Thank you to everyone at the Cathedral who donated toilet paper and hygiene supplies to the 7th annual TP The Town campaign!
This spring, Fredericton High School students partnered partnered with community groups, churches, and other schools to collect toilet paper and as many feminine care and personal hygiene products as possible. Monetary donations were also gratefully accepted.
Cathedral youth Alex and Claire, along with their fellow student council members, have been counting rolls as they arrive. Their goal is 25,000 rolls!
Products will soon be delivered to shelters and transitional housing locations in the Fredericton area, such as Chrysalis House, St. John House (the men’s shelter), Grace House for women, Gignoo House, Transition House, and the 12 Neighbor’s Village.
The Student Representative Council of Fredericton High School provides leadership opportunities and serves the student body, the school, and the community. An integral part of their program is to provide service to our community.
A letter from the student council expressed appreciation for the support of TP the Town, "Thank you for helping give back to those that struggle to take care of what we take for granted."
Many members of the Cathedral congregation have recently helped neighbours in our community by donating items for a young mother, and by providing snacks for the monthly Monday morning Outreach program for people in need. Your generosity is appreciated!
Here is a letter of thanks from the young woman, who received items to furnish a new apartment for herself and her son.
On December 20th, forty-three people attended the pre-Christmas event for the Monday Morning Outreach program at Christ Church Cathedral. Throughout the pandemic, guests have been appreciative of the continued support, and look forward to the time when they can again gather inside the Hall with music, conversation, and a buffet table.
Reverend Kelly Burke from New Maryland United Church attended, bringing treat bags lovingly provided by her congregation to bring some additional holiday cheer to outreach guests. Those contributions were added to a larger bag containing homemade muffins, cookies, hot chocolate, candy, cheese, yogurt and water supplied by the Cathedral congregation, two kinds of fresh fruit donated by St. Margaret's Anglican Church, a pair of warm socks, a signed Christmas card, and a $20 gift card for a supermarket or pharmacy.
A table of toys and activities for children was also set up, which brought smiles to our youngest guests.
Leftover food and toys were taken to the local transition house, where employees were grateful to receive the donations.
Socks, hats, scarves, gloves and jackets have been recently donated for Outreach guests, who may choose items they need each time they visit. Further donations are not needed at this time, as available storage space is full. The Outreach Committee thanks the Cathedral family for its generosity, and will request items when they are needed.
The next outreach event will be held on Monday, January 31st, 2022 -- outdoors, as has been necessary throughout the pandemic.
As Christians, we are called to love our neighbours.
Recently, Christ Church Cathedral became aware of a way to help children in need in its area of Fredericton and collaborated with a local school to provide assistance.
Located beside the University of New Brunswick and St. Thomas University, Montgomery Street Elementary School has a diverse student body. Approximately 230 children are enrolled in Kindergarten to Grade 5, and the child to parent ratio is high. Its Home and School Association, a volunteer group of parents, guardians and staff representatives, regularly fundraises for school initiatives and to support students and families in need.
In November, the Home and School Association approached Christ Church Cathedral with a request for assistance.
The need within the school community is great, and the pandemic has made it difficult to organize in-school fundraisers or request donations from families multiple times a year.
The Cathedral was in a position to help. Representatives on Bishop and Chapter (the Cathedral’s board) voted to approve a $3000 donation.
Cathedral Treasurer Jamie Yeamans presented a cheque to Home and School Association President Reegan McDougall, along with some students from the school.
The funds will be used to support children in need through a school lunch and milk program, as well as provide appropriate winter clothing for students to wear outdoors. The donation will also support children with developmental needs by contributing to the creation of sensory rooms in the building. The school has a bare budget for these small rooms, but requires more funding to ensure that the rooms adequately provide for these children.
According to Home and School Association President Reegan McDougall, “The need is great, especially during this COVID-era when many families are struggling. Half of the children within Montgomery Street Elementary School have not yet had a ‘normal’ school year due to this pandemic, and our goal is to help as many families and children as we can.”
Supporting its neighbours through local outreach initiatives is an important part of the Cathedral’s mission, and members of the congregation were pleased to provide the support.
“The Cathedral is fortunate to have been in a position this year to be able to partner in this important community effort at Montgomery Street School,” says Geoffrey Hall, Dean of Fredericton and priest at Christ Church Cathedral. “Most especially, we're pleased to have been able to make the connection with some real needs right in our own backyard. We often think we have to go far from home to find mission opportunities, and while those are there and important, there's also much to do in our own neighbourhood.”
The school community is thankful for this new relationship. Says McDougall, “This donation has more meaning behind it than anything ever received in the past.”
Thanks to the generosity of the Cathedral family, all of the Christmas Angel gifts requested for needy children were supplied on time. The value was approximately $1,150.
Forty paper angels were hung on a small tree in the Cathedral, each requesting a specific Christmas gift or stocking stuffers for a needy boy or girl in our city. The Fredericton Food Bank, Greener Village, coordinates the collection of names and wishes, and solicits local businesses and individuals to show kindness through gift giving.
Ann Deveau, with Charlotte and Claire McKnight, sorting gifts after worship.
The Cathedral has participated in the Angel Tree program for decades, and the food bank is appreciative of this consistent participation. The Outreach Committee currently co-ordinates the collection of toys and stocking stuffers although, in earlier years, the Anglican Church Women (ACW) capably led the effort.
Gifts were requested to be returned to the Cathedral by 17 November, which was earlier than in previous years.
“This was the food bank's deadline for our crop of angels, allowing them time to distribute gifts to the hundreds of families they serve,” explained Outreach Committee treasurer Doug Milander.
Some of the many gifts donated by members of our congregation.
Greener Village Angel Tree Project Coordinator, Alexa English, says that the community response has been extremely positive, and she expects all families to receive the gifts requested. Although group donations have been collected, individual angels are still available on an Angel Tree located in the Regent Mall. In addition to angel tags requesting a specific gift, the program also accepts monetary donations to purchase gifts and help families in need through other food bank programs.
Another option for Christmas giving
Cathedral members who would like to participate in another method of Christmas giving are encouraged to write a cheque payable to Christ Church Cathedral and indicate Christmas Outreach on the memo line. As in past years, these funds will be divided equally among the Fredericton Homeless Shelters, Women in Transition House Inc. and the Fredericton Community Kitchens. Cheques may be delivered to the Cathedral office by 17 December.
Cleaning out your closet and want to help Frederictonians in need?
The Cathedral Outreach Committee serves people in need who visit the steps of Cathedral Memorial Hall on the last Monday of each month. Those visitors are given a goodie bag of food items and a $10 gift card for a supermarket, and an opportunity to choose free items from a table of donated items. Currently, guests are in need of warm clothing, winter jackets, boots and gloves. Men’s items are especially needed, as most of the guests are men. Small-sized toiletries such as toothpaste, shampoo, shower gel and deodorant are also welcome. The Outreach Committee currently has plenty of scarves and hats, and does not need household items. Donations can be brought to the Cathedral Office during office hours, 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon, Monday to Friday.
The Drive Baptist Church's Clothing Bank is open to the public and serves those in need by providing free clothing, footwear, household items, Christmas decorations, food and hygiene products. The mission is run by retired seniors who volunteer their time.
If you would like to donate to the Clothing Bank, please place items in the orange donation boxes beside the church at 150 Greenwood Drive. No furniture or electronics, please. Donations can be made at any time.
If you know of someone in need who could benefit from the Clothing Bank, please share this information with them. Proof of vaccination and masks are required. Contact The Drive Baptist Church for more information.
Forty paper angels from Greener Village (the food bank) are waiting patiently to be chosen from a small tree in the cathedral. Each requests a specific Christmas gift or stocking stuffers for a needy boy or girl in our city.
Please print your name and telephone number on the clipboard to indicate which angel you are adopting. Bring your unwrapped gift, with the paper angel firmly attached, to the church on Sunday, November 14th. Drop-off boxes will be set up near the angel tree.
If you cannot bring your gift that Sunday, please bring it to the Cathedral Office no later than Wednesday, November 17th (office hours are 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon).
“This is the food bank's deadline for our crop of angels, allowing them time to distribute gifts to the hundreds of families they serve,” explained Outreach Committee treasurer Doug Milander. “The committee must purchase any gifts that arrive late or not at all.”
Another option for Christmas giving is to write a cheque payable to Christ Church Cathedral and indicate Christmas Outreach on the memo line. Deliver your cheque to the church office by December 17th. As in past years, these funds will be divided equally among the Fredericton Homeless Shelters, Women in Transition House Inc. and the Fredericton Community Kitchens.
“The Outreach Committee thanks you warmly for your generous support in making Christmas special for people in our city who need help, especially in these difficult times of an ongoing pandemic and high inflation,” Doug concluded.
The Christmas Angels are soon coming back to the Cathedral.
“In 2020, with the uncertainties of the pandemic and no vaccines in sight, we donated $1,800 instead of running the usual toy drive,” explained Outreach Committee treasurer Doug Milander. “The cheque reflected the value of the toys usually provided by our congregation to the Greener Village Food Bank. The managers were really pleased with our help.”
This year 50 paper angels will be hung on a little, lighted tree in the cathedral. Each will indicate the name and age of a local child in need as well as a suggested toy or other gift. Some requests will be for stocking stuffers instead of specific toys.
“A new twist this year is that the food bank wants all of the items returned to them by November 15th at the very latest,” Doug added. “This will allow in-person or online shopping to be done well before the Christmas rush, and it will give their staff more time to arrange for deliveries to the hundreds of registered families.”
As in past years, collection bins will be set up at the cathedral and at the church office to receive the toys and stocking stuffers.
“The cathedral family has a long and generous history with the Christmas Angels program, and people always seem happy to put a big smile on a child's face at Christmas,” Doug said.
He added, however, that the Outreach Committee will dip into its budget to supply any of the 50 gifts missing at the deadline.
As soon as the paper angels arrive from the food bank in October, more details will be provided to the congregation. Stay tuned!
In this pre-pandemic photo, Cathedral members gather for fellowship with Outreach guests.
A couple years ago we had never heard of the coronavirus, the delta variant or the 4th wave. Now everyone is aware of these lurking threats to our health and safety.
“When the Province declared the green phase of the pandemic, we were excited to think that we could welcome back our Monday morning drop-in friends for weekly gatherings in September,” said Outreach Committee chair Penny Ericson.
“However, the delta variant is much more transmissible and deadlier than earlier versions of COVID-19; at this time we can't risk indoor, sit-down gatherings with a food buffet, live music, and a display of used clothing and housewares for people in need.”
Penny said it's important to be cautious and protective for the sake of the guests and the volunteers.
Rev. Kelly Burke of New Maryland United Church, whose congregation supports the cathedral's outreach efforts with volunteers, food donations and funds, agrees.
Before the pandemic, visitors were welcomed into the hall for a variety of food and drinks.
“It's hard not to come and be present to all our friends, but safety first,” she said. “This delta variant means that we need to be vigilant. We send our love and prayers and will see you again when it is good and safe to do so.”
Marc Schneider has been learning new songs on his banjo during the pandemic, so that the band at the drop-in would have a larger repertoire of gospel music when things returned to normal.
“It makes sense to wait, but it's sad,” he said. “The personal relationships and support in the Monday morning community were very important to volunteers and guests alike. Maybe some day....”
Mary Lou Cotter worked in the kitchen on Monday mornings, serving coffee, making sandwiches, sharing her delicious homemade muffins. She is typical of other cathedral parishioners who help to run the program. “Let me know what I can do to help while we wait and see,” she said.
Goodie bags are currently distributed to Outreach guests one Monday each month.
Goodie bags with fresh fruit, cold drinks, homemade baking, cheese, and granola bars will continue to be distributed outdoors at Cathedral Memorial Hall on the last Monday morning of the month. People in need who stop by are also offered a $10 gift card for a local supermarket or some bus tickets. The average “attendance” is 46.
“We provided this modest help every single month throughout the pandemic, thanks to the support of our church family, our volunteers and St. Margaret's Anglican Church which supplies fruit,” Penny said.
“We'll keep doing it in this way, but we'll keep reassessing the situation until we're sure it's safe to welcome everybody back inside for what was always a fun time.”
The Cathedral's Monday Outreach is a longstanding program which aims to provide comfort and support to individuals in our community who are financially disadvantaged. Dean Geoffrey Hall was recently interviewed about the program by Terry Seguin, host of CBC Information Morning. He was joined by Jane Blakely from St. Paul’s United Church and Lynn McKinnon from Wilmot United Church. Together, they all spoke of the challenges and blessings of running outreach programs during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A look back at Monday Outreach during the pandemic
December 2020: Normally, the Cathedral Outreach Committee stages a big, colourful Christmas party for upwards of 65 people in need, complete with a Bible reading about the birth of Jesus, a decorated tree, live music, abundant food and coffee, and gift bags for all. By necessity, the 2020 version was much quieter. Forty-three people filed past to receive a $20 grocery voucher and a small gift bag containing homemade cookies, fruit, chocolates, candy canes, granola bars, hot chocolate packets, tissues, toothbrushes, toothpaste, and a Christmas card. Children got an extra little gift, and adults could choose from items such as scarves, socks and soap. One visitor said: "Thanks for doing what you can to help us when so many others have pulled back in fear of the virus." The next voucher distribution, assuming health regulations allow, will take place outdoors at Cathedral Memorial Hall on Monday, January 25, 2021.
November 2020: Volunteer Sandy Robb poses with cookies she baked as well as fruit, juice, muffins, cookies and other treats to be packed into goodie bags for Monday Morning Outreach guests. November was the ninth month that the Outreach Committee has distributed goodie bags and bus tickets or $10 gift cards for supermarkets to people in need outdoors at Cathedral Memorial Hall. The pandemic has prevented the usual weekly indoor gatherings which featured a buffet of food items, a used clothing bank, live music, a Bible study, and services of the parish nurse. Average monthly attendance had been 45 people, but 55 turned up Nov. 30th including a dozen who were new to the program. The committee, which hopes to continue its efforts throughout the winter, thanks the congregation for its ongoing support.
October 2020: “DC,” one of 48 guests, picks up his voucher and goodie bag at Cathedral Memorial Hall on Monday morning, Oct. 26th. The Outreach Committee thanks the cathedral family for baking cookies and muffins and for donating chocolate, chips and other treats. St. Margaret's Anglican Church donated bananas and citrus fruit. The Outreach budget paid for city transit tickets and $10 gift cards to supermarkets. Another guest said: “Thank you for the special effort you put out every month. I really like coming here.”
September 2020: Bill Turney from the cathedral congregation adds to a big bowl of treats to be packed into goodie bags for people in need. Bill and his wife Carolyn are among the frequent contributors to the Monday morning outreach program, baking delicious cookies for the guests. On Sept. 28th, 48 people received goodie bags, plus either city bus tickets or a $10 gift card for a local supermarket. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, distribution is done outdoors on the steps at the hall with social distancing. This method has been used since March and will be repeated again Oct. 26th. The outreach team thanks the congregation for its support.
Here are a few comments from our guests to help you realize how important your contribution is to these folks:
"This is like gold to me!" - B.W., looking in his goodie bag; he had eaten nothing except Mr. Noodle for a week
"Oh wow, I never get fruit!" - M.B., reaching immediately into the bag for a banana
"Thank you so much for helping us out!" - H.C., who has four young children
This was the Outreach Committee's seventh month distributing gift cards and bus tickets outdoors since the pandemic started. The average attendance over that period has been 44 guests per month.
August 2020:Fran Miles, recently retired Office Administrator at the cathedral, made a big batch of her famous "healthy cookies" for the goodie bags handed out to people in need on Aug. 31st. Due to the pandemic, the weekly drop-in, featuring self-serve food and coffee, live music, a used clothing bank and the services of the parish nurse, has not been held since mid-March. However, supermarket gift cards are distributed outdoors at Cathedral Memorial Hall on the last Monday of the month. This time 38 people received a $10 gift card or bus tickets, plus a goodie bag containing bananas, homemade muffins, cookies, a cheese sandwich, a cereal bar, and bottled water.
July 2020:Canon Patricia Drummond packs goodie bags as part of the cathedral's summer outreach efforts. Due to the pandemic, the weekly drop-in for people in need has not been held since mid-March, but supermarket gift cards are distributed outdoors on the last Monday of the month. On July 27th, 50 people received a gift card or bus tickets plus a bar of soap and a goodie bag containing bananas, homemade muffins, cookies, a sandwich, a granola bar, and bottled water. Food items were donated by members of the cathedral family.
June 2020:Before the pandemic, St. Margaret's Anglican parish in Fredericton helped monthly with outreach drop-ins at Christ Church Cathedral. That event has not been held indoors in the normal way since mid-March, but grocery store gift cards are distributed outdoors to people in need on the last Monday of the month. Penny Ericson (left), chair of the outreach committee, was delighted to receive a large donation of bananas delivered by Wendy and Rick Chase from St. Margaret's to help with the June 29th session. On that date 48 people received a gift card or some bus tickets plus a bar of soap and a goodie bag containing bananas, homemade muffins and cookies, and bottled water - all donated by members of the cathedral family.
May 2020:This morning, forty-five outreach guests received goodie bags, along with a $10 gift card for a local supermarket, at Cathedral Memorial Hall. Despite the recent provincial move into the less restrictive yellow zone during the pandemic, an indoor, sit-down drop-in with self-serve food and beverages is not permitted at this time. People were pleased with the surprise treats, the warmer weather, and news that a similar outdoor distribution of vouchers will be done again next month.
April 2020:Due to COVID-19, the Outreach Committee can't operate its Monday morning drop-ins in the usual way, i.e., refreshments, used clothing bank, live music, Bible study, and services of the parish nurse. However, on the last Monday morning of the month, people in need can stop by Cathedral Memorial Hall to get a $10 gift card for a local supermarket. Outreach Committee treasurer Doug Milander distributed the gift cards outdoors to 40 people on April 27th. Appropriate social distancing was followed.
March 30, 2020: Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the Outreach Committee can't operate its normal Monday morning drop-in for people in need at this time, but its volunteers did hand out $10 gift cards for local supermarkets on March 30th. The vouchers were distributed outdoors at Cathedral Memorial Hall to 32 people. Brent Wheaton (standing by the sign) and Danny Brewer were among those who really appreciated the help with groceries at this challenging time.
March 16, 2020:Volunteers wearing gloves served food and beverages to outreach drop-in guests, rather than the usual buffet-style format. Seating was carefully arranged to ensure social distancing. Our parish nurse gave a short talk about ways to avoid COVID-19, and the minister from New Maryland United Church offered a beautiful prayer. There will be no gathering March 23rd. On March 30th the plan is to quickly distribute vouchers on the front steps of the church hall, but no drop-in will be held. Plans for April will be formulated based on the situation at the time and advice from the health department. Please keep these vulnerable members of our community in your prayers at this challenging time.
you to everyone at the Cathedral who donated toilet paper and hygiene supplies to the 7th annual TP The Town campaign!
The Student Representative Council of Fredericton High School provides leadership opportunities and serves the student body, the school, and the community. An integral part of their program is to provide service to our community.
