Many contributions to the pancake supper

Gary Barfitt, President of the Cathedral Guild of St. Joseph, shared this message of thanks regarding the Shrove Tuesday pancake supper.

Gary Barfitt, David Perritt and Jim Morell - three of the many volunteers who spent time organizing and serving at the 2024 pancake supper.

As we close the books on our 2024 Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper, on behalf of the Cathedral Guild of St. Joseph, I want to offer a huge thank-you to all those who helped make it a success. Thank you to all the volunteers who worked to get the pancakes, sausages, beans, and gingerbread from the back of the kitchen to the tables in the Hall. There were over 50 people taking care of the many and varied tasks required to feed this year’s over 170 patrons. And the generosity of those patrons raised more than $1900 towards the work of the Guild. We especially thank those people who supported us by attending the event and, apparently, enjoying the meal and the opportunity to spend time with friends.

Stay tuned for our next Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper which will be on Tuesday, March 4, 2025!

The approximately 220 people came and went over a two-hour dinner period, seated "family style" in long tables in the Main Hall. Don't worry, all of the volunteers got to eat, too! It was a great opportunity for conversation with fellow Cathedral members and neighbours from our community.

If you, or anyone you know, left an item at the event, drop by Cathedral Memorial Hall to check the coat rack and the Lost & Found box!

Several members of the Cathedral Communications Committee took photos of the popular event, which are shared below.

Holy Joes gathering

The motto of the Guild of St. Joseph is “Serving God and Church with heart and hands.” The focus is the maintenance and repair of the fabric of the Cathedral, the Green, and Memorial Hall.

Once again, the Guild (affectionately known as the "Holy Joes") held a Christmas Reception with invited guests. This year's was a bit different in that they chose to hold it after Christmas, on Twelfth Night afternoon. It was a lovely gathering of food and friends, to ring in the New Year.

The Guild hosts an annual Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper, provides a Halloween watch, spring flood watch and the 'Greening of the Cathedral' during Advent. They have done many repair and beautification projects, and have resumed the “Guild Work Period” where, once a month, members gather to perform required maintenance work.

The group meets in the Hall Lounge on the first Tuesday of each month (September through June), and warmly welcomes new members. For more information, speak with the Guild President, Gary Barfitt, any member, or contact the Cathedral Office.

Christmas Luncheon

The ACW and Health Ministry enjoyed planning and presenting this luncheon, and sharing their collections of unique and favourite Santa Claus and Snowmen decorations.

The empty chairs you see in the photo were filled with more than 40 people from our congregation on 05 December, which was a lovely winter day.

The soups were a hit, and few Christmas sweets were left for the elves. There was no fee for the meal, but many donations and items in gift bags were collected for Grace House women’s shelter.

Deacon Debbie Edmondson offered a thoughtful and timely reflection as to the hope and anticipated joy of the Advent season. Catherine Macdonald provided a lovely piano medley of Christmas favourites during the lunch period.

To bring so many together to enjoy fellowship – and food, was a blessing and reward for the hosts of the day.

- by Kaye Small

Accessibility at the Cathedral

Gary Barfitt, President of the Cathedral's Guild of St. Joseph (affectionately known as the Holy Joes), sent us this update about a recent project at the Cathedral. Thanks to the workers who keep our buildings tidy and safe!


Back in the late spring, at one of the last Holy Joes' meetings before summer break, one of our members spoke of the need for the carpet at the Cathedral west entrance to be replaced. We decided to take on the task.

Later in the summer, we removed the old carpet and, upon inspecting the wooden ramp, found that we needed to replace some of the wood. Once the wood was replaced, we contacted a local flooring company to supply and install new carpet.

The final "step" was to install a transition/threshold between the ramp and the driveway [for wheelchairs and walkers to easily roll over the gap]. That was completed recently.

Help requested – caring for university students

Through exam week, campus ministries are collaborating with faith communities to host Pause Tables. Volunteers will provide free food, beverages, a listening ear and conversation, to give students a break from studying.

The Cathedral branch of Mothers' Union will be handing out treats to the UNB students again this year on 11 December.

You can help by contributing some items!

Deliver non-perishable items (e.g. drink boxes, packaged snacks, hot chocolate packs, etc.) to the Cathedral on Sunday morning or leave them at the Cathedral Office labelled for MU or UNB outreach.

Deliver baked goods (e.g. cookies, muffins, etc.) to the Hall kitchen on Sunday, December 10th between 2-3:30 and 5-7:30 as volunteers from Mothers' Union will be in the building at those times.

Thank you for your help in reaching out to provide care and comfort to university students in our community.

Christmas Luncheon hosted by ACW

Celebrate the coming of Christmas with Cathedral members and friends!

Gather for soup, rolls, sweets, tea and coffee, surrounded by a display of Snowmen and Santa Claus.

This holiday event will be hosted by the Anglican Church Women (ACW) on Tuesday, 05 December, from 11:30-1:30 p.m. in Cathedral Memorial Hall.

Personal care items and donations will be collected for Grace House women's shelter.

Share your snowmen and Santa decorations to help us decorate! Deliver items to the Cathedral Office between 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon on weekdays. Don't forget to label items with your name, so they can be returned!

Advent candles made by Mothers’ Union

On Saturday, 28 October, the Cathedral Branch of Mothers’ Union got together in the Cathedral Hall Kitchen to make sets of Advent Candles.

We have been making these beeswax candles for at least 20 years now. It is the major fundraiser for our group. Each fall, the purple and pink wax is ordered from a company in British Columbia, and we are always surprised at the various shades of these two colours that we receive. Equipped with our hair dryers, we arrive at the Hall kitchen, prepared to make and assemble the sets we hope to sell that year just prior to Advent. We know these candles have become a major part of the Advent celebration in the homes of Cathedral members and others who seek them out each year.

This activity was traditionally carried out at our October Wednesday night meeting, but last year we needed to meet on a Saturday to get it done. We so enjoyed that Saturday morning, and the lunch that followed afterwards, that we decided it would be nice to repeat that this year. About half of our 15 members were able to participate. You will see our members selling the $20 sets, that include 3 purple and 1 pink candle, in the Cathedral starting on 12 November through to the first Sunday in Advent.

The photo below is from our Spring Retreat that took place on Mactaquac Lake. Back row left to right: Sandra Noftell, Bonnie Greenwood, Rosa Macaulay, Susan Black, middle: Kelley Hall, Diane Nash, Susan Watson, Susan Colpitts-Judd, Michele Leblanc, front: Lilian Ketch, Isabel Cutler. Missing from photo: Kathleen Snow, John DosSantos, Joanne Barfitt and Diane Radford.

Jubilee Tea and a Jubilee Tree

From left to right: Susan Watson, Kathleen Snow, Diane Radford, Bonnie Greenwood, Joanne Barfitt, John DosSantos, Michele Leblanc, Lilian Ketch, and Susan Colpitts-Judd.

The Cathedral branch of the Mothers’ Union hosted a Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Tea in June of 2022 and although it was not a fundraising event, we did however, receive donations. After covering our expenses, we decided we wanted to use the balance of the funds to commemorate the Queen’s Jubilee in a lasting way.

The Queen’s Green Canopy initiative was launched to encourage people to “Plant a tree for the Jubilee” to mark her 70 years on the throne. It was subsequently extended to give the opportunity to plant trees in the Queen’s memory.

When we heard of this project, we all agreed that this would be the perfect memorial to our beloved Queen Elizabeth II.

After consultation with Eric Hadley, a member of the Cathedral Property Committee, and with help from other members of the Guild of Saint Joseph, our Jubilee Sugar Maple was planted on the corner of Brunswick and Church Streets on May 12.

Ashley Swim, Eric Hadley, and Harry Palmer planting the tree.

Prior to our May 17th meeting, many of our Mothers’ Union members gathered around our tree, a blessing was read, and a group photo was taken. A cold wind had picked up and almost blew us all away so a re-shoot took place on a sunny and warm May 23rd.

Much appreciation is extended to Eric Hadley, Gary Barfitt, Harry Palmer, and Ashley Swim for delivering the tree from the nursery and planting it for us. Thanks to Gary Barfitt and Bill Robinson for taking the photos.

Submitted by Bonnie Greenwood


The Prayer:

Almighty God, we come before you this day in humility and gratitude as we seek your blessing on the life of this Sugar Maple tree, which is planted to remember our Sovereign Lady and Patron Queen Elizabeth II. May this tree take root in this soil, drawing from it water and nutrients, so it may grow and prosper, bringing beauty in its leaves offering shelter to birds and insects and enriching this place with its presence and life. And we ask this in the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

 

Getting to know each other at a newcomer event

On May 10, we hosted a Newcomer Dessert Event at Cathedral Hall.  The evening was organized by the Mother's Union, Kurt Schmidt (Director of Christian Formation), and Andreas Decken (Chair of Welcoming and Hospitality).

Kurt and Andreas are extremely grateful to the Mothers' Union for doing an excellent job providing treats and setting up the Hall for the event. We had over 30 people in attendance; many congregational members that are part of various Cathedral Groups were present, but also a number of "new" faces to our worship.  We were able to formally welcome people that call Christ Church Cathedral their spiritual home after moving to Fredericton within the last few years.  Particularly noteworthy is the fact that many newcomers were active in other parishes prior to moving to Fredericton and bring their expertise, experiences and ideas with them.

Many in attendance also noted that this event was an excellent venue for members of the various groups within the congregation to talk to one another, learn more about each other's involvement and getting to know each other.

And yes, the desserts were amazing.

- Andreas Decken, Welcoming and Hospitality Chair

Mothers’ Union rally draws 50 members

"The annual rally day of the Mothers’ Union was held April 29 at Christ Church Cathedral with 50 members in attendance. The day began with a service of Holy Eucharist with several members reading scripture. Dean Geoffrey Hall and Archbishop David Edwards presided. The bishop preached, telling those gathered that the role of a Christian is to reflect the image of God in the world. ..."

Click here to read the article by NB Anglican Editor Gisele McKnight.