Category Archives: Formation

Do I Have to Kneel? – info about Anglican customs

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Approximately 30 people gathered at Christ Church Cathedral on Sunday, January 27th to hear the answer to the question “Do I Have to Kneel?” The afternoon session, which was something of an Anglican primer, included presentations by Hank Williams, Cheryl Jacobs and Dean Geoffrey Hall and was hosted by the Christian Formation committee.

The first speaker, Hank Williams, gave a brief but interesting overview of the Cathedral structure, the correct names for the different areas of the Cathedral and some of its history. He explained that the term Cathedral is used to denote the Bishop’s church and is the main church of the Diocese. Hank provided lots of dates and places of origin relevant to various items in the Cathedral including the font, windows, lectern and pulpit. Most of these items date back to the mid 1800’s. It was interesting to hear that the Cathedral clock began life as the prototype for the clock at Westminster Abbey and that it dates back to 1854.

Cheryl Jacobs

Cheryl Jacobs shares about the church liturgical year and colours in 'Godly Play' style

Next up was Cheryl Jacobs who explained the Seasons and Colors of the Anglican Church. Cheryl used a banner produced for Godly Play to show the purple, red, white and green colors and their accompanying seasons. She explained that hangings in the church are changed to reflect these seasons. Purple is considered the color of kings as well as being representative of prayer and penitence. White is for joy and celebration. Green represents growth and new life and white represents joy and celebration. Epiphany, Christmas and Easter are all represented by white and red, the color of the Spirit represents fire and is used for the Passion, Pentecost and for Christian martyrs.

The final presentation was given by Dean Geoffrey Hall. He pointed out that the church calendar walks us through the life of Christ. Anglican worship is primarily “liturgical” – liturgy means work of the people. The Anglican church is a product of the Reformation of the 1500’s, when many Protestant denominations were formed. The Anglican church endeavoured to bring balance in worship to word and the sacrament. Read an article about Henry VIII and the Anglican Church.

The afternoon was full of Anglican factoids! And yes, an answer to the question “Do I Have to Kneel” was provided. According to Dean Geoffrey, the Book of Common Prayer 1962 (BCP) and the Book of Alternative services (1985), offer “rubrics,” directions which are written in red. Recommended Prayer Book postures: sit to listen, stand to praise and kneel to pray. The Book of Alternative returns to suggesting, by way of rubric, that we return to an older Christian custom of standing for prayer. While there is always a recommendation that most will follow, its never inappropriate to sit, stand or kneel as any one of those is more possible or comfortable.

Lots of other questions regarding the Anglican customs were asked by attendees and interest was shown in more sessions of this nature. If you are interested in participating in the future, please contact a member of the Christian Formation committee or our Christian Formation Director, Kurt Schmidt.

Gail MacGillivray

Practical Stewardship – Financial Transparency

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Episcopal Church Foundation Vital Practices - Vestry Papers - Practical Stewardship - Financial Transparency

Transparency is a "buzzword" in many situations. It means many things to many people, but generally elicits a positive response in most minds - transparency is a good thing. When applied to the church as a whole and to a local parish, school or other church organization in particular, it begs the question, "transparency of what?"

Money — What’s it to you?

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Episcopal Church Foundation Vital Practices - Vestry Papers - Church Finances for Uncertain Times - Money - What's It To You?

Are you emotional about your money? A lot of people are. Think of what happens to your body when that unexpected large bill - or an unexpected windfall - comes your way. Think of how you feel when that thing you ordered on the Internet turns out to be a piece of junk, even though it looked great in the picture!

The Season of Creation 2018

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Season of Creation 2018 - 01 September - 04 October

Season of Creation 2018What is the “Season of Creation”?

Every year, from September 1st to October 4th, churches are called to participate in the “Season of Creation.” The World Council of Churches has been promoting this theme since 2008. This special time of year has gained popularity in Europe, and the United Church of Canada was the first to celebrate it here in Canada. Since 2017, all churches in Canada are invited to celebrate the “Season of Creation” in their faith community. The Green Churches Network is happy to offer a “box” of resources designed to make creation care more relevant and “doable” for your church. The Anglican Communion Environmental Network encourages Anglican churches worldwide to participate.

Why September 1st to October 4th?

In 1989, Demetrios I, Patriarch of Constantinople decided to dedicate the first day of the Orthodox liturgical year (September 1) to the protection of the environment. He then invited the whole Christian world to join in so that “every year on this day, we raise prayers of thanks for the great gift of the created world, prayers of supplication for its protection and salvation.” In 2015, Pope Francis named September 1st the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation.

October 4th is the feast of Saint Francis of Assisi. He is the patron saint of ecology in the Catholic tradition since 1979. He is a model of integral ecology, demonstrating that the love for the poor, the sick and for all creatures comes from the same Source.

What to do during the “Season of Creation?”

Christian communities are invited to organize various activities on the theme of Creation Care between September 1st and October 4th: prayer services, intergenerational activities, conferences, activities for children and young people, fund raising, etc.

The Green Churches Network has created the “Season of Creation in a Box” to help inspire educational, action-centered and spirituality-themed activities in your faith community.

Resources

BELLS Challenge 2018

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Our Bishop and the Diocesan Synod of 2017 challenged us to "take the BELLS Challenge to fulfill the mission of God."

In his book, "Surprise the World: The 5 Habits of Highly Missional People," Michael Frost outlines a framework for how we might become more "mission minded as individuals." A church with an attitude of mission is comprised of individuals who take mission seriously and think missionally. Mission is not really about going to distant lands and sharing our own interpretation or understanding of who Jesus is. Mission-minded people exercise mission in every encounter they have with others every day. A "missional church" is one with membership who have become, or are becoming, "missional people" with a missional mindset. "Surprise the World," is a simple, yet effective opportunity and method to form habits that make us missional people.

BELLS helps to focus our efforts in becoming missional in such a way as to assist us to re-orient our thinking towards mission.

Michael Frost says:

"I’m not suggesting that BELLS is a magic bullet or anything like that. But it is a really handy tool for mobilizing Christians up, in and out into mission. That is, up into deeper connection with the Triune God; in to a stronger sense of community with other believers; and out into the neighborhood."

At Christ Church Cathedral, during 2018 Easter Season all were challenged to read "Surprise the World." That reading was done individually, as part of a Charis Group, or other group that formed for that purpose. We offered a viewing of the videos featuring Michael Frost which accompany each of the chapters of "Surprise the World." A sermon series was preached on the first five Sundays after Pentecost. We'll continue to look for ways to implement the Surprise the World (BELLS) model as we work toward becoming more "highly missional people" in the weeks and months ahead.

During Easter 2018, all at the Cathedral were challenged to read "Surprise the World."

The wall chart at the Cathedral recorded how many have read "Surprise the World" and charted our progress. A sticker placed anonymously on the chart let us all know how many read.

Paper back edition
The Kindle edition is modestly priced
Download "Surprise the World" as a PDF
Videos accompany each chapter
DOWNLOAD "BELLS DNA" (Discipleship, Nurturing, Accountability) Form

The "BELLS" sermon series

1 Introduction

SERMON – “Three Persons, Questionable Lives“

2 Bless

SERMON – “Blessing and Generosity of the Heart“

3 Eat

SERMON – “Eating and Radical Hospitality“

4 Learn and Listen

SERMON – “Learning and Listening – Ulterior Motives“

5 Be Sent

SERMON – “The Saints are Sent“

 

Choir School 2018 – its all about …

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A Full Week of Busy Days ...

 

Junior Choristers
Children from the age of 8 are able to attend Choir School, with the consent of a parent or guardian (they must turn eight by the end of the current year). Overnight accommodations usually consist of two people per room, in the dormitory-styled residence buildings. The days are very busy, so we encourage parents who are unsure about what is involved to contact the Administrative Director. A typical day begins at 7:45, and ends at 9:00pm, and includes chapel services, several rehearsals, classroom time, recreation, meals (of course!), an early afternoon rest period, and some free time.

Arrival time on the first day is between 3:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. on Sunday afternoon with supper at 5:30. Please come to the Dining Hall to register (follow the signs). For the benefit of all choristers, please do not send cell phones as it can create problems for those who are homesick, and others around them. Any cell phones found will be confiscated until the end of the week.

Thursday evening, we offer a Choral Evensong service at a parish church, to which all are invited. The last Sunday afternoon, at 3:30, is our final Choral Evensong service. Family and friends are encouraged to attend this service, which takes place at a large church or cathedral, children can then be picked up after the service. This service is very well attended.

recreation, chapel worship services, rest time, and special fun activities

Choir School’s finest daily paper provides vital information about... uh, nothing, but it’s fun to read each day.

For best seating, please arrive at the church just after 3:00pm, when the choirs finishes its rehearsal.

Adult Choristers
Adults who are attending Choir School are encouraged to come to the Thursday night Evensong service. From there, you can go directly to RNS (Rothesay Netherwood School) where you can settle into a room at Kirk House, on the RNS campus. registration takes place the following morning after breakfast at the Dining Hall. Some adults, however, are only able to join us on Friday, which is OK, too!

Choir SchoolChoir School takes place every year in the first full week of July on the beautiful campus of Rothesay-Netherwood private school. Some stay in the residence buildings, while local choristers sometimes live at home, and come for the full day of activities. Each day is very full, and sleep becomes a rather precious thing by the end of the week. Through the week, the chorister's day is filled with choir rehearsals, a classroom session of Christian Education, Christian culture, as well as recreation, chapel worship services, rest time, and special fun activities.

Visit Choir School on the web

Hear our youth surveys requested

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Hear Our Youth's Voices Surveys

The YIG team is conducting a series of surveys for parishes, families (parents and grandparents) and youth (ages 12-25) to gather information, thoughts and opinions in regards to youth ministry and spiritual practices.

Youth and Intergenerational Ministires TeamIt should take less than 15 minutes to fill out one of the surveys. The data gathered will be used to give the YIG team an idea of what spiritual practices and youth ministry is like within the Diocese. A report and workshop/presentation will be featured at the next Diocesan Youth Ministry Conference on September 29, 2018 at St. Paul's Rothesay. We hope to see you and the survey participants attend.

After you complete the surveys you will receive instructions in how to enter a draw for 1 of 3 $50 Cineplex gift cards for youth and one free week at Camp Medley each for parishes and families.

The surveys can be done online using the links below:

Hear Our Youth's Voice – Family
Hear Our Youth’s Voice – Youth 

or find them on the Team's Facebook page.

 

Youth and Intergenerational Ministries Team

The Faces of Christ – by Sarah Petite

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The Faces of Christ are a version of images suggested and used with the Godly Play story method. On Good Friday 2018, "The Faces of Christ" was a modified Godly Play session and part of the worship that day. The "faces" images were created by artist Sarah Petite.

recognizable events in Jesus' ministry, no prompting needed

Here's what Sarah had to say about her images:

"I'd like to thank Cheryl Jacobs for taking a chance on me and asking me to provide these eight paintings for Godly Play! They were fun and very fulfilling to work on. I wanted to make them real 'action shots' - recognizable events in Jesus' ministry, no prompting needed. Just for one example, I especially like the scene of the young Jesus visiting the Temple, and astonishing a rather somber-looking priest with his learning and understanding. I hope the young people in Godly Play are enlightened and inspired by them!"

One - Jesus' birth and growth
In the beginning the baby was born ...

Two - Jesus is lost and found
The baby grew and became a boy ...

Three - Jesus' baptism and blessing
Jesus grew and became a man ...

Four - Jesus' discovery experience
Jesus went into the desert to discover ...

Five - Healer and parable-maker
Jesus came back across the River Jordan ...

Six - Into Jerusalem - bread and wine
Jesus went to Jerusalem ...

Seven - Jesus is crucified
The night was long and confusing ...