He is the Most Rev. David Edwards, bishop of the Diocese of Fredericton; and Metropolitan of the Province of Canada, which comes with the title of archbishop.
But he’d really rather be known as David.
How he got to New Brunswick is a winding story of God’s hand on his life that began in 1960...
* * *
Read the full article, written by Gisele McKnight and published in the April 2021 edition of the NB Anglican.
-- by Gisele McKnight (NB Anglican)
It’s been a long time since Rosa Macaulay’s been home, seen her brothers and sisters and revisited childhood memories in her hometown. It’s not that she doesn’t want to return. It’s that she can’t.
Gang violence, government instability, severe shortages of basic goods, a poverty rate of 96 per cent and massive unemployment in Venezuela have kept her in Fredericton.
Her birth country has been the victim of its own success. When oil was discovered a century ago, the country grew exponentially, but in the wrong way — becoming almost totally dependent on one export while failing to build its infrastructure and diversify its economy. A succession of military dictators, corruption and unstable world oil markets put it in a precarious position.
Then a socialist president, Hugo Chavez, who promised so much, evolved into an authoritarian who took power for himself from every institution. He died in 2013, leaving more unrest and instability that has only worsened.
So the country with the largest oil reserves in the world cannot feed, educate or care for its own people, cannot maintain law and order and cannot sell most of its oil due to sanctions imposed by many countries. That is why Rosa stays in Fredericton.
CHILDHOOD
Rosa is a middle child of 12. She grew up in San Antonio, a small border town in southwest Venezuela just across the Rio Tachira from Columbia. Her family was very close, her father a military man. Church, school and family were her life.
When she graduated from high school in 1975, the country had a scholarship program to send students away to foreign universities. The aim was for them to return as educated professionals, mostly in the oil industry.
“There were not many people prepared to work in the oil industry and not a lot of universities,” said Rosa. “So the country decided to give scholarships. I applied and ended up coming to Canada.”
Actually, if all had gone according to plan, Rosa would have gone to university in the UK, and come home to work in the oil industry as a chemical engineer.
But neither of those two things happened.
“While I was waiting to be told when to go to England, I got word that a group was ready to go to Canada,” she said. “I didn’t know what to do.”
EDUCATION
When she looks back now, it seems quite amazing that she even left her country. She had never been anywhere and was always under the protection of her parents.
“I was very much shy. My mother and father represented me. I depended on them for everything,” she said.
She asked them if she should go to Canada. With 12 children in the family seeking their futures, of course the answer was to seize the new opportunity.
“That’s how I ended up coming to Canada,” she said.
A group of 35 Venezuelans arrived at Loyola College in Montreal (later Concordia University) with one goal — to learn English.
After that year, the students were encouraged to apply to Canadian universities, and Rosa applied to the University of New Brunswick, where the answer was no.
She continued to take courses, applied again, and the answer was yes. She entered the chemical engineering program, and that is where she met John.
MARRIED LIFE
Meeting John Macaulay was the second big turning point in Rosa’s life. Her future was now firmly set in Canada.
John graduated in 1981, and Rosa, due to delays, visits back home and her time in Montreal, graduated in 1983. In the meantime, the two became engaged, but John was in Alberta working on his PhD.
They did their marriage preparation classes separately, John with an Anglican priest in Edmonton, and Rosa with a Roman Catholic priest in Fredericton. They were married at St. Dunstan’s Catholic Church in Fredericton in 1983, with both denominations participating.
Then it was back to Alberta. Rosa had a few job interviews, but without experience, she had no offers. Unlike her classmates who worked in the field during their university years, Rosa, on a student visa, was not permitted to work. And by this time, a recession was in play, closing a lot of doors.
After Alberta, the couple moved to St. John’s, NL for John’s post-doctoral work. In 1988, their daughter, Rachel, was born. Their son, Warren, was born in 1989.
“We always thought wouldn’t it be nice to go back to Fredericton, with at least one set of grandparents there. I really liked Fredericton,” she said.
They had a short stint in Ottawa, then in 1989, John accepted a position with the Research and Productivity Council in Fredericton, where he remained for the duration of his career. He retired two years ago, but Rosa works part-time.
ANGLICANISM
Rosa is still Roman Catholic, but she’s pretty immersed in Anglican life at Christ Church Cathedral. John was baptised there, and when his parents invited her to attend when she and John were dating, she was anxious.
She’d never been to anything but a Catholic service. Would it be formal? Big? Intimidating?
What she found was a service very similar to what she was used to, “but there was so much singing in the Anglican church.”
She loved the singing. They continued to attend Anglican services on campus in Alberta, and back in
Fredericton, the children were heavily involved in Cathedral life, joining choir, youth group, puppeteers and traveling to Belize for missions.
When she was asked to teach Sunday school, she was sure she was unqualified, but she said yes, and enjoyed years of teaching children. She became nursery coordinator and helped with the choir. And at her mother-in-law’s suggestion, she joined Mothers’ Union.
“I didn’t know anything about it. Now I’m still a member!” she said. “When you have kids, you say yes to everything.”
For 12 years she prepared and led Prayers of the People, which she counts as a privilege. She and John volunteer with Helping Hands, a ministry that provides food, drives and other help, mostly to seniors.
She enjoyed the faithful support of her in-laws throughout her marriage.
“I always had examples — John’s parents were always involved. I always looked to them as an example. They were very kind and very helpful. I have always been in good hands and I’ve always felt welcome.”
She cites Mothers’ Union members, especially the older ones there when she joined, as another positive influence on her life as a young wife and mother in a new country.
BACK HOME
As things deteriorated in Venezuela many years ago, Rosa realized the importance of becoming a Canadian citizen.
“I’ve been very happy here. I love Canada. I’ve never felt anyone was against me for being from somewhere else.”
Years ago, the family usually visited Venezuela every other year, “so the children could meet their cousins, uncles and aunts. They loved going there and speaking Spanish,” said Rosa. “But we haven’t been there since Warren was 12. He’s 31 now.”
The families use Facebook to keep in touch, though they all miss family. Even if it were safe, though, there is still the issue of poverty.
“There would be more mouths to feed when we get there,” said Rosa. “It’s a very bad situation. It wasn’t like that. It shouldn’t be like that. It’s a rich country in ruins.
“It’s sad. I never imagined it could get to be this way. For 20 years we have been saying it can’t get any worse, but it has.
“I don’t know when we’ll ever be able to do that, but there’s hope. We hope. We pray all the time. That’s what I can do.”
Most of her siblings still live in Venezuela and they get by.
“They are doing well because we are helping,” she said, adding that even sending money to the country is getting difficult.
“I’ve put off retiring three times because I feel I need to do this — as long as I can and as long as they need it. We help, and the rest is prayers going their way.”
Reprinted from nb.anglican.ca
The New Brunswick Anglican's series, My Journey Here, features members of the Anglican Diocese of Fredericton whose roots are far from New Brunswick. If you are from another country, but live and worship in the Diocese of Fredericton, perhaps you'd like to be featured. Contact Gisele McKnight for information: <gmcknight at diofton.ca> or 506-459-1801, ext 1009.
Chris Robinson is a familiar face around the Cathedral. He loves serving any way he can at church: reading and leading prayers during services, serving as assistant Verger, singing in the choir, playing in the Praise band, assisting with the Youth Group, Alpha, and helping wherever needed.
Chris is proud 6th generation Frederictonian. His Great(x6) Grandfather was Ira Ingraham, whose house is located at Kings Landing. Chris’s great grandmother, Addie Hanson (Williams), was even custodian of our Cathedral in the 1920s. Chris is very proud of his storied history with the Cathedral.
Chris is an only child – his parents were interviewed by CBC on what it was like to have a child at the age of 39! He has yet another connection with the Cathedral. His “honorary Grandfather” was long time Cathedral member Phil Lyons. Phil was a close friend of Chris’s parents, and when Chris was born, Phil was given the baby to hold. It transformed his life, and he promised to be a good example to the young child all his life. Phil taught Chris important lessons from the Bible, the importance of putting God first, and staying close to God even in difficult circumstances. Chris misses Phil every day, but holds fast to God’s promise that he will see him again.
Chris spent his first semester at Crandall University, but transferred to St. Thomas University to complete his degree in Journalism with a minor in Gerontology. An example of his work can be seen on YouTube. It is a wonderful video, narrated by him. Last spring, Chris completed his first M.Div course at Wycliffe College at the University of Toronto.
Chris now works full time as a Kindergarten educator at Kingsclear Consolidated School and volunteers every Sunday night as a youth leader at Christ Church Cathedral. He tries to walk outdoors daily, and can often be seen at Starbucks, riding his bike, or playing his guitar.
Living in this age of COVID, it is difficult to make long term plans. Although he has been offered a job as a Youth Pastor at a church (Baptist!) in Mississauga, he is enjoying his time in Fredericton. He says he takes life a day at a time, and trusts God to direct him. Chris feels extremely blessed to have the Cathedral family, as we are to have him, for as long as God directs. Thank you for all you do, Chris.
-- by Marilyn Lewell
The Cathedral Communications Committee has invited members of the congregation to share their Christmas memories. Below, listen to a story from Emily.
This January, Cathedral Organist and Director of Music Thomas Gonder is celebrating the one year anniversary of his arrival in Fredericton. As we reflect on the blessing of his music ministry during this most unusual year, we thought it appropriate to look back on this interview originally published in the NB Anglican shortly after Thomas' arrival in our city.
[Photos and text by Gisele McKnight, 2/18/2020]
Cathedral welcomes new music director
Some call it happenstance. Others call it God’s hand.
Thomas Gonder believes it was definitely God’s hand that brought him to Fredericton — specifically to Christ Church Cathedral as its new director of music. He began his role here in early January.
Thomas, 48 and originally from London, Ont., lived in Toronto for more than 12 years, working as an organist in Anglican Churches. His path to New Brunswick began last summer, when he was invited by Leo Marchildon to perform at St. Dunstan’s Roman Catholic Basilica in Charlottetown.
A lifelong Anglican, Thomas decided to make the trip really count. He’d always wanted to visit Christ Church Cathedral in Fredericton.
“I’d seen pictures, so I thought, ‘why not see if I can play there,’” he said. “Might as well make the trip more worthwhile.”
So he wrote to then-director of music, David Drinkell, who extended a hearty invitation. Thomas spent four or five days in the city, and loved every minute.
“I played an organ concert here on a Saturday night,” he said. “There were about 100 people there. I thought I might get 20.”
But while preparing to return to Toronto, he realized he didn’t really want to leave.
“I was overwhelmed by the kindness of strangers, the enthusiasm people have for music,” he said. “I was surrounded by trees instead of condos.
“When I went back to Toronto, I sank into a bit of a depression. I felt as if I really connected to this place in a specific way — not just with the Cathedral, but with the whole city. I crave nature and I couldn’t find that in Toronto.”
The sad and untimely death of David Drinkell later that fall opened up an opportunity that Thomas did not see coming. He’d struck up a Facebook friendship with Elspeth, David’s wife, and had lively correspondence with David. Now he realizes his August visit to the city was all God’s plan, not his. When the vacancy appeared, he felt he had to apply.
With an offer in hand, Thomas left St. Matthew’s Anglican Church in Islington, in the Diocese of Toronto, to direct music in his first cathedral, and he couldn’t be happier.
“The draw to come here was irresistible,” he said. “I didn’t need this job. I had one I really liked, but I had to take this chance.
“I was growing so weary of Toronto — the cost of living, the hustle and bustle, the noise — it became too much for me. It was wearing down my senses.”
Now he walks to work via Odell Park, and revels in the bird song and the smell of trees, things he has sorely missed for many years. Moving to a new city in the middle of winter isn’t ideal, he said, but he’s enjoying the nature, the people and the work.
“I feel like it’s healing me,” he said. “Now that I’m here, all those feelings I had are confirmed.”
THE PEOPLE
What Thomas has found so far is a group of people — the choir and the 11:45 worship band — who are enthusiastic and skilled.
“I get to work with such a terrific choir,” he said. “And the 11:45 worship band is so talented. Everyone has made it very easy for me. I feel no stress.”
He’s also thrilled to return to his roots, “being able to play all aspects of Anglican liturgical music. I feel like a kid again!”
His great love of church music began when he was 10 years old, joining the choir at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London.
“It was a revelation, if 10-year-olds can have revelations,” he said. “I’ll never forget that moment.”
THE PLANS
He describes himself as a concert organist and liturgical musician, and he aims to put those talents to good use. As for the work, he’s got big plans.
At St. Matthews, he and the parish replaced the organ through a vigorous fundraising campaign and he hopes to use that experience here. The Christ Church Cathedral organ was last rebuilt in 1981, and Thomas believes it’s overdue.
“The goal is to renovate this instrument,” he said. “It’s showing wear and tear. Oddly enough, it’s a bit big for its environment. I think it needs to be reimagined for the space.”
Thomas sees that as a long-term project of up to 10 years, but in the end, “this could be the finest instrument in the Maritimes.”
He also sees a great deal of potential in the Cathedral itself: a beacon of inspiration for the diocese, a centre for arts and culture, a dynamic music program to share with the community.
“My goal is to make the Cathedral what most cathedrals have been for centuries — a centre for the arts,” he said.
Recently, as he listened to Dean Geoffrey Hall preach, he was struck by the sermon’s theme: ‘hearing the call, answering the call.’
“I had no urgency to leave my job, but I had to answer the call,” he said.
Reprinted from nb.anglican.ca
The Cathedral Communications Committee has invited members of the congregation to share their Christmas memories. Below, listen to a story from Claire.
The Cathedral Communications Committee has invited members of the congregation to share their Christmas memories. Below, read a story from Marilyn Lewell.
Apart from wonderful times with my family, my Christmas memories involve music. Having sung in choirs since an early age, including school, church and community choirs, I remember singing Handel’s MESSIAH for the first time at 12 years of age, and almost annually since.
A special year was when my husband and I lined up outside Kings College Cambridge to be in the congregation for the famous Christmas Eve Carol service. It was magical.
Perhaps the most moving memory involved volunteering for the nurses’ choir in our uniforms, as we sang carols while carrying candles and visiting each unit of the hospital where we worked. Needless to say, that is no longer a tradition in hospitals but it was very special to the patients and nurses alike.
— by Marilyn Lewell
The Cathedral Communications Committee has invited members of the congregation to share their Christmas memories. Below, read a story from Ann Deveau. Stay tuned for other stories as we enter the Christmas season!
I’ve always despised the ubiquitous Christmas song, Little Drummer Boy. Our class choir had to sing it umpteen-dozen times to prepare for the school’s Christmas concert, but I was one of the off-key singers expressly told NOT to sing aloud. It was torture to spend hours pretending to sing PA-RUM-PUM-PUM-PUM and the rest of it. My little brother knew how much the song annoyed me, so, naturally, he played the record or sang it as often as possible.
Fast forward many years. My brother made sure that his children knew how to bug me. The minute I would arrive at their home for Christmas festivities, he’d say: “Hit it, boys.” Two impish faces would light up as they loudly sang Little Drummer Boy and waited for my inevitable and exaggerated groans.
My brother died when his sons were aged 9 and 11. A Christmas or two later, I opened my gift from them. The nephews had carefully made a music CD for me, downloading 19 different versions (including the same one by Johnny Mathis twice!) of Little Drummer Boy. They giggled in anticipation of my usual reaction, but I dissolved in a puddle of tears, laughter and hugs.
The nephews are now 30 and 28, but I still play that homemade CD every December. I grit my teeth at the annoying tune, but I bask in the warm love of family that underpins the creation of the musical collection. PA-RUM-PUM-PUM-PUM………………
— by Ann Deveau
Had it not been for a conversation with a nun from Chicago, Kurt Schmidt might never had ended up in Fredericton. Between then and now, there were stops in Cape Breton, Tanzania, Tacoma, Halifax and Windsor, Nova Scotia.
Kurt, 45, was raised a Roman Catholic in Littleton, just outside Denver, Colorado, and attended a Jesuit high school.
“I grew up in the Roman Catholic tradition,” he said. “It’s pretty deep in my family. My mom is the only one in her family not a monk or a nun at one time. We’re Irish Catholic and German Catholic.”
After high school he studied mathematics and African studies at Colorado College, and connected with a small monastic community, called Nada, which had a relationship with his college. In his final year, Kurt did an independent study that included a stay at the monastery.
“While there I followed the rules of the monastery,” he said. “I was living as a monk while doing the study.”
There, over chores, he met the nun whose conversation would change his life.
“She asked me what I was doing after university, and said ‘why don’t you check out this remarkable community in Cape Breton?’”
She’d visited and had written a story about L’Arche Cape Breton. He read the story, and promptly wrote a letter asking if they had any room for him.
The L’Arche website says it is a worldwide organization that creates inclusive communities where the members, with and without intellectual disabilities, share life together. Each member receives support to grow, achieve goals, and contribute their gifts and abilities to create a more colourful, welcoming, creative, compassionate, and joyful community. Members live life together while working, learning and sharing their gifts. It has strong Catholic roots and United church influences.
From Colorado to Cape Breton
Kurt’s letter to L’Arche was obviously well-received.
“Four weeks later I was on a plane to this mysterious place called Cape Breton,” said Kurt. “It was my first experience of intentional community living. L’Arche Cape Breton is the only rural L’Arche community. It has a very special character. It was a really transforming experience for me.”
Transforming indeed, because while there, he met Catherine, his future wife and an Anglican, who was from Guelph, Ontario.
Kurt spent one year at L’Arche as an assistant, in exchange for room and board and a small stipend, “but it’s not really a practical career move,” he said.
From Cape Breton, he moved to Tanzania to teach for a year with Jesuit Volunteers International, another communal living experience in “the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen, and another non-paying job.”
Meanwhile, since this was 1999, he and Catherine kept in contact through letters, though he knows many were lost in the mail.
Married life
“On my return to North America, my first stop was Cape Breton,” he said. “Catherine and I got engaged.”
They spent their engagement year in another L’Arche community, this time in Tacoma, Washington. It was here, through L’Arche’s help, that he was able to pay off his student loan.
The couple was married in 2001 in Ancaster, Ontario at Canterbury Hills, an Anglican camp. It was an Anglican-Catholic service to honour the religious backgrounds of the bride and groom. Kurt’s uncle, a priest, was one of the celebrants.
The date was Sept. 9, and those guests who hadn’t left Ontario by 10 September, including his parents, were stuck there for a week as North American air travel was halted due to the 9-11 attacks in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania.
Kurt and Catherine chose Halifax to begin married life, and as they arrived Sept. 11, learned of the attacks.
That first year of marriage was a lean one, said Kurt, with Catherine finding work in home health care. Kurt, ineligible to work in Canada, managed to do some private tutoring.
A year later, his employment visa came through just in time for him to find work as a math teacher at King’s-Edgehill, a prestigious, very proper old Anglican boarding school in Windsor, N.S. He’d sent his resume on a whim. The day before it arrived, the math teacher had backed out of his contract.
With just eight days before the term began, they made a very quick move to Windsor, ultimately spending four happy years there. For three of those years, Catherine was a student at Dalhousie University, taking occupational therapy certification.
From Windsor to Fredericton
At graduation, Catherine was offered a job in Fredericton, and like she had done for Kurt, he resigned at the end of the term and followed her to the city that is now their home.
I’ve felt like our experience here at the Cathedral has been one of very deep empowerment
Once in Fredericton, Kurt found contract work with NBCC and at the Mi’Kmaq Wolastoqui Centre at the University of New Brunswick.
Their daughter, Rachel, was born in 2007, and after Catherine returned to work, Kurt became a stay-at-home dad, teaching a few courses at UNB as well.
“By the time Rachel was school age, Catherine and I had carved out part-time employment — me teaching and she doing occupational therapy — and both of us home schooling Rachel. It was awesome.”
From 2009-12, Kurt studied part-time for a Masters in Education and taught at UNB, while also homeschooling and taking care of Rachel.
Christ Church Cathedral
Shortly after arriving in Fredericton, their neighbour, Verne Sinclair, told them about the 11:45 service at Christ Church Cathedral.
“At the very first service, we happened to sit behind Nathan and Isabel Cutler,” said Kurt. “After the service, Isabel swung around and made us feel welcome. She really extended a warm welcome. We came and never left!”
Two other women in the congregation — Kirsten McKnight and Cindy Pope — were pregnant, and they and Catherine all gave birth to baby girls within six weeks of each other in early 2007.
“I’ve felt like our experience here at the Cathedral has been one of very deep empowerment,” he said. “We’ve had two deans and found both of them very empowering and the entire congregation has been nothing but empowering.”
In 2017, Kurt was hired as the half-time director of Christian formation at the Cathedral.
“It was the right time for me, our family and the Cathedral,” he said. “I’m working on my own formation as well as others’.”
It’s a cross-generational position with “a spectrum of freedom. It’s been really positive.”
So what’s it been like to make the move from Catholicism to Anglicanism?
“Frankly, I still consider myself a practicing Catholic,” he said. “I don’t experience any conflict. My faith is richer by having two approaches to it. I appreciate being able to explore more Anglican traditions.”
He was preparing for reception (into the Anglican Church) on Easter Sunday, but has had to wait until COVID-19 restrictions are lifted.
Rachel is 13, and attending middle school with her friends. Catherine is an occupational therapist for the New Brunswick Extra-Mural Program. Kurt became a permanent resident of Canada while at Kings Edgehill, and has been a Canadian citizen for more than a decade.
“I’ve lived more than half my life in Canada,” he said, adding, though, that he misses family back home, and he misses the Rocky Mountains “a lot.”
Article written by Gisele McKnight and originally published in the NB Anglican.
EDITOR'S NOTE: The New Brunswick Anglican's new series, My Journey Here, features a member of the Anglican Diocese of Fredericton whose roots are far from New Brunswick. If you are, or know of a parishioner who is from away and would like to tell the story of ‘how I got here,’ send the name and contact information to the editor: <gmcknight at diofton.ca> or (506) 459-1801, ext. 1009.
Fran and I recently spent a very enjoyable hour on lawn chairs on the Cathedral green chatting about her life, and plans after her retirement in June. Fran has been our office administrator for the last eighteen years, and has helped to hold the Cathedral family together with her quiet efficiency and caring.
Fran grew up in Maugerville on the family farm with her parents and is the youngest of four, with two older brothers and one older sister. Her mother operated a small handicraft shop called Homestead Crafts at the roadside for many years, which happily provided a summer job each summer. Growing up on a farm, it was an idyllic life for a kid who loved and named all the barn animals (!) and enjoyed a succession of cats and dogs at her side constantly.
She graduated from Fredericton High School (what is now George Street Middle School) and Teachers' College with a diploma in Home Economics, and then she was off to Montreal to teach. She was just turning 21, teaching middle and high school age students, a couple of whom were even older than she was! The students were wonderful and great fun. A ‘study class’ of approximately 25 teenage boys became a test in creativity. Arrangements were made, after class, if they so wished, to participate in a Chef's Club, which turned out to be very successful. They all loved it. They learned to cook, bake and make a whole meal! And they cleaned up afterward!! When she finally resigned, a group of her most challenging students actually left her a cake and a sweet note at her apartment, saying they would miss her greatly! She was very touched by their sentiment (and their cake, she said, was delicious!!!).
From there, Fran went to the James Bay area of northern Quebec teaching Aboriginal children. She loved the students... they were shy at first but as time went on, they were certainly welcoming as were their families. She found out early on that goose season takes precedence over school classes, as suddenly no one showed up for class for two weeks!! However, the living and working conditions were not the greatest... the water was unhealthy, a number of staff were ill, and there seemed to be huge challenges in receiving a pay cheque. No amount of enquiring or protesting could seem to rectify the issues, so 75 percent of the staff resigned at Christmas.
Back to New Brunswick she came and worked for the federal government, in what was then the Unemployment Insurance Commission. Following that, looking for a change, Fran took a course in Travel Counselling, and became one of the front desk receptionists with Howard Johnson's Motel by the Princess Margaret Bridge. She met lots of interesting guests, including Charles Dutoit, the then conductor of the Montreal Symphony, Mr. Bacardi of Bacardi Rum fame, and had interesting situations arise such as the Tuba player from the Montreal Symphony who chose to practice his instrument at 11 pm! Diplomacy and patience are two highly desirable qualities when you work in the travel industry!
Fran also worked for ten years as a legal secretary in civil litigation at a large local law firm. It was a tremendously busy position. She worked in both English and French as the clients were from all over the Province. After ten years, and after some prayerful thought, and reflection, Fran decided she felt she was being led to make the decision to resign.
So she left the law firm and went to work at a summer job at Green Village, a plant nursery located in Lower Saint Mary’s. It was a job she loved. However, it was only for the summer months. About two months in, Keith and Elinor Joyce told her that the Cathedral secretary would be leaving and asked if she would be interested in the job. Well, the rest is history!
Fran has always loved dogs. When living away, it was difficult to have pets, so once back in New Brunswick, dogs began to reappear. Boots was her first childhood companion - a long-haired Collie, wonderful with kids and families. More recently, there was Sophie, a shepherd/lab, then Simon, a golden retriever, then Jesse, and Jack, both goldens as well. Jack had a bit of a struggle in the beginning of his life, and it took a great deal of patience on Fran's part to finally train him. As she describes the ordeal, her great sense of humour is displayed. Jack and Fran have daily walks on the city trails, in the woods along the Nashwaak River, on city sidewalks and in a large grassy field where they’re allowed to roam. The daily outings are a joy for them both, and keep them both fairly fit.
Fran plans to take a bit of a break for the summer months, deciding where life next will take her. Volunteer work is very appealing and the choices are many so that will take some investigating. She’s also looking very much forward to returning to worship at the Cathedral. At the moment, as spring is gloriously appearing, she is looking forward to working in her beautiful garden, taking lots of photographs, having friends over for a bite to eat, later on making jams and jellies when the berries and fruit are available, taking fun trips here and there, doing lots of baking, summer reading of good books, and re-painting her shed a lovely plum-purple colour, trimmed with white!
I asked Fran if she has any advice. “Simply be grateful for all that our Lord has poured into your life. Look around you and see all the blessings you’ve been given and then see how many blessings you can give to others.”
We wish her well and are glad she will still be an active part of our Cathedral family.
-- Written by Marilyn Lewell