Dear Friends,

This has without doubt been one of the more unique years in recent memory. We’ve all sat perched on edge wondering what the current pandemic will mean next. We’ve attempted to respond with wisdom and care while remaining unshaken by unnecessary fear. The fact remains we are not enriched or improved by being overly concerned with our earthly bodies – we are far more than just flesh and blood machines that need to keep physically healthy at all cost. We’re also thinking beings, spiritual beings.

It will be some time before we know the real impact COVID-19 will have on our world: economically, physically and spiritually. In a modern age where many need little, if any excuse not to engage in disciplines that nurture the spirit – attending public worship, studying scripture or acting visibly and materially in support of the relevance of the local church, some are saying that for the church COVID-19 is just another push down an already slippery hill.

Through history it has always been in the midst of the darkness – in the midst of what threatens – that faith speaks. A pealing note sounds as it has for two millennia. The expected one, the one longed for is born in a forsaken little town in a feeding trough because there was no room in the inn. It’s ironic that although not unexpected, the Lord’s coming is total surprise. “Today in the city of David a Saviour has been born to you. He is Christ the Lord!”

We’ll miss corporate singing of carols this year but they can sound loud in our hearts just the same. Join us for worship in person or online, mindful that at the moment, reservations are important as we try to manage pandemic protocols and remain within our allowed capacity. Visiting Cathedral Signups from our website is preferred. If space is available you’ll know right away. Or you may wish to telephone the Cathedral Office 9-12 Monday-Friday.

7:00 p.m. Monday 21 December 2020 Blue Christmas: prayers on the longest night
10:00 a.m. Wednesday 23 December 2020 Holy Eucharist (BCP)
4:00 p.m. Thursday 24 December 2020 Holy Eucharist (contemporary)
8:00 p.m. Thursday 24 December 2020 Come Worship Eucharist
11:00 p.m. Thursday 24 December 2020 Holy Eucharist (traditional)
10:00 a.m. Friday 25 December 2020 Holy Eucharist (traditional)
8:00 a.m. Sunday 27 December 2020 Holy Eucharist (BCP)
10:30 a.m. Sunday 27 December 2020 Come Worship Eucharist
10:00 a.m. Wednesday 30 December 2020 Holy Eucharist (BCP)
11:00 a.m. Friday 01 January 2021 Holy Eucharist with the Bishop (BAS)

May you be filled with the wonder of Mary, the obedience of Joseph, the joy of the angels, the eagerness of the shepherds, the determination of the magi, and the peace of the Christ Child. God’s blessing be with you and yours.

Sincerely,

Geoffrey Hall
Dean of Fredericton
GMH

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Thanksgiving 2020

Dear Friends in Christ,

Giving thanks is at the centre of living the Christian life. It may seem all too obvious, but when we gather, a normal worship event is Eucharist. “Eucharist” means “thanksgiving.”

In these days of the continuing worldwide pandemic, thanksgiving can be a challenge. Our lives have been changed. Our routines are disrupted. There’s an extra layer of attention necessary with almost everything we do. And while all of that weighs on some, has enormous economic impact on others and is deemed unnecessary by far too many, the Christian response to COVID-19 needs to be thanks-giving.

We don’t welcome illness nor can we ignore the reasonable care now necessary whenever we come in closer contact with one another. But we do need to give thanks: give thanks that we are able to gather (observing precautions within our circles); give thanks that while much of the world is being devastated by COVID-19, we are relatively safe where we live; give thanks that in the midst of our challenges, God is good and will provide what we need.

Thanksgiving for Christians is not just about pumpkins, apples and pretty autumn leaves even though these gifts too deserve our thanks. For the Church our Lord died to save, every day is thanksgiving. In every annoyance, there is a blessing. With every challenge comes an opportunity to grow. Even in the midst of chaos, there is reminder that God’s order of creation is a visible sign that continues to guide us toward living for him.

As we gather for worship on the second Sunday of October, the weekend the civic calendar calls “thanksgiving,” let us remember that historic Christian faith invented the concept. Let us give thanks for what we do have even in the face of what we don’t. Let us respond faithfully with genuine thanks for God’s continuing provision.

It is customary at the time of Christian festivals to make offerings of thanks. Please look in your boxed set of envelopes for the one marked “Thanksgiving.” If online giving is more convenient, visit the “Give Now” page of the Cathedral website to make your gift and you will receive immediately a receipt for income tax purposes.

May the blessing of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit be with you and yours.

Sincerely,

Geoffrey Hall
Dean of Fredericton
GMH

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Holy Week 2020

Dear Friends in Christ,

Lent is for Christians a time of preparing. The Ash Wednesday exhortation invites us to “observe a holy Lent by self-examination, penitence, prayer, fasting, and almsgiving and meditating on the word of God.” The intention, of course, is that we find that within ourselves that keeps us from good – keeps us from God. When we have identified it, God calls us to confess it, turn from it and live a new life in him. Like a plant that benefits greatly from pruning, we too can accomplish much from “pruning” in our own lives, allowing room for growth, renewal and for God!

This season marks the darkness of the days just before our Lord's final struggle with death and his victory over it. We’re encouraged to walk the way of the Cross. This is a Holy Week and Easter unlike any of us have ever seen. From isolation and quarantine, walking that way will be different this year. There is a sadness I feel knowing that we are not able to be physically present to one another. But there are opportunities, some of them from within, to assist in our own spiritual walk. Worship where you are. It is my hope that you will find what works for you. There are lessons in this for us all.

At the Cathedral, we’ll be watching our financial situation carefully over the coming weeks. The ministry we can maintain will depend, as always, solely on continuing support of the Cathedral family. Please consider delivering your Easter offering to the Church Hall or make a donation securely online from the Cathedral web site or Facebook. Our Envelope Secretary John Macaulay (506) 453-1980 would be pleased to talk with you about how to begin using e-offering (automatic debit) if not only for its convenience, for the way in which it helps to stabilize and anticipate our giving. There have been many who have offered to do pickups for any who might find it helpful.

Looking forward to its glory, have a blessed Easter!

Yours in Christ,

Geoffrey Hall, Dean of Fredericton
GMH

Advent 2019

Dear Friends in Christ,

Once again Christmas celebration is thrust upon us in the midst of already busy lives. Time flows ever onward whether we are ready for what it holds in store or not. The challenge at Christians is often to be ready to greet whatever comes along and that applies also to the calendar call to celebrate the birth and Incarnation of our Lord once more. If we feel somehow that this year is just like any other or that we are somewhat ill prepared, we might remember a few details of the first Christmas to help orient ourselves for yet another Christmastide.

You’ll remember that the stage of the drama of the first Christmas was a stable. The Saviour was born not in a palace or even a comfortable nursery. Many legends and interpretations exist about the Stable. One truth is clear from the biblical account: the place of the birth of Jesus was ordinary, plain, and common. This should bring us comfort. If Christ could have been born in a stable, he can also be born in any of us.

Seldom is Christ born in the satisfied or complacent, in whom everything is snug and in good order. It seems the Christ is most often born in the lives of people who live with frustration and a certain feeling of helplessness who cannot seem to make of themselves all that they wish. The consciousness of this weakness gives them humility and an openness to the Divine.

In his book "The Drama of Christmas," Morton Kelsey offers an inspiration of some new ‘Beatitudes of the Stable’ which reads:

Blessed are the stables, for in one of them the Christ child was born.
Blessed are those whose lives feel like stables and who want to live differently, for in them the Christ can be born.
Blessed are the persecuted and the heavy-laden, those in sorrow, trouble, need, or adversity, for creative love seeks to enter their hearts and be born in them.

This Christmas, we need to swing open the stable doors of our souls and let Christ in. God seeks us like a shepherd his lost sheep. The Holy One seeks us far more than we seek him. That alone makes us worthy to receive what divine love offers us — the Gospel of Christmas!

Christ Church Cathedral will of course celebrate the birth of Divine Love into the world. A schedule for the Christmas Season is here for convenience. Should you be unable to attend one of the Christmas Communions, please contact the Office to arrange for a home visit. It is my prayer that we will once more be ready to receive the Christ—the One who, "full of grace and truth" offers himself to us, and I remain,

Or use the envelope in your boxed set

Yours in the faith,

Geoffrey Hall
Dean of Fredericton

Christ Church Cathedral, Fredericton, Thanksgiving 2019

Dear Friends in Christ,

The natural rhythm of the seasons brings us to the Church's celebration at Harvest time. Christians are encouraged to give thanks at all times and in all circumstances, but the harvest brings that emphasis especially into focus as we recognize the many gifts of God's created order.

During a difficult time in my life, I had asked a Christian acquaintance for advice. What I received was not what I expected. This person said to me, "Say thank you." At that time, my response was one prompted by the suspicion that the other had not really heard my hardship. I was given assurance that I had been heard and was repeated, "Say thank you." "Thanks for what?" was my response. The answer returned, "Thanks for all you do have and for all the things that are not wrong that could be." As I look back, I realize that advice was directly from the words of Scripture. St. Paul tells the Ephesians in his letter to them that they should

... give thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 5:20)

That which seemed not so helpful at the time was very good advice, both then and now, even though putting it into practice is often a challenge.

If we strive to look at the world and all that comes to us, good or bad, with an attitude of thanksgiving, it looks very different to us. What if I don't happen to feel thankful right at the moment? "Say thank you." Expressing thanks, saying "thank you," is the first step towards "being" thankful. If we make outward efforts to express thanks, we find we become more thankful and we please God who, scripture tells us, wishes only for us to be mindful of what we receive. A world seen through thankful eyes is a very different place.

While we all have been tried, suffered significant life losses, illnesses and many circumstances beyond our control during the past 12 months, we all also have much for which to be thankful. For the Christian, every day is Thanksgiving Day, but on Sunday, 13 October 2019, during our regular schedule of worship, we'll try to focus that thanksgiving at a time when God's abundance is especially evident in the Harvest.

Join us in saying “Thank you.” Why not bring a friend or family member? Have a blessed Thanksgiving!

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Or use the envelope in your boxed set

Geoffrey Hall (The Very Rev'd)
Dean of Fredericton
GMH