New Brunswick Day 2024

Posted on July 29, 2024August 6, 2024

Once again, some of the provincial celebrations for the New Brunswick Day holiday will be held on the riverside Cathedral Green, next to the walking trail.

The Cathedral Office will be closed on Monday, 05 August. On that day, we encourage you to spend time with friends and participate in the celebrations!

New Brunswick Day festivities will be held on both sides of Queen Street, at the Legislature, the Cathedral Green, Beaverbrook Art Gallery and Officer's Square. Beginning at 12:00 noon, family-friendly activities and entertainment will include: cultural performances, music, art workshops, street performers, bouncy castles, face painting, and food. The Beaverbrook Art Gallery will have free admission, and the Legislative Assembly building will be open to the public, with photo ID.

The Cathedral will be open for guided tours from 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Discover the unique history of the Cathedral in our city and province!

Emancipation Day will also be celebrated at the same time, with activities in Officer's Square. This recognizes the Abolition of Slavery Act enacted in 1834 by the British parliament, which became law across all the colonial territories claimed by Great Britain, including land that is now referred to as Canada. Commemorating Emancipation Day along with New Brunswick Day highlights its historical and present-day importance. Family-friendly activities will include music with DJ-Wakanda, a photo booth, local artists, and a photo booth.

A variety of food trucks will be downtown during the festivities, and the night will end with fireworks over the Westmorland Street Bridge.

Read the details, and come on down to celebrate history and heritage!

National Indigenous Bishop visits September 15th

Posted on July 19, 2024September 15, 2024

National Indigenous Archbishop Chris Harper will visit the Diocese of Fredericton in September this year and will preach at the Cathedral at 10:30 a.m. on 15 September.

The Anglican Council of Indigenous Peoples of the Anglican Church of Canada began the search for the National Indigenous Anglican Bishop (NIAB) in 2005. appointing the first in the spring of 2007 with the installation held during the General Synod of 2007 in Winnipeg. The Elder’s of Indigenous Ministry gave the Archbishop five charges:

1. To speak for Indigenous Anglican People in the Councils of the Church
2. To interpret what the Councils of the Church are saying to Indigenous people
3. To be a spokesperson for Mother Earth
4. To act as a midwife for a self-determining Indigenous Church
5. To represent the authority of Indigenous identity within the Anglican Church of Canada

The national Indigenous Anglican archbishop is the presiding elder of the Sacred Circle. Indigenous Ministries of the General Synod supports the Indigenous Peoples of Canada (First Nations, Inuit, and Métis) spiritually, socially, economically and politically recognizing that the purity of the land base provides for all our needs. As active participants in the life of the church, the Council of Indigenous Peoples strives for reconciliation with the Anglican Communion and works towards Indigenous self-determination.

At the announcement of his appointment in late 2022, Primate Linda Nichols said, “Archbishop-elect Chris Harper brings years of experience in ministry among and with Indigenous Anglicans, urban and on reserve,” she said. “He has a passion for walking together with respect that will be essential as the Sacred Circle within the Anglican Church of Canada establishes its way forward.”

Archbishop Harper is the son of a residential school survivor, a Plains Cree and worked as an emergency medical technician before earning his certificate of Indigenous Anglican theology from James Settee College in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. He received his master’s of divinity degree from Wycliffe College in 2005 and was priested the same year. In 2016 Harper was appointed as Indigenous native priest for the diocese of Toronto, a role he held until his election as bishop of Saskatoon in 2018. He has served on numerous committees of the church including the Council of General Synod, and is a member of Sacred Circle.

Learn more about the role of the Indigenous Archbishop of the Anglican Church of Canada.

Tour the Cathedral

Posted on June 27, 2024September 4, 2024

Have you taken a tour of the Cathedral? Even if you regularly worship here, you're likely to learn something new!

Guided tours of Christ Church Cathedral are available throughout July and August 2024. Visit us Monday to Friday 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., Saturday 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. and Sunday 1:00 - 4:00 p.m. Tours are free, donations are welcome (fill out a donation envelope to receive a tax receipt).

Drop by to welcome new tour guide Angus McDonell and Alex LeBlanc, who is returning for a fourth summer as Lead Tour Guide.

Tours made possible due to receipt of a Community Funding Grant from the City of Fredericton.

Self-guided tour booklets are available in English, French, German, and Spanish.

Summer Music Series 2024

Posted on June 21, 2024August 30, 2024

The annual Summer Music Series at Christ Church Cathedral is back! All are welcome to attend these concerts, designed to fit perfectly within the lunch hour.

Fridays from 12:10-12:50 p.m., 05 July - 30 August. 150 Church Street, Fredericton.

Join us inside historic Christ Church Cathedral as we present a series of concerts featuring soloists and instruments such as piano, violin, cello, guitar, organ, fiddle and viola.

View the poster.

Free admission, donations encouraged. Performers will receive an honorarium and proceeds will support the Organ Renovation Fund. Online donations will receive a receipt for tax purposes emailed immediately.

July 5
Katherine Moller, fiddle
Tom Richards, guitar

July 12
Acorde Trio:
David Adams, violin
Sonja Adams, cello
Martin Kutnowski, piano

July 19
Christian Vanicek, organ

July 26
Muriel Falkenstein, soprano
Thomas Gonder, piano

August 2
Luke Noftall, baritone
Thomas Gonder, piano

August 9
Natalia Delacroix, viola
Thomas Gonder, organ/piano

August 16
Steven Peacock, guitar
Howard Baer, bass

August 23
~~Kathrin Welte, mezzo-soprano~~
Thomas Gonder, organ/piano

August 30
Thomas Gonder, organ

* * *

MAKE A DONATION
(tax receipt emailed immediately)

Making Anglican prayer beads

Posted on June 5, 2024July 18, 2024

The Cathedral's Spirituality of the Seasons group met to make their own prayer beads on the afternoon of Wednesday, 22 May.

Originally scheduled as a Spirituality of Easter session, the date was postponed into Pentecost. Due to the popularity of the varied sessions, gatherings have extended but will break before the summer.

Deacon Debbie Edmondson led the beading session, providing instructions, materials and prayers for participants.

"Anglican prayer beads (also known as the Anglican rosary) were created as a tool for prayer. It is a prayer form which is a blending of the Marian (Roman Catholic) Rosary and the Orthodox Jesus Prayer Rope and encourages a wider range of prayers. It is a simple form of prayer available to all of God's children, and is a way of allowing God's Word to sink deeply into the soul and become prayer in us." (Download the resource: 'A Circle of Prayer: The Anglican Rosary for All of God’s People' from the Anglican Fellowship of Prayer)

Other members of the congregation (and beyond) have indicated interest in attending a beading session at a different time of day, and we hope to be able to offer this in the future.

[Pictured in photo: Sandra Noftell, Pamela Naugler, Janet Maston, Charlene Worrall, and Rachel Ranson]

Help to plan a community music and theatre event

Posted on May 2, 2024June 7, 2024

Our Director of Music, Thomas Gonder, is eager to spearhead an effort to organize a dinner theatre/variety show event in the Fall.

This would take considerable organization that would need to begin shortly. This event would be geared to all ages and also the wider community. This could be a potentially thrilling event considering the amount of talent in our own community and that of Fredericton itself.

Thomas is interested in gauging a level of interest in putting this together and would be grateful to hear from you.

Please email <t.gonder at cccath.ca> if you are supportive of this initiative and/or wish to contribute. Next effort would be to assemble a team and have a brainstorming meeting.

Thomas will be pleased to hear from you!

Spring Tea provides treats, treasures, and outreach support

Posted on April 25, 2024May 28, 2024

Cathedral Health Ministries with help from the Anglican Church Women (ACW), hosted a 'Spring Awakes' Tea in the Cathedral on the afternoon of April 23. This all-inclusive gathering was in keeping with the Medley Tea of former years that celebrated the arrival of spring.

The Reverend Isabel Cutler and the Reverend Debbie Edmondson, Deacons, opened the afternoon “celebration” with prayer and poetry readings.

Hank Williams, a Cathedral Verger (and Cathedral lay historian) displayed historical tapestries, sacramental and decorative items, and shared stories associated with the items. Attendees were pleased to see three tables of treasures; some of which are typically stored in the Cathedral vault. Items included:

The Royal Bible, given to the Cathedral by H.R.H. Albert Edward, Prince of Wales on his visit in 1860. It was subsequently signed by many royals when visiting Fredericton, including Queen Elizabeth (as Queen, and when she was Princess), Prince Phillip, and King Charles (when he was Prince of Wales).
A Traveling Altar, used by Bishop Tully Kingdon, third Bishop of Fredericton (1892-1907) in his travels around the diocese.
Small bells made from molten metal from the original cathedral bells of 1853, following the fire in 1911. They were created to raise funds for restoration.
A silver communion set, said to have been given to St. Paul's Church, Public Landing, NB by George III.
Hangings for the high altar, designed and sewn by Lucy McNeill.
The Queen Victoria pulpit fall, said to be made from cloth from the coronation robes of Queen Victoria (unconfirmed).
An altar frontal with a label on the back which says it was hanging on an altar in Westminister Abbey on the day of the coronation of King William IV in 1830.

The Cathedral Outreach Committee was pleased and grateful to receive a large quantity and a wide variety of toiletries for the outreach program, which were donated by attendees of the Tea. These items will be offered to people in need, along with non-perishable groceries, supermarket gift cards, a bag lunch, used clothing and small housewares, during monthly gatherings held in Cathedral Memorial Hall.

Everyone enjoyed the afternoon gathering of conversation, tea, treats, and viewing the vault treasures. It is so important to continue to host gatherings, as these events strengthen the bonds of our church community - spiritually, physically and emotionally.