Washington National Cathedral in the United States has assembled an educational resource for Lent and Easter, filled with family-friendly resources to celebrate the seasons. It answers some commonly asked questions, and includes prayers and activities to explore the stories and traditions that bind us together.
The Delightful Days ...
From the review on A Mama's Corner of the World - Marvellous Macey spotlight - Can you va va voom? Do you light up the room? Marvellous Macey does! She may not quite fit the mould, but she is living delightful days. Embrace Macey's world of imagination and ability to love and accept everyone. Life may not be perfect and some things might be hard, but Macey shows us how to live in the moment and find the delight! Be inspired by Macey to make everyday the BEST day.
5 4 3 2 1 GO
It’s a launch. The book is real. It’s on the internet. And in a local shop here in Okotoks AB.
Time to sit back and relax.
Or be busier than ever wildly trying to cover my bases, step up to the plate, and score - these are mixed metaphors. I think they are sports-related, but you get the point.
Flipped-lid-magic
Macey “flips her lid” daily. That simply means that her feelings get big and she loses her ability to think and act clearly.
She lives in a world that often doesn’t make sense. Her functional age is younger than the almost eight-year-old she is. I feel like a good parallel would be me living in a country where I don’t understand the language.
On Monday, March 1 we set out to have a little celebration to mark the official launch of “Marvellous Macey, The Delightful Days.”
And we did. It was lovely.
The magic part was that after supper when Macey did “flip her lid” I was not deflated.
Everything doesn’t have to be perfect to be perfect. I know I’m not done learning this lesson, but I have gotten so much better at accepting that we wouldn’t have the magic we have without the “flip side.”
March is Developmental Disability Awareness Month. I chose to time my launch with this month because I wanted to promote inclusion and be an advocate.
Everything doesn’t have to be perfect to be perfect.
I finally have a tool to help start the conversation and to demonstrate that disability most definitely does not mean inability.
Into the unknown
A song from Frozen. And the place I’m wandering into.
One year ago (on March 6th exactly) I shared the first draft of “Marvellous Macey, The Delightful Days” with a group of authors in a publishing group I’m a part of.
I chewed my hangnails (like a do every day) and waited to see if I had written garbage or sunshine.
They suggested it was “delightful.” Having a draft is a far cry from having a real-life book in the world.
Now I do.
But having a real-life book is a far cry from it selling enough to pay your illustrator (or pay a desperately needed house cleaner).
I’ve been walking “into the unknown” for a long time so I guess it isn’t something to fear.
The unknown is uncomfortable and exciting all wrapped together.
True or false? “I made this book thing happen all by myself.”
False.
There is not one SINGLE thing I did all by myself. Not ONE.
I didn’t pay for the investment myself.
I have never self-published a book so I needed a coach, subscriptions, and memberships to things.
Um ... a picture book needs pictures so I had to hire an illustrator.
I didn’t even write all the words alone. I have a trusty side-kick who spent hours helping me (because even fully grown children need help from their mom).
I had help from a gracious editor for the fine-tuning.
There were logos to create, a website to build, publicity and marketing, and then books to be printed,
And more.
PLUS, there are all of you - the cheerleaders, buyers, and reviewers.
I love you so much for sharing screenshots of the book(s) arriving, pictures and videos of your kids and grandkids reading, words of encouragement, private and public reviews, and telling other people about the great new book you just ordered!
You. are. the. best.
The proof is in the pudding.
Is week two of the launch “the pudding” or is “the pudding” far away in the distance?
I don’t know. But I hope there is proof of this book filling hearts and homes with hope.
Press on,
Cait
P.S. Unless you really really really want off the hook please tell people about Marvellous Macey - the real girl - and about her book!
P.P.S. I was on a podcast last week talking about trial and triumph. I hope you will find it encouraging. See the graphic and go find it.
Find Marvellous Macey on Amazon
Find Marvelous Macey on Goodreads
A World Day of Prayer video has been created to view at home and with small groups. It is based on the worship bulletin prepared by the women of Vanuatu and edited by the Women’s Inter-Church Council of Canada. The one-hour video features a dance performed on the shores of New Brunswick, reflecting the theme ‘Build on a Strong Foundation’. A digital copy of the bilingual service booklet is available to accompany the video.
Click here to watch the video on the WICC website.
Tax Receipts will be issued for all donations of $20 or more. Donate by:
17 February - 28 March 2021
During the Season of Lent, all members of the Cathedral congregation are encouraged to consider individual or small group study or reflection. The 40 days of Lent are an excellent time to take on a discipline of deeper reflection on the Christian life, growing personally in discipleship as well as helping us grow as a community of Christian faith. (See BAS p. 282 and BCP p. 612)
MONDAYS
TUESDAYS
WEDNESDAYS
THURSDAYS
FRIDAYS
Contact Facilitators and Join
The World Council of Churches’ Conference on World Mission and Evangelism met in Arusha, Tanzania, in March 2018. From this meeting, the more than 1,000 participants, who were all regularly engaged in mission and evangelism, issued the Arusha Call to Discipleship. At our own national church General Synod in 2019, resolution A-129 was passed that we affirm the Arusha Call; encourage bodies within the General Synod to integrate this call into the guiding principles of baptismal living for the shaping of national ministries; and commend the Arusha Call to dioceses for study and inclusion in their considerations of evangelism, witness and discipleship.
Spiritual Development Team members and others are offering reflections in the New Brunswick Anglican on the 12 points within this call. This is Call # 7, written by Kurt Schmidt, Director of Christian Formation at Christ Church Cathedral, and a member of L’Arche Fredericton. Cathedral Dean Geoffrey Hall previously wrote a reflection on Call #5.
We are called as disciples to belong together in just and inclusive communities, in our quest for unity and on our ecumenical journey, in a world that is based upon marginalization and exclusion.
Let’s take this seventh call and consider three special emphases in it, in the reverse order of their appearance:
1. We are called as disciples to belong together in just and inclusive communities. Happily for us, our vocation as disciples requires that we work with and alongside others.
We are not in this disciple-ship game alone; it is a corporate reality and responsibility. Indeed, we are blessed to have (and require) company, liter-ally those with whom we share bread as we journey together.
Here we might also call to mind the ubuntu theology promoted by Desmond Tutu — the recognition that our humanity is fully and properly understood only in the context of our relationships with others.
Or, as Shawn Branch pointed out in a previous article in this series: “We do this, together, because we were designed for community and connectivity.”
2. We are called as disciples to belong together in just and inclusive communities. Here is where some hard work may be required.
In our circles of encounter we are tasked with reaching out to, inviting in, and truly welcoming others.
These others will inevitably include people from the margins of society, people who may be very different from us in temperament, thinking, outlook or ability, and/or people who may just rub us the wrong way.
But it is not enough simply to gather ourselves into diverse groups of tolerant acceptance. Our effort(s) to live justly and inclusively — that is, rightly — must flow from a life of deep prayer.
Or, as Jasmine Chandra reminded us in another previous article in this series: “It requires engagement with the Holy Spirit.”
This spiritual engagement will then show forth in mutually transforming and transformative relationships. It will manifest as mercy, forgiveness, and even the exuberant, delighted celebration of the diversity of beauty in God’s creatures.
In other words, it will mean that we recognize, realize, and actually live out what Gregory Boyle calls our “radical kinship”— our deep, essential ties to God and to one another. And this brings us to the third and final consideration:
3. We are called as disciples to belong together in just and inclusive communities. This emphasis on belonging is perhaps the most important aspect of the seventh Arusha call.
For belonging is the primary, fundamental piece. As many recent Christian commentators have pointed out, the sequence of Church priorities has appropriately shifted (back) to belonging-believing-behaving. It all starts, and should start, with belonging.
Moreover, as Billy Swan tells us: “To be human is to belong, for it ties together both our existence (to be) and our longing (to long for God, to long for home). This is why the ‘be-long’ is so important.”
And what is the source of this belonging? The astonishing, mysterious gift of grace that is somehow ours through baptism — our reception into the household of God in the name of the Trinity, that primordial, dynamic, model community of Love.
It is the act and fact of our being marked “as Christ’s own forever” that means we belong.
We belong to God, and inescapably then — through the Great Commandment of love — we also belong to one another. To our neighbours. Such is our membership in the faithful company of all believers, the Body of Christ, the Church.
And as we all know, membership has its privileges — as well as its responsibilities. Living out our belonging — with-in and among inclusive, just communities — comprises the lifelong work of our disciple-ship, as described so insight-fully and comprehensively in The Arusha Call.
So let us proceed — let us undertake our vocation(s) as disciples — wholeheartedly, together, in safety, freedom, and joy!
by Kurt Schmidt
Cathedral Mothers' Union member Susan Watson has created a 5 day devotional which acknowledges the struggles of the past months and the hope of God's plan for us. This wonderful resource, available on the worldwide Mothers' Union website, also includes space for you to observe gratitude daily.
Visit Mothers' Union Resources and scroll down to 'CARE - 5 Day Devotional & Gratitude Diary'.
For many of us one of the significant losses during necessary safety restrictions during the current pandemic is singing.
At the Cathedral, we're fortunate that we've been able to strike a safe balance so as to have music continue to be a part of worship even though we've not been singing as congregations since last March. The size of our worship space and a less than mainstream direction from New Brunswick Public Health about a safe exception for leaders and performers means that even if we can't all sing, we can listen. We can follow the sung texts at least in our minds, maybe even hum along a bit and remain within safe practice.
Find here some reflections offered several weeks ago by Cheryl Jacobs about how "being asked not to sing" might be an opportunity to expand our outlook and our attitudes.
Yes, in these odd and tragic times, we in the congregation at corporate worship have been asked not to sing. This is a disappointment for many of us. Perhaps, however, it is an opportunity to consider and expand how we worship during a hymn or song.
Here are some thoughts:
Cheryl Jacobs
I'll bring you more than a song
For a song in itself
is not what you have required
You search much deeper within;
you're looking into my heart.
"When the Music Fades" (The Heart of Worship) Matt Redman
The glass display case in the lobby of Memorial Hall once again contains beautiful artwork created by the Cathedral Matters Guild. The creations are available for purchase, with funds donated to the Cathedral Restoration Fund.
To the members of the Cathedral Matters, rug hooking brings joy as well as fellowship. They welcome new members and are willing to share their knowledge and skills to help others to learn the craft.
In addition to rug hooking, they share laughter and social times. The Guild meets regularly, every other Wednesday afternoon throughout the year, and takes a break in the summer. Meetings were temporarily postponed due to COVID-19 restrictions, but have resumed with the welcoming of friends, albeit masked and physically distanced.
Rug hooking is an art form that employs the use of a hook, frame, fabric and a pattern on a backing of linen. The hook is used to pull the wool through the linen to fill out the design on the top. The Guild primarily uses hand-dyed wool but also welcomes donations of reclaimed wool fabric.
Rug hooking is for sale at any time of the year. Members of the Guild have also created several commissioned mats of various sizes for tables and decorative wall hangings. Contact the Cathedral Office (506) 450-8500 or reach out to a member of the Guild, and be sure to look at the items for purchase in the lobby of Memorial Hall. You might find the perfect gift for a loved one... or yourself!
View the items currently for sale in our photo album on Facebook.
Members of Cathedral Matters (2020):
Doris Norman, Sandra Palmer, Sandra Stewart, Elizabeth Bastin, Diana Rayworth, Mary Allwood, Kaye Small, Diane Ramsey, Helen Rufelds
The World Council of Churches’ Conference on World Mission and Evangelism met in Arusha, Tanzania, in March 2018. From this meeting, the more than 1,000 participants, who were all regularly engaged in mission and evangelism, issued the Arusha Call to Discipleship.
We are called to discern the word of God in a world that communicates many contradictory, false, and confusing messages.
It perhaps goes without saying that the gospel (the “proclamation” of the Church) is but one in a plethora of other messages in the world. That has probably always been so. But with the advent of ever more efficient communication, the possibilities for contradiction, falsification and confusion has been kicked into overdrive. With a finger swipe on a mobile phone, a click on an email send button or posting on social media or a website, the entire world can now hear what I have say in an instant (not that the world is necessarily listening, of course). How do we make sense of the barrage of messages? How do we “discern” what is the word or “a” word from God?
Our own Anglican denomination through the centuries has leaned heavily on a belief in the sufficiency of Holy Scripture and how the word of God informs our living. “Everything necessary to salvation” is contained therein, says Article VI of the Articles of Religion. But what is that word? How do we “discern” it from all the other words, especially in times where personal freedom and human rights seem to be at the top of political and social agendas? Can the Church stay on point? And what is that point anyway?
The series of gospel passages we’ve been reading from the Gospel of Matthew through the latter part of this year have taken us on a wild and challenging ride through the conflict between Jesus and the religious authorities of his day just before Jesus’ passion. Through parable and story Jesus confronts with questions. The Scribes and Pharisees have questions of their own, most designed to entrap or publically discredit him. The religious leaders were not bad people. But soaked in tradition and focused so intently on what living faithfully according to the word (law) of God meant in their opinion, they had lost sight of the goal – relationship with God.
As Christians, at least one of our dilemmas is being faced with the need to be good citizens of the world but also citizens of the Kingdom of God.
As Christians, at least one of our dilemmas is being faced with the need to be good citizens of the world but also citizens of the Kingdom of God. One does not necessarily bring about the other. In ‘The Theology of Hope” German Theologian Jürgen Moltmann offers some analysis of what it means to be Church in society. He identifies three roles: personal, communal and institutional.
Faith in our time is too often considered to be only an individual matter - personal. Being internalized and privatized, faith has become mostly about our feelings, recognized less and less as having any sway in the criticism of social behaviour. Western moral values which have their roots firmly in the Christian tradition have been silenced, deemed to have little worthwhile to say any more. Faith and morality subject to only personal critique is in danger of running off the rails. We’re seeing both. Discernment requires collaboration.
In the communal role the community of the faithful becomes what Moltmann refers to as a “non-worldly phenomenon.” Together we find a way to be human that deters loneliness and isolation and re-establishes what is so often lacking in society – community. The Church provides warmth, belonging and authenticity. Together, seeking the Kingdom of God even in our midst makes the Church a counterbalance in a necessary conversation with society.
The Church is also institution, a word more often than not these days carrying negative connotations. Institutions serve as anchors. One definition is “a stable, valued, recurring pattern of behavior.” When the winds blow, it’s the institutions of society that provide the foundations upon which we can find a firm place to stand – even survive.
Discerning the word of God may have to do with first deciding what we mean by “salvation” since that is at least one purpose of religion. From what do we need to be saved? If in answering we come up empty, we have entirely missed the natural human need for spirituality; the added dimensions of life faith brings; the meaning and value of discipleship and; being part of something bigger than our little selves. God’s word, in the spirit of his Son Jesus, is all around when we have eyes to see. For the Christian, Scripture has been our guide through the ages, “the lamp unto our feet.”
The church is not the word. Pop culture is not the word. The assumptions by which we live and all that we too easily take for granted are not the word. The word is a person named Jesus revealed in “the word.” His invitation is to follow.
He said, “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” Matthew 22:21
Geoffrey Hall
This article was published in the New Brunswick Anglican, December 2020 issue.
