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"...
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
Art & Faith: Short, guided weekly meditation on a work of art related to the prior Sunday’s Gospel and in the tradition of Ignatian (imaginative) contemplation. 5:30-6:00 p.m. on Zoom.
* Link through the Cathedral Calendar or from Kurt.
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>.
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.
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
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 yourselfand 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.
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.
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.
** Update April 26, 2023: we have received a new shipment, and now have test kits back in stock again **
Thanks to the initiative of our Health Ministry team, COVID-19 rapid test kits are available for pick-up, free of charge, in the lobby of Cathedral Memorial Hall and in the Cathedral.
Under the program, the Cathedral Office receives regular shipments of COVID-19 at-home rapid test kits, which are available for pick-up by members of the congregation, community groups which meet in the Hall, and the public. The take-home kits are also offered to guests in need during the monthly outreach program for people in need.
A chart showing mask effectiveness. Click to enlarge
In addition, high quality masks (KN95 respirators) have been delivered, and are available in several locations in the Cathedral and Hall. These masks fit securely and are very effective at reducing the spread of airborne viruses like COVID-19, which linger in the air of poorly ventilated rooms. Members of the congregation and visitors are encouraged to help themselves to the masks.
No appointment is necessary to pick-up test kits and masks. The public is invited to take what they need from the ledge in the hall lobby or the entry table in the Cathedral. The Cathedral (150 Church Street) and Cathedral Memorial Hall (168 Church Street) are open most non-holiday weekdays until approximately 5:00 p.m., plus select evenings during community and congregational events. If you need assistance, Cathedral office hours are weekdays 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon.
Public health professionals caution that COVID-19 and other illnesses increase when more time is spent indoors during cold winter months. They recommend caring for others by masking, staying home when sick, and testing. They hope that these practices will also help to reduce the strain on our health care system, as New Brunswick hospitals are facing strain and long wait times in emergency departments.
Retired nurse and Cathedral Health Ministry team member Marilyn Lewell encourages the use of rapid tests to detect illness. “Please pick up a box of tests to have on-hand in case you get sick. It will save last minute trips when you feel ill.”
"We continue to be grateful for the vigilance of our Health Ministry committee," says Sally Dibblee, Bishop and Chapter Chair of Health and Pastoral Care. "We are truly blessed. They have shown genuine concern and care for our parishioners throughout the Pandemic."
If you receive a negative rapid test result but continue to have symptoms, mask and test again in a few days, as it takes time for your body to accumulate enough virus to show up positive on a test. According to the Public Health Agency of Canada, “the accuracy of a test can vary depending on when your sample is taken during the course of your illness. If you're tested too soon after you were exposed to COVID-19, there may not be enough virus in your body for an accurate result.”
Many doctors and epidemiologists are now recommending that people using at-home rapid test kits take a throat swab, cheek swab and nasal swab (with the same Q-tip), as this method appears to be more accurately recognizing the new COVID-19 variants.
If you test positive, New Brunswick Public Health recommends that you:
Wear a multi-layer well-fitting mask, physical distance, and avoid gatherings for 5-10 days after leaving home
Since people can become infected with COVID-19 more than once, the public is recommended to test when symptoms are present, and keep their vaccinations up to date. Vaccines have been shown to reduce the severity of symptoms and lessen the incidence of hospitalizations. Vaccination appointments are available in many locations throughout New Brunswick.
Fifty paper angels from Greener Village (the food bank) are waiting patiently to be chosen from a small tree in the cathedral. Each requests a specific Christmas gift or some stocking stuffers for a needy boy or girl in our city.
Please print your name and telephone number on the clipboard to indicate which angel you're adopting. Bring the unwrapped gift, with the paper angel firmly attached, to the church on Sunday, November 13th. Drop-off boxes will be set up near the angel tree.
If you can't bring your gift that Sunday, please take it to the Cathedral Office before Monday, November 14th, during office hours (weekdays 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon).
“It might seem early, but demand at the food bank has skyrocketed,” explained Outreach Committee treasurer Doug Milander. “They're dealing with 3,000 clients a month – 25 new families just last week – so they need plenty of time to collect and distribute the gifts.”
Doug said the Outreach Committee deeply appreciates the congregation's generous support in making Christmas special for children in our city, especially during a lingering pandemic, high inflation and a looming recession.
He added that the committee must purchase any gifts that arrive late or not at all.
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 church office by December 16th. 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.
As part of our Cathedral Faces series, we are sharing biographies of our staff members. These dedicated individuals contribute a lot to our community, in ways seen and unseen, and we are thankful for their work.
J. Thomas D. Gonder, born in Cayuga, Ontario in 1971, exhibited musical gifts at an extremely early age. He spent most of his life in London, Ontario, his family having relocated there in 1981. Immediately becoming involved in the musical life of St. Paul's Cathedral, he spent many years there as a chorister, Organ Scholar, Assistant Organist, and Organist and Master of the Choristers. Thomas quickly rose to the forefront of the Canadian Organ scene as one of its brightest young performers shortly after his public debut at the age of 15 under the tutelage of D. Mervyn Games. Today he is recognized as one of Canada's leading and most versatile concert organists and church musicians. His teachers, mentors and greatest influences also include David Palmer, Ian Sadler, William S.J. McArton, Catherine Crozier, Simon Preston, Gerald Bales, Naji Hakim and David Briggs.
Thomas has developed a wide-ranging career as organist, accompanist, church musician and composer. Naji Hakim (Paris, France) has described him as "a deeply feeling and emotional player", Simon Preston (Great Britain), "an amazing talent", and the esteemed Canadian musician Gerald Bales, OC, (1919 - 2002) proclaimed him the foremost interpreter of his organ works. Thomas has earned himself a reputation as an exciting, virtuoso performer of distinction in command of a vast repertoire, most notably with the French Romantic and Post-Romantic repertoire, having performed the complete Organ Symphonies of Louis Vierne in 1997 and 2014. Thomas is internationally recognized as a leading interpreter of the organ works of Naji Hakim of Paris, France, the most prolific composer of organ music in the world today. Thomas has premiered much of Mr. Hakim’s work in Canada. In 1995 he gave the Canadian Premiere of 'Vexilla Regis Prodeunt' at the Jack Singer Concert Hall, Calgary, Alberta. 1997 saw the World Premiere of Gerald Bales' 'Impromptu-Toccata' at the closing concert of the Royal Canadian College of Organists National Convention. Thomas has also had numerous works composed for him and recent years have seen two world premieres of works by Parisian composer, Nicolas Chevereau and Elegie Canadienne by David Briggs.
Thomas joined the Cathedral Staff in January of 2020 and quickly and enthusiastically joined the wider Fredericton community. A lover of nature and a self-professed bird watcher, he is enjoying some of what makes life along the River St. John so unique.
We are fortunate to have Thomas leading both the Cathedral Choir and Worship Band. In 2021 and 2022 he organized the Cathedral Summer Music Series, with free concerts featuring a variety of performers and musical styles. In addition, he liaises with local music groups who book the Cathedral for concerts and rehearsals. Thomas has also taught organ students, including Cathedral Organ Scholar Christian Vanicek.
Shortly after his arrival in our city, an article about Thomas was published in the NB Anglican newspaper. Read it here.
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.
