill the goals of the Community Action Group on Homelessness. Monies and land (corner of Albert and Regent) received for the Project to date are in process of being transferred back for use towards that commitment

Reports

Treasurer - we continue to stay just ahead of expenses year to date as reported weekly. A small project will be undertaken to provide some additional programming of accounting software to simplify the bookkeeping, reduce transcription errors and better meet reporting needs

Health and Pastoral Care - We continue to work within ongoing restrictions. Hospitals are now closed to visitors

Mission and Outreach - Monday morning Outreach programme continues on the last Monday of the month

Property - work continues with Heritage Standing Inc to create a master plan of Cathedral potential maintenance/restoration requirements

Christian Formation - Fall programming including Taizé, Godly Play, Youth Group, sacramental preparation and Life Shared (November) underway

Communications - reminder of request for website contributions from committees or any interested in authoring some content

Finance and Administration - 2022 budget under consideration. Stewardship Team is considering a narrative budget and is in need of a chair. A staff handbook outlining employment policies and protocols is in process to replace a decades-old version. An individual has expressed interest in the role of Safe Church Officer

Upcoming

•  Festival of Baptism - All Saints (trans) 07 November
•  First of Advent - 28 November
•  Next meeting - 15 November

GMH

2021 Thanksgiving Pastoral

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Read or download in PDF format

Thanksgiving 2021
Fredericton NB

Dear Friends,

If there’s one thing we may have learned from this time of global pandemic, it’s that no matter the circumstance there is always much for which to be thankful. When we were locked down and in complete isolation from one another, I’m thankful that we were able to devise ways to reconnect. I’m thankful that even in the midst of the inconvenience and even danger caused by COVID-19, churches have continued to experience continuing support from members to keep furthering the important work that is ours to do. At times, the challenges were significant and it’s certain there are more to come, but it’s important that the challenge doesn’t define us, rather it’s the blessing even in the midst of the struggle that helps us be who we really are.

The Apostle Paul said, “Rejoice always, pray continuously, give thanks in all circumstances.” He didn’t say we should wait until we feel thankful. He didn’t say to express gratitude for all the good stuff of life or rejoice as long as things don’t seem too tough. “Always” is one of those words that leaves little room for misinterpretation. Whatever the situation, God has placed some gift in the midst. Can we find it and make the faithful response? – thanksgiving.

Too often we believe that giving thanks is the result of feeling grateful. In fact, it’s the other way around. Happiness is not thrust upon us. Happiness results when we follow the command of St. Paul. Thanks-giving makes us happy; we don’t give thanks because we’re happy; we’re happy when we’re full of thanks. Paul is telling us there’s something in every circumstance for which to be thankful. The result of giving thanks is gratitude. What we choose to do influences how we feel, not the other way around.

During this season, as always, we prayerfully remember those who are facing challenges in their lives. Whether that be adjusting to the loss of someone we love, changes in employment, continuing separation from family and friends, the onset of illness or the resulting changes caused by being older this year than we were last, let’s pray that we’ll look keenly for the gift even in the midst of the messiness of life. Bringing ourselves spiritually to the place where with sincerity we give thanks to God if only for the basics, we’ll reap the real harvest God promises the faithful.

May you find success in your thanks-giving this year and receive the true peace God grants to the thankful heart.

Yours sincerely,

Geoffrey
Dean of Fredericton

 

Prayers for Truth and Reconciliation

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Thursday, 30 September is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

Join us at 5:30 p.m. on our YouTube Channel for Prayers for Truth and Reconciliation

The Order of Service is HERE

 

You might also find the following of interest:

 

 

Bishop and Chapter News – September 2021

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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

Upcoming

•  Season of Creation (01 September - 04 October)
•  Day of Truth and Reconciliation (30 September)
•  Diocesan Synod (06 September)
•  Next meeting - 18 October                                                                   GMH

Worship During the ‘Green’ Phase

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With the pandemic mandatory order restrictions lifted as of 30 July 2021, please be patient as we again adjust to new ways of being in community. Our goal will be to maintain that which helps assure community health and safety. Above all we need to accommodate one another as we transition.

See the Diocesan COVID-19 page for links and resources.

All of what follows pertains to both the Cathedral memorial Hall and the Cathedral during worship. Items 6-7 are specifically concerned the Cathedral itself during worship or concerts.

Details about what we will continue, in practice, include:

  1. Self-monitor. If you have any reason whatsoever to believe that you have an illness, please stay at home.
  2. Entering and exiting. Please be understanding of those who may wish to maintain some personal space as we adjust to new normals of interacting with one another. Keeping personal traffic flowing at entrances will be helpful.
  3. Hand sanitation. Please continue to be attentive to frequent hand washing and the use of hand sanitizer, especially before and after contact with high-touch surfaces.
  4. Face masks. Those who wish to wear a face mask are certainly welcome to do so. Please accommodate both those with and those without.
  5. Seating. Greeters may be able to help you find suitable seating in the Cathedral, especially if some personal space will help to make you more comfortable. When setting up chairs for a group event, please keep in mind that personal space may help to make participants more comfortable.
  6. Communion. We’ll continue with Communion in one kind for the foreseeable future. At Communion, please continue to approach in one line up the center. The host only will be safely delivered to your hands. Return by way of a side aisle.
  7. Offering. The offering will still be received with a plate near the back of the Cathedral and collected by greeters following worship.
  8. Operational Plan. The current operational plan will be suspended but available for modification and implementation if circumstances require it.
  9. Contact Tracing. Attendance logs are no longer required by New Brunswick Public Health. If, however, someone who tested positive for COVID-19 was in our building, please inform the Cathedral Office so we can ensure a thorough cleaning. Thank you.

Cathedral Financial Update – adjusted to 30 June

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June 2021 Operational income: $44,597 Operational expenses: $29,598 To 30 June we are AHEAD: $5,944

The Financial Update that appears in the Cathedral bulletin each week is an attempt to share information about our current financial status month to month.

It might not be difficult to imagine that accurately reporting our financial reality is a challenging task. "Designations" or "restrictions" on offerings adds a layer of complication as not all of the offerings we receive are available for use towards the general operating budget. At the same time, offerings fluctuate month to month having the potential to make it difficult to meet regular expenses.

In June 2021, an attempt to incorporate some new realities into regular reporting resulted in a January - June adjustment in those numbers to date. Notes to the June Financial Summary include:

  • the Summary is adjusted January to June better reflecting our current financial status
  • June expenses are significantly less than previous months for various reasons, including an end to the annual heating season
  • the staff parish nurse position has been vacant February -June 2021
  • annual interest from the clergy housing fund (O'Dell sale) has now been anticipated/estimated monthly to offset some of the clergy housing allowance expense
  • we received a generous and unexpected donation of $4000 in May following the death of a Cathedral member

Understanding episcopacy

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A Season Two episode of Star Trek the Original Series, “Return to Tomorrow,” sees Captain Kirk in the briefing room with the Enterprise senior officers. A risky decision is before the Captain, and he is in consultation. He says,

“I'm in command. I could order this. But I'm not because, Doctor McCoy is right in pointing out the enormous danger potential in any contact with life and intelligence as fantastically advanced as this. But I must point out that the possibilities, the potential for knowledge and advancement is equally great. Risk. Risk is our business. That's what the starship is all about.”

In the Church, too many of its members believe leadership is more or less a slam-dunk, cut and dried, black and white. The Bishop is the person in command. If something goes right, it shines well on us all. If anything goes wrong, it must be the commander’s fault. Anyone in a position of leadership will quickly acknowledge that “control” is one thing not too often experienced, at least far less often than most would assume.

We sometimes like to think of the Church as a ship, fully equipped with a captain or skipper, crew and deck hands. The image is convenient, orderly and easily conceived. If we were to position the Bishop on this church-ship, most of us would see the episcopal officer as the person at the helm, steering the ship. If the ship is going in a difficult direction, it's obviously the skipper’s fault. After all, the one steering must be deciding where we all go. Those who have done any sailing will affirm that, from the deck, the wind seems to blow hardest and the boat leans the most when the bow has been brought into the wind (a tack) and there’s significant distance being covered.

In the Church, I think Bishops are more accurately and most often in the crow’s nest or the bosun’s chair. At the top of the mast, its possible to see the clouds forming on the horizon forewarning a coming storm. From there, one can see other nautical traffic and make navigational decisions based on the big picture view. From “the top” the world of the ship looks like a different place and the one there always has the advantage of seeing the bigger picture.

And so it is with our bishops. Even knowing that the ship is headed the wrong way, often the best that can be done is to bellow the warning and hope the crew and helms-person of the moment take heed. The crow’s nest can be a helpless place, where the sun shines brightest and all the weather batters with full force. From the point of view of the church-ship’s membership, the orders may sound unproductive, even absurd. From the view on the deck, we all have what we think is the perfect direction for the ship, if we could just take the helm.

Even in the midst of a crisis, when the tiller is set and the sails are trimmed to bring smooth and productive sailing, the wind can suddenly change. Even though with adequate skill and experience most often the ship will reach the intended destination, any captain will admit, its all “in the wind.”

The Church in these days often encounters rough seas and heavy weather. When the boat heels over the crow’s nest feels it first. There is a risk in setting sail and most of the decisions during the journey are exercises in risk-taking. Most bishops who find themselves in this unique Anglican Church of ours – “episcopally lead and synodically governed” – see the huge potential that exists when the followers do so at their choosing and with full knowledge of the risk. Stepping out in faith is “our business.” That’s what the Church is all about.

There is a risk in setting sail and most of the decisions during the journey are exercises in risk-taking.

We all have a secret or not so secret vision of peace, warm soft breezes and never-ending sunshine. Christians call it heaven. The Church is headed there but there’s some sailing to do before we get there. Can we bring ourselves to depend on the advice and direction we receive from the one with the bigger picture? Can we resist grabbing at the wheel every time, from our perspective, we’re not headed in the right direction? Can we all have the faith to know that ultimately, the Maker-of-the-Wind will take us all, including the Ship itself, where we need to go?

This article is a reprise from a past issue of the New Brunswick Anglican. The Very Rev’d Geoffrey Hall is currently Dean of Fredericton.

Bishop and Chapter News – June 2021

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Bishop and Chapter met 21 June 2021 by video conference with 10 of 14 members present. Meeting guests for part of the time were representatives from Heritage Standing and members of the Cathedral Restoration Committee. A proposal was presented and later discussed with Restoration Committee members present. An article “The [North] American Church is a Mess - But I’m Still Hopeful” Christianity Today, 15 June 2021 (Tish Harrison Warren) was circulated in advance with some questions provided by the Dean to guide discussion. Minutes of 17 May 2021 were adopted.

From the Dean

  • the list of usual monthly commitments was provided for review
  • There will be no formal programme of tour guides employed in 2021 in the absence of a City of Fredericton grant
  • Staff reviews (3 complete) are in process
  • currently planning vacation 02-30 August
  • congregational consultation will need to be planned once we have more definite information about development options before us

Items Arising

Parish Nurse - interviews have been completed and the committee will make a decision on a successful candidate as soon as possible

Shared space initiative with the Diocesan Synod - meetings and conversations continue with our Bishop and designated Synod staff

Housing First Project - a “Housing First Committee” has now had a first meeting. For various reasons (including skyrocketed building costs) there are no updates on the timeline on project progress

Decision

Heritage Standing proposal - Heritage Standing has presented a proposal for services at a cost of approximately $50,000 to create a detailed building assessment and future strategic plan for existing restoration requirements and the on-going maintenance of the Cathedral. The Chapter unanimously approved the expenditure from the Cathedral Restoration Fund.

Home Communion - that the Dean request permission for P. MacDonald, K. Hall and D. Edwards to administer reserved sacrament

Discussion

Venting of Stained Glass - a proposal has been received for work (approximately $9000) required to vent the Lexan/Plexiglass protective covering of north, east and west Cathedral windows to prevent moisture and degradation due to excessive heat. Exact details remain to be delivered and a decision may be called for as a special item of business

Reports

Treasurer - referred to financial statements for May 2021. Jamie noted some reorientation of reporting, especially regarding the separation of restricted funds from operating that will significantly improve the ability to accurately report month to month financial status. To date, revenue is adequately meeting expenses

Property - some continuing security issues with a strategy to address them is in process.

Health and Pastoral Care - parish nurse search has been the focus

Mission and Outreach - see items arising for Housing First. Monday morning programme has continued one day per month

Christian Formation - consideration of current work plan and looking ahead to summer and fall

Communications - the committee will assist with Summer Recital Series promotion and is ready to assist should we be able to plan events

Upcoming

GMH

Residential Schools Apologies

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Residential Schools and Missing Indigenous Children

Since the discovery of the remains of 215 children in unmarked graves at the Kamloops Indian Residential School, there have been questions about what the Anglican Church of Canada has done in response to the Calls to Action by the National Truth & Reconciliation Commission. There have also been questions about whether our National Church and dioceses are assisting in the work of making records available to indigenous leaders and communities so that other sites which may contain the remains of children who died at residential schools may be identified. I share with you part of a message from our Primate, Archbishop Linda Nicholls to the House of Bishops this week:

“We, of course, have much more to do to fulfill the TRC Calls to Action and are committed to that work, but we also need to keep our Church informed about work underway already.

The apologies of 1993 and 2019 are available on the national church website. There is ongoing work to make the Apology for Spiritual Harm available in Indigenous translations, just as the first apology has been translated (see: https://www.anglican.ca/tr/apology/).

Documents in the national archives relating to Anglican residential schools have all been copied and transferred to the Truth & Reconciliation Centre in Winnipeg. It is my understanding that all diocesan archives have also been transferred as required.

The national archivist, Laurel Parson, is committed to decolonizing the archives by including the original Indigenous names for places and people wherever possible. She spoke to (the Council of General Synod) in 2020 about that work and it was covered in The Journal at that time - here.

We are committed to the work of exploring the archives and burial records available in light of the list of missing children to find any references that would help with identification. All of this work must be done in collaboration with Indigenous people to set the parameters with sensitivity. I trust that diocesan archives will consider similar searches. There may be grants available through your province or territory to assist with the human resources needed to do this. In Ontario, the student summer grants program often helps the national archives complete projects.

I trust we are listening to the voices of Indigenous communities to walk with them in other actions needed. Anglican residential schools surely have similar unmarked sites and it is critical that we share in the responsibility to uncover as much information and truth as is possible in the coming months and years.

Please keep Archbishop Mark MacDonald and the Indigenous leaders – bishops, ACIP, Dawn Maracle and the suicide prevention workers, and all Indigenous clergy – all in your prayers.   They are bearing the burden of the pain felt by so many in the reopening of the wounds of residential schools. With the death of (Indigenous Ministries Coordinator) Canon Ginny Doctor, and (Reconciliation Animator) Melanie Delva on leave, the leaders are under significant stress.” – Archbishop Linda Nicholls