Reading scripture and liturgy in public is an honour that deserves our time and attention as it provides an opportunity for people to hear God’s word. Learning how to connect with those who are listening by speaking clearly and audibly helps people understand and make sense of what you are saying.
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Objectives
On completion of this course you should be able to:
describe practical steps to effectively read scripture and liturgy in public
identify the differences between ‘reading’ to yourself and ‘speaking’ in public
read effectively in public
9 am - 12 Noon, Saturday, 28 October 2017 Christ Church Cathedral, Corner of Church and Brunswick
There's no cost to register, but we do need to know you're coming
Join us for an intergenerational ALPHA which began with an introduction on 27 September 2017 at the Cathedral Memorial Hall, 168 Church Street, 6:00 pm. Dinner is included! If you missed the first session, contact Cheryl Jacobs or (506) 459-5795 or by email cajacobs84 at gmail.com
Do you want to explore the Christian faith more, or do you have family or friends you would like to see do so? Alpha is an 11 week introduction to Christianity where all questions are encouraged. It is being offered this Fall on Wednesday nights starting September 27, from 6:00 – 8:30 pm, in the Cathedral Hall. Supper will be provided as well as simultaneous video and discussion sessions for adults and youth (12-20ish). Please register on a signup sheet at the back, online HERE, by calling (506) 459-5795 or by emailing cajacobs84 at gmail.com. All are welcome!
Some of us remember Enid Strict, the infamous and wildly popular “church lady” played by Dana Carvey on Saturday Night Live. Enid was a caricature of the busybody finger-shaking moralist no one would want to share a pew with.
In the Anglican Church of Canada, baptized children may be admitted to Holy Communion as provided in the August 1977 Memorial to the House of Bishops. In our diocese, Bishop’s Directive 3.1.2 outlines the process and requirements. We’ll be offering “Life in the Eucharist” in the fall of 2017 for children (aged 7 and older) and parents of those who wish to participate. Children making Communion is an option and by no means required. Read the Pastoral Vision for “Life in the Eucharist.” An information meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, 06 September at 7:00 p.m.. Programme sessions are tentatively scheduled for six Wednesdays, 6-7:30 p.m. beginning 11 October 2017. Questions? speak to Kurt Schmidt <formation at christchurchcathedral.com> or the Dean <dean at christchurchcathedral.com>.
Information session for parents – 06 September 2017, 7:00 p.m., Cathedral Hall Lounge
“Life in the Eucharist” Six Sessions beginning Wednesday, 11 October 2017, 6:00 – 7:30 p.m.
On July 1st we officially welcomed Kurt Schmidt to the role of half-time Director of Christian Formation at Christ Church Cathedral. Please pray for Kurt as he begins his work. Kurt brings a wealth of experience in education, spiritual formation and family life to us. Married to Catherine and father to Rachel, Kurt lectures as an instructor in Mathematics at the University of New Brunswick in the Mi’kmaq-Wolastoqey Centre.
The appointment of a Director of Christian Formation is 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.
Yes, something may be asked of you! Ultimately, the responsibility for forming Christians belongs to the whole Christian community. At baptism, the community stands and accepts the challenge: “Will you who witnesses these vows do all in your power to support these persons in their life in Christ?” The difficulty is that most of us haven’t the foggiest idea of where that starts. What we intend to attempt to create at the Cathedral is the best possible model of that actually happening!
A Cathedral Church is a leader in an Anglican Diocese. That doesn’t mean that we are better than anyone else. What it does mean is that what we are a model, and help set a standard, for the Anglican Church, in our case, in the Diocese of Fredericton. Our Diocese happens to be coterminous with the boundaries of the Province of New Brunswick with its 70 plus parishes and more than 150 churches.
Kurt’s biography reads:
Kurt, Catherine and Rachel Schmidt from the 2017 Cathedral Photo Directory
Born in Illinois but raised in Littleton, Colorado, Kurt 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 (launching into her second decade).
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.
The position description for the Director of Christian Formation:
Accountability
Day to day supervision will be by the Dean. The Christian Formation Committee of Bishop and Chapter will function as a support group for the Christian Formation Director. This group will work with the Director to develop yearly outcomes.
Scope
The Director of Christian Formation will see as a foundation of this ministry the facilitation of several formation and discipleship activities, working with other leadership towards an increased number of mission-minded followers of Jesus Christ within the Cathedral congregation.
Qualifications include having a living, maturing Christian faith, commitment and experience working with children, youth and families, and seniors having knowledge of and/or are supportive of the Anglican expression of the Christian faith.
Key Responsibilities
• co-ordination and teacher development for the children’s Christian education program, while looking to expand this to all ages;
• scheduling, co-ordination, publicity and recruitment of leaders and mentors for baptism, first communion and confirmation preparation;
• organization of intergenerational activities and learning events to recognize special times and seasons in the church calendar year;
• encouraging the organization of home-based study and prayer groups;
• training and support of leaders when required;
• support for families in both community and home-based Christian formation;
• support of Alpha Course leadership;
• development and support of a regular seeker/ new member/ new Christian learning programme(s);
• particular focus initially on families with children, including engaging with them to determine needs and expectations
Christ Church Cathedral, Fredericton has an opening for a part-time Christian Formation Director/Coordinator to commence work on or around July 1, 2017. This contract position is based on the person hired working 20 hours per week.
The successful applicant will see as a foundation of this ministry the facilitation of several formation and discipleship activities, working with other leadership towards an increased number of mission-minded followers of Jesus Christ within the Cathedral congregation.
Specific areas of the ministry will include:
co-ordination and teacher development for the children’s Christian education program, while looking to expand this to all ages;
scheduling, co-ordination, publicity and recruitment of leaders and mentors for baptism, first communion and confirmation preparation;
organization of intergenerational activities to recognize special times and seasons in the church calendar;
encouraging the organization of home-based study and prayer groups and training of leaders;
support for families in both community and home-based Christian formation;
support of Alpha Course leadership;
development and support of a regular seeker/ new member/ new Christian learning programme(s);
particular focus initially on families with children, including engaging with them to determine needs and expectations
Day to day supervision will be by the Dean. The Christian Formation Committee of Bishop and Chapter will function as a support group for the Christian Formation Director. This group will work with the Director to develop yearly outcomes.
Qualifications of persons considered for this position include having a living, maturing Christian faith, commitment and experience working with children, youth and families, and having knowledge of and/or are supportive of the Anglican expression of the Christian faith.
Successful applicant will be expected to submit to a criminal record check.
Please submit your resume outlining your interest and experiences and two references on or before May 31, 2017. For further information, please contact: the Dean of Fredericton at (506) 450-7761.
Email: search at cccath.ca
Christ Church Cathedral
Attention: Formation Search Committee
168 Church Street
Fredericton NB E3B 4C9
Many reading this will have participated in an Alpha course in the past and perhaps you or your church are still doing so; or it may be that you have never heard of Alpha.
If you are in this latter category, Alpha is a series of interactive sessions that explore the basics of life, faith and God, typically run over 11 weeks.
Each session looks at a different question around faith and is designed to create conversation.
Alpha was developed at Holy Trinity Church, Brompton over 25 years ago and is now run all around the globe. Over 29 million people have tried Alpha in 169 countries, and it has been translated into 112 different languages.
Courses take different formats, but generally they have three key aspects: food, a talk and good conversation. Everyone is welcome and all questions are accepted.
Whatever you do know about Alpha, it may be time to have another look or run Alpha again. Through this coming fall and winter, there will be a global Alpha campaign. Labelled “The Biggest Church Invitation of This Generation,” the face of the campaign will be Bear Grylls, known worldwide for outdoor survival and adventure and with 1.5 billion fans. He will be sharing his journey to faith; in his words: “Alpha was the best thing I ever did!”
Typically run over 8-12 weeks, it allows anyone to explore life, faith and God in a friendly, open and informal environment. In each session there’s food, a short talk, and discussion in small groups. Everything you need to run Alpha is available online and free to download.
This is an opportunity for churches or groups to tap into the interest generated in our communities. We should be ready for those who come seeking. Alpha materials have been updated and are now offered via free downloads. A complete revised set of 29-minutes talks delivered by Nicky Gumbel was released last year. A new Alpha film series launched in April, featuring stories from all around the world and covering the Alpha content in a contemporary visual format. There is also a highly successful Youth Alpha Film Series.
https://youtu.be/XLQZM1QwuUs
Register your course with Alpha Canada for no charge to access the talks, transcripts and training videos for free. Learn more, or register a course
Our Bishop recommends “Noticing God” by Richard Peace for study during Lent 2017.
In his opening words, Peace sets the goal of his book:
Where is God? How do we notice the presence of God? How do we encounter this God that we sense? How do we know it is God and not some figment of our imagination? Is it possible to know God at all? Questions like these have interested me for as long as I can remember. I suppose it all started when I was a child, probably around five or six years old, and I had a[n] experience …
In mystical encounters, in the ordinary, in the still small voice, in community, in creation, and more.
Books are available for $10 from the Cathedral Office; e-reader version for $9.99 at amazon.ca here: Noticing God.
Study on Mondays during Lent, beginning at 2:30 p.m. in the Lounge at the Cathedral Memorial Hall, 168 Church Street.
In the Spring of 2009, I travelled with Bishop Bill Hockin to St. Gertrude’s Roman Catholic Church in Woodstock, N.B. As we arrived, we noticed the parking lot was full. Upon entering the church, we found a large, ecumenical audience awaiting the introduction of Fr. Ronald Rolheiser. He spoke all morning, and related effortlessly with his audience. As he shared intriguing personal anecdotes and recounted stories from his own life-experience, Rolheiser emphasized the deep desire of many people for an authentic relationship with God. He called it a “holy longing.”
Ronald Rolheiser
Earlier that week, in Fredericton, Rolheiser had been the recipient of an honorary Doctor of Letters degree from St. Thomas University. He also delivered STU’s Spring 2009 Convocation Address.
Born on a farm in Cactus Lake, Saskatchewan, ordained as a Catholic priest in 1972, Ronald Rolheiser has a long affiliation with the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate. His formal education saw him earn a B.A. (University of Ottawa, 1969), B.Th. (Newman Theological College, 1973), M.A. (University of San Francisco, 1974), M.R.Sc (University of Louvain, 1982) and PhD (University of Louvain, 1983). Currently, Rolheiser serves as President of the Oblate School of Theology, a Catholic graduate school for theological studies located in San Antonio, Texas.
In 1982 while living and studying in Belgium, he began to write a regular column in the Canadian newspaper, The Western Catholic Reporter. These columns featured reflections on theological, Biblical and secular issues. Choosing to call his column, In Exile, Fr. Ron wrote:
All of us live our lives in exile. We live in our separate riddles, partially separated from God, each other, and even from ourselves. We experience some love, some community, some peace, but never these in their fullness. Our senses, egocentricity, and human nature place a veil between us and full love, full community, and full peace. We live, truly, as in a riddle: The God who is omnipresent cannot be sensed; others, who are as real as ourselves, are always partially distanced and unreal; and we are, in the end, fundamentally a mystery even to ourselves.
Rolheiser’s weekly columns offered down-to-earth observations connecting theology, church history, The Bible and contemporary issues. Since its inception 34 years ago, 2000 commentaries have been posted online, each approximately 850 words in length. Currently, Rolheiser’s work is carried in over 80 newspapers worldwide. At once, provocative and pastoral, his writing explores key themes in Christian spirituality, including the Trinity, World Religions, Christianity and Ancient and Medieval Philosophy, Existentialism, Mysticism, contemporary spirituality tied to the pressing questions of today (ecology, feminism, masculine spirituality, cultural change).
His 2014 book titled Sacred Fire: A Vision for a Deeper Human and Christian Maturity (Image Book, Random House) received the highest award for a hardcover book from the Catholic Press Association. His 1999 book, The Holy Longing: The Search For A Christian Spirituality (Doubleday, New York) is considered by many to be a modern classic. Rolheiser writes for a diverse ecumenical audience. But his weekly on-line columns may be less well known to non-Catholic readers. His website, Ronald Rolheiser’s Column Archives offers an engaging collection of short articles suitable for either personal reflection or for educational reading on Christian topics and issues. The website includes a Search function which allows readers to explore a wide range of topics. For example, here is a selection of just 15 titles from the 2016 column-archives:
The report of the task force on the theology of money argues that the current economic system is an example of “structural sin.” Image: Saskia Rowley On October 18,an Anglican Church of Canada task force has released “On The Theology of Money,” a report calling the faithful to embrace a “vision of ‘enough'” when it comes to material wealth.
