Author Archive: Geoffrey Hall

Bishop and Chapter News – May 2016

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Members of Bishop and Chapter met this past Monday evening, 30 May, with 12 of 13 members present. A short faith conversation on Luke 7:11-17 was led by the Dean. Minutes from the 25 April meeting were presented and adopted.

Business Arising
• Cathedral steeple – has been repaired at a cost of about $13,000. Insurance has covered with a $1000 deductable
• Organ maintenance – scheduled for mid-June at a cost of about $2900. Dr. Pond has graciously agreed to facilitate the service and maintenance visit
• Chapter membership – one vacancy remains: chair of Christian Formation
• Member Visitation – wrapped up. Surveys being accepted until the end of May. Debrief is scheduled for visitors on Sunday, 05 June 2016 at 1:00 p.m. at the Hall.
• Cathedral piano – several options are being considered following notice of the wishes of the owner to sell

From the Dean
• usual ministerial and pastoral activities including care facility, hospital and home visits
• status of Music Director (David Drinkell has committed to be present on 17 July at the latest) and Parish Nurse (Kathleen Snow has agreed to begin 01 September). The position of sexton now needs to be advertised and a full-time hire expedited. Thanks to David Garland for his interim duties
• note regarding up-coming events in June

Items for Decision
• Staff and employment – Director of Music and Parish Nurse position descriptions and letters of offer of employment are all but complete, will be finalized soon. Sexton position description, advertising and letter of offer of employment ASAP
• Memorial Hall Steps Repair – scope of work and quotes for repair to the Hall steps and resulting water leaks into the electrical room) will be acquired. This was another of the critical items that would have been addressed by the originally proposed Hall Renovation Project and should be addressed as soon as possible
• Anglican Foundation of Canada – it was agreed that Christ Church Cathedral should maintain an annual membership and that the recent request for fees should be met.

Reports
• Communications Committee is planning a Cathedral photo directory for the fall of 2016
• Worship Committee will facilitate establishing public morning and evening offices (Morning Prayer 8:45 a.m. and Evening Prayer 4:45 p.m.) daily. Volunteers are being sought.

Discussion
• Administration and Finance Committee – draft terms of reference were discussed. Our Treasurer is seeking assistance in completing as smooth a transition as possible. Several administrative issues require consideration and the Dean has expressed the urgency of having this committee functional

Up-coming
• Choral Evensong, 05 June 2016 at 4:00 p.m.
• Confirmation, 19 June 2016 at 4:00 p.m.
• Ordination 26 June at 4:00 p.m.

Next Meeting
Monday, 20 June 2016

GMH

Divine Renovation

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Divine Renovation: From a Maintenance to a Missional Parish
By James Mallon
Novalis Publishing/2014/286 pages

Fr. James Mallon is pastor and priest at the Roman Catholic Saint Benedict Parish in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He speaks frequently on the topic of church renewal and has hosted internationally acclaimed DVD series on Catholicism and Dogmatic Theology. St. Benedict is an amalgamation of three former parishes and under Fr. Mallon’s care has achieved remarkable success in becoming a Christian community focussed on mission outside of its doors as opposed to an inward- looking maintenance ministry. In this book, the author offers practical guidance and a step by step blueprint on that process.

Its time to start making disciples. The future of the Church depends on it.

The Church today is faced often with the overwhelming task of maintaining property. While our buildings are an enormous gift from our past, they can also become one of our greatest burdens if we are not successful at becoming the missional church we are called to be. Jesus does not call us to be caretakers but, rather to serve him by serving the world and making disciples. “Its time to start making disciples,” says Fr. Mallon. “The future of the Church depends on it.”

Chapter two focusses on a grounding of the theory to be presented from Roman Catholic specific papal encyclicals and denominational specific documents. That goal completed, Divine Renovation progresses towards an insightful read for the Christian of any denomination. It is particularly applicable for any denomination that recognizes sacramental dimensions of the faith. “The sacraments are our greatest pastoral opportunity” and, perhaps one of the reasons I find it easy to recommend this book is that I agree wholeheartedly with most, if not all, of the author’s fundamental beginning points as well as the conclusions. Changing the “culture” of the Christian Community is necessarily at the heart of a transformation from maintenance to mission. It is that change of culture that consumes the majority of this text.

The practical road map leading to the transformation of church culture is divided into several sections. These might be alternatively titled: “Fr. Mallon’s marks of a healthy church.”

  • Giving Priority to the Weekend
  • Hospitality
  • Uplifting Music
  • Homilies
  • Meaningful Community
  • Clear Expectations
  • Strength-based Ministry

Inspiring, practical, challenging and a bracing call are among the terms others have used to describe an insightful book. A good read for anyone who cares about how to do Church in our current context. Fr. Mallon addresses the clergy of the Anglican Diocese of Fredericton during the clergy conference in August of 2016.

Geoffrey Hall

Celebration of Discipline

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Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth
By Richard J. Foster
Harper Books / 1998 / 228 pages / Revised Edition

We read in the New Testament about the “Gifts of the Spirit” and the “Fruit of the Spirit.”

But, what do people mean when they use the term, “the Spiritual Disciplines?”  What is a ‘spiritual discipline’ and how does the practice of these disciplines affect a person’s maturity in the Faith, as well as the corporate expression of that maturity in a local church community?

Richard Foster explores this important terrain in his book, Celebration of Discipline.  Originally published in 1978, this volume has been republished several times, in revised and expanded form.  Considered to be one of the best modern handbooks to focused, faithful Christian living, Celebration of Discipline explores the essential spiritual practices used today, and down through the ages.

Richard J. Foster is the author of several bestselling books, including Celebration of Discipline, Streams of Living Water, Life with God, Freedom of Simplicity and Prayer. He is the founder of the American intrachurch movement, Renovaré, an organization committed to the renewal of the Church in our day.

Foster divides the spiritual disciplines into three categories and explains how each of these expressions of the Spirit contribute to the symmetry and fullness of a person’s life-journey. The inward disciplines of meditation, prayer, fasting, and study, offer avenues of personal examination and change. The outward disciplines of simplicity, solitude, submission, and service, help prepare us to make the world a better place. The corporate disciplines of confession, worship, guidance, and celebration, bring us nearer to one another and to God.

“Like a child exploring the attic of an old house on a rainy day, discovering a trunk full of treasure and then calling all his brothers and sisters to share the find, Richard J. Foster has ‘found’ the spiritual disciplines that the modern world stored away and forgot, and has excitedly called us to celebrate them.  For they are, as he shows us, the instruments of joy, the way into mature Christian spirituality and abundant life.” ~ Eugene H. Peterson.

Selected quotes from Richard Foster’s Celebration of Discipline:

“God has given us the Disciplines of the spiritual life as a means of receiving his grace. The Disciplines allow us to place ourselves before God so that he can transform us.”

“Humility, as we all know, is one of those virtues that is never gained by seeking it. The more we pursue it the more distant it becomes. To think we have it is sure evidence that we don’t.”

“Silence is one of the deepest Disciplines of the Spirit simply because it puts the stopper on all self-justification.”

“Of all spiritual disciplines prayer is the most central because it ushers us into perpetual communion with the Father.”

“To pray is to change. All who have walked with God have viewed prayer as the main business of their lives.”

“The purpose of meditation is to enable us to hear God more clearly. Meditation is listening, sensing, heeding the life and light of Christ. This comes right to the heart of our faith. The life that pleases God is not a set of religious duties; it is to hear His voice and obey His word. Meditation opens the door to this way of living.

“Fasting must forever centre on God. More than any other Discipline, fasting reveals the things that control us.

“Disciplines are not the answer; they only lead us to the Answer. We must clearly understand this limitation of the Disciplines if we are to avoid bondage.”

Gregg Finley

Called to Mission – Matt Allen

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Matt Allen has been a regular member of our congregation this past year and is preparing to serve God in a mission abroad with Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship. He is self-financing his salary for this mission and the Missions Committee would like to share his request for support.

“I am coming on staff with Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship. Over the past year I have been working with Inter-Varsity in Fredericton. But now I am feeling like God is calling me to an International placement with Inter-Varsity. I am looking at a placement in either Martinique or France to work with the local student groups and see how they can grow and make a larger impact on their campuses and in their countries. Right now both of those locations have less than five staff working there.

So I want to partner with them and see how we can grow. Right now I am fundraising for my salary and my budget costs. I am looking to fund-raise $40,000. Would you be willing to support me either financially or through prayer. If you would like to join my newsletter email me at <mallen at ivcf.ca> and if you would like to financially support me you can at ivcf.ca/donate/mallen” – Matt Allen

ivcf

View this post on the Missions Committee site

Brad McKnight

Run for the Word 2016

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Locations: Florenceville-Bristol, NB; Fredericton, NB
Date: Saturday, June 4, 2016
Time: 9:30 AM – On-site registration; 10:00 AM – Opening ceremony

Run for the Word (R4W) is a fundraising event held in New Brunswick since 2013. This annual event aims to connect the Canadian Bible Society (CBS) friends and supporters together to raise funds for the Bible work in Canada and around the world. Participants join by committing to run or walk from 1km to 5km and to raise funds for the various Bible translation, distribution and engagement programs of the Canadian Bible Society.

Visit the Run for the Word website

to register, read stories,support a runner and for more resources

Making the Bible available for Canadians

This year, Run for the Word is raising funds for Bible translation, distribution and engagement programs in Canada. CBS partners with over 100 churches and organizations to distribute God’s Word to those who need it. Through partnership with various ministries in Canada, CBS is able to bring God’s Word to

  • Men and women in prison
  • Children and youth in summer camps
  • New refugees/migrants
  • Canadian soldiers
  • First Nations communities
  • The Visually-impaired
  • And more!

Every year, CBS receives hundreds of requests from organizations who have identified the Scripture needs of people they minister to. CBS partners are able to determine what Bible version or format (e.g. print, audio, Braille) would be best for those who receive them. They are responsible for making sure that the Bibles produced by CBS end up in the hands of people who hunger and thirst for God’s Word.

Through the generosity of supporters, CBS is able to produce these Scriptures year after year. As a result, people are able to read the Bible in their heart language and lives are transformed.

The Holy Longing

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By Ronald Rolheiser
DoubleDay/1999/257 pages

Ronald Rolheiser’s The Holy Longing is a modern classic.  It has been read and endorsed by clergy and lay people across the Christian world.  Essential reading for those seeking to understand and deepen their practice of Christian spirituality, this book explains the complexion of one’s personal spirituality and how to apply it to our worship, and our day-to-day lives.  This book is for folks with questions about what Christians believe and what it means to actually live life by faith, following the example of Jesus and the Saints.  It unpacks the key ingredients of an attractive, authentic spiritual life.

Rolheiser probes this question: “What is spirituality?”  He writes about the confusion that can surround this subject amid the wide assortment of spiritual beliefs and practices of our day.  With great sensitivity to debates and challenges swirling around the faith-life, he explains the “Nonnegotiable Essentials,” including the importance of community worship, the richness of ritual, the imperatives surrounding social justice, peacemaking, sexuality, the centrality of the Trinity, and more.  The book presents an outline of Christian spirituality that reflects the continuing search for meaning at the heart of the human experience.  Rolheiser writes about the search for love and wholeness in language accessible to all.

Ronald Rolheiser is a Canadian.  He hails from Cactus Lake, Saskatchewan.  He is a Roman Catholic priest and member of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate.  He serves as President of the Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio, Texas, is author of the several books The Restless Heart, Forgotten Among the Lilies, The Shattered Lantern, Against An Infinite Horizon, and Sacred Fire: A vision for a Deeper Human and Christian Maturity. He is a community-builder, lecturer and writer, and his weekly column appears in more than 90 Catholic publications.   Rolheiser received an honorary doctorate from Fredericton’s St. Thomas University in 2005.  A substantial selection of his articles and reflections are available online at ronrolheiser.com

Selected quotes from Ronald Rolheiser’s The Holy Longing:

“Becoming like Jesus is as much as about having a relaxed and joyful heart as it is about believing and doing the right thing, as much about proper energy as about proper truth.”

“In this life, all symphonies remain unfinished. Our deep longings are never really satisfied. What this means, among other things, is that we are not restful creatures who sometimes get restless, fulfilled people who sometimes are dissatisfied, serene people who sometimes experience disquiet. Rather, we are restless people who occasionally find rest, dissatisfied people who occasionally find fulfillment, and disquieted people who occasionally find serenity.”

“Spirituality…is about being integrated or falling apart, about being within community or being lonely, about being in harmony with Mother Earth or being alienated from her. Irrespective of whether or not we let ourselves be consciously shaped by any explicit religious idea, we act in ways that leave us either healthy or unhealthy, loving or bitter. What shapes our actions is our spirituality.

“Write a book,” he told me, “that I can give to my adult children to explain why I still believe in God and why I still go to church—and that I can read on days when I am no longer sure why I believe or go to church.”

Gregg Finley

Surprised by Scripture

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Surprised by Scripture: Engaging Contemporary Issues

By: N.T. Wright
Harper-Collins / 2014 / 320 pages

N.T. Wright is a widely-read British Bible scholar and retired Anglican bishop. According to Time Magazine, Wright is one of the most formidable figures in the world of Christian thought. He served as Bishop of Durham between 2003 and 2010.  Currently he is Research Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity at St Mary’s College, University of St. Andrews in Scotland.   Some commentators have referred to him as a modern C.S. Lewis.

His writing actually opens up the Bible so that it can “speak” into the down-to-earth realities of one’s life. Wright offers fresh perspectives on how to approach Scripture; how readers can be nourished by the Bible day by day.  He presents good reasons to ponder and pray through sections of biblical text. His insights encourage readers to ask important questions about how to go deeper in their faith-journey.

The 12 chapters of this book present a collection of N.T. Wright’s essays and talks — case studies that explore how and why the Bible speaks to some of the most pressing contemporary issues.  There are interesting surprises between the covers of Surprised by Scripture.   Some chapter titles follow:

  • Can a Scientist Believe in the Resurrection?
  • 9/11, Tsunamis, and the New Problem of Evil
  • Idolatry 2.0
  • Our Politics Are Too Small

Selected quotes from N.T. Wright’s Surprised By Scripture:

“The question for us, as we learn again and again the lessons of hope for ourselves, is how we can be for the world what Jesus was for Thomas: how we can show to the world the signs of love, how we can reach out our hands in love, wounded though they will be if the love has been true, how we can invite those whose hearts have grown shrunken and shriveled with sorrow and disbelief to come and see what love has done, what love is doing, in our communities, our neighborhoods:”

“science takes things apart to see how they work, but religion puts things together to see what they mean.”

“But from the start the early Christians believed that the resurrection body, though it would certainly be a body in the sense of a physical object, would be a transformed body, a body whose material, created from the old material, would have new properties. That is what Paul means by the “spiritual body”: not a body made out of nonphysical spirit, but a physical body animated by the Spirit, a Spirit-driven body if you like: still what we would call physical but differently animated.”

“The church is not simply a religious body looking for a safe place to do its own thing within a wider political or social world. The church is neither more nor less than people who bear witness, by their very existence and in particular their holiness and their unity (Colossians 3), that Jesus is the world’s true lord, ridiculous or even scandalous though this may seem.”

“Here is the challenge, I believe, for the Christian artist, in whatever sphere: to tell the story of the new world so that people can taste it and want it, even while acknowledging the reality of the desert in which we presently live.”

Gregg Finley

Bishop and Chapter News – Apr 2016

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Members of Bishop and Chapter met this past Monday evening, 24 April, with 8 of 13 members present. Vice-chair Catherine Schmidt chaired. John 14:1-7 was read and the Chapter reflected on Jesus’ words: “I am the way, the truth and the life.” Minutes from the 14 March meeting were adopted.

Business Arising

  • Memorial Hall chair lift – the lift has been repaired and is in working order at a cost of about $5000.
  • Music Director position – the Search Committee reports having completed interviews. The position has been offered and has been accepted pending the incumbent attending to details in preparation for a move. We continue to thank Sharon Pond as interim organist
  • Christian Formation Committee chair – there has been no progress to date. This is a Bishop and Chapter leadership role very important to church life and health
  • Member visitation – visitation has begun with the hope of visiting all by the end of May. About 40 visitors for over 400 identified households
  • Parish Nurse – initial reports are that the pledge campaign goal of $11,000 per year over five years has been reached. After final confirmation of those totals, the Health and Pastoral Care Committee (Health Ministry Team), on behalf of the Chapter, is asked to give consideration to details required to move forward

From the Dean

  • Monthly special care facility Communions, hospitals visits.
  • Confirmation preparation continues with 6 Cathedral students participating and in partnership with the Parish of New Maryland and a tentative date for confirmation of 19 June.
  • Baptism preparation for the Day of Pentecost requests for baptism must begin soon.
  • The Dean spoke briefly about the need for a change in church culture regarding how we are all shaped and continue to grow in the Faith (formation). While we, for the most part, see formation as “continuous and terminal” there is need to move to an approach and widely held understanding of being “intentional and life-long” regarding Christian Formation. (Read Fr. James Mallon)

Items for Decision

  • Steeple repair – it has been determined that necessary repair to roofing on the Cathedral steeple is covered by insurance minus a deductible at a cost of about $13,000. The Property Committee will initiate the work being completed as soon as possible.
  • Organ repair – the Cathedral organ requires maintenance by way of some replacement of parts (contacts and leathers) at a quoted cost of about $3000. Sharon Pond will coordinate getting this work done.

Discussion

  • Cathedral grand piano – The grand piano at the Cathedral is on loan. The owner has determined the need to sell, preferably by 31 May. Appraisal value $16,000. Asking price is $12,000. The chapter will need to determine our course of action, if any.

Up-coming

  • The Day of Pentecost (15 May) worship and luncheon at 10:30 a.m.
  • Ordination 26 June (Sunday) at 4:00 p.m.

Next Meetings

Monday, 30 May 2016, 7:00 p.m.
Monday, 20 June 2016

GMH

Living the Third Mark of Mission

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A community without volunteers wouldn’t be much of a community.

That’s the opinion of Doug Wright who has been a volunteer on a cathedral team at the Fredericton Community Kitchen for about 10 years.

“I think people have to go further than just sitting in the pews,” he said as he chopped broccoli for a salad one recent evening at the soup kitchen.

Working nearby, Wayne Phillips agreed. “It’s good to give back to the community,” he said. “Too often, the church is about money and politics, not about helping people.”

“I think people have to go further than just sitting in the pews …”

Wayne is a 17-year veteran at the kitchen, but newcomers feel the same way.

Rebecca Butler and Kurt Goddard joined a cathedral team this year. “I see it as another form of mission,” Rebecca said, thinking of the third Mark of Mission which is to respond to human need by loving service.

1604_soup_kitchen_2She and Sarah Petite wiped down tables in preparation for dozens of supper guests who would soon line up for turkey rice casserole, beets, vegetable soup, juice, coffee and sweet treats donated by a local “big box” store.

The cathedral’s Outreach Committee co-ordinates four teams who help the chef at supper time on Saturdays year-round. (The kitchen serves supper and lunch daily as well as breakfast on weekdays.) Duties include preparing and serving food, doing dishes, and cleaning up after the evening meal.

Each team has more than a dozen members, and four-to-six are expected to cover the two-hour shift which runs from 4 to 6 p.m. Ideally, it should mean one’s turn comes up every other month, but it varies in reality.

The guests stream in from the homeless shelters, rooming houses or shabby little apartments. A few are living on the street or are transients passing through due to unemployment, addictions, mental illness, poverty in general. Sometimes there are children.

“The people who come here are so grateful for what they receive and what we do.”

“It’s not a tough job,” said longtime volunteer Wayne Burley as he rinsed and stacked plates. “The people who come here are so grateful for what they receive and what we do.”

Jason Parsons stepped up a couple years ago. “I’m busy with my work and my three children, but it’s is a small commitment of time. It really gives all of us a chance to be the hands and feet of God in our city,” he said.

In recent years, the cathedral has not been able to provide enough volunteers to fill four teams. Currently, teams have non-cathedral members serving as volunteers which does add a nice social aspect to the work. If anyone is interested in finding out more, please contact Doug Milander from the Outreach Committee.

Fredericton Community Kitchen

Fredericton Homeless Shelters THANKS

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February 16th, 2016

Christ Cathedral Church
168 Church Street
Fredericton, NB  E3B 4C9

Dear Father G. Hall and Congregation;

The Fredericton Shelters and its staff members recently took the much needed time to remember and recognize the tremendous support that it receives from its many generous donors. You are receiving this letter because you are one of those giving, selfless community members who cares about helping those in need. Upon reflection, we realize that we could not do anything to help our homeless men and women without your contributions, and we want to thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

The Shelters continues its daily functions of providing a safe, stable, caring environment to approximately 35 homeless individuals each month. As of October 2014, we have been under the leadership of a new
Executive Director who, like his staff, possesses a great deal of empathy for the people that we serve. Our energy has been renewed, and we are hoping to do everything we can to increase the potential of the shelter, staff and most important, the residents.

homelessIn the past, efforts like yours have kept the doors open so that we did not have to turn away anyone who was in need of warmth and a good night’s rest. Without maybe realizing it, you also have played a significant role in lessening the loneliness of isolation, and you have helped many people know that despite their circumstances, people do care about them.

Our homeless men and women still need your help. We hope that you will stay connected with the shelters as we continue to count on people like you so much.

Again, we thank you and appreciate everything you have done.

Warren Maddox
Executive Director
Fredericton Homeless Shelter Inc.

Visit the Fredericton Shelters website