“Serving God in mission, sharing Jesus with the world” is the mission statement of the Christ Church Cathedral Missions Committee. The committee works together with the Cathedral congregation to reflect the teachings of Jesus and the heartbeat of Christian history. The committee’s goals are to: raise awareness about mission work, prayerfully and financially support missionary […]
Refugee Sponsorship
Farewell to Catherine Gmah
I’ll remember Catherine’s smile the most. She was often quiet, but her smile was big and bright. She flashed that beautiful smile many times after arriving in Canada four years ago: the first taste of sweet, cold ice cream; the first time she decorated a Christmas tree and the colourful, twinkling lights came on; her first […]
Time to count your blessings – Refugee sponsorship one year old
On the night of July 27th, 2016, a weary Esther Gmah crossed the tarmac slowly at Fredericton Airport in a wheelchair and met a smiling group of eager people waving balloons, flags and signs. Her children, Arene and Catherine, and her husband, Phillip Weah, looked equally bewildered. It had been an exhausting journey for these […]
Year of sponsorship draws to a close: now what?
World Refugee Day is June 20th, which gives us a chance to consider the plight of refugees around the world, to honour their will to survive, and to renew our commitment to helping them settle in Canada. Last year at this time, a Liberian family of four was packing its meager belongings into two small […]
Grateful family making the rounds
When Liberian refugee Esther Gmah was in hospital for months last fall, she had time on her hands to hatch a plan. “I want to visit all the churches helping my family,” she announced to a refugee sponsorship committee volunteer one day. “To say thank you,” she added. Several parishes raised money and did paperwork […]
Happy 17th birthday!
In Liberia your relatives and friends dance and sing to celebrate your birthday, but Catherine Gmah just turned 17 and found out how it’s done in Canada. Several people from the archdeaconry’s refugee sponsorship committee gathered at the Liberian family’s apartment on Catherine’s special day. One arrived with colourful balloons, another carried a beautifully decorated […]
Christmas in a new land
“When will the snow melt?” asked Phillip Weah anxiously, bewildered by two snowstorms in a week – the first two snowstorms in this Liberian refugee’s life. “Oh, around Easter,” he was told, but it wasn’t the answer he expected or wanted to hear. Cold, snowy days are taken for granted by longtime Canadians, but newcomers […]
2016 Refugee Support Auction Results
The total money raised for our sponsored Liberian family’s expenses, through the November 26th auction and additional donations, was over $2,800! This is a real blessing for the cause with the federal money ending shortly and the bills continuing to come in for rent, electricity, telephone, groceries, etc. We are very grateful to everyone who […]
Liberian refugee family has arrived!
With a violent civil war and years in a refugee camp behind them, Phillip, Esther, Arene and Catherine flew more than 10,000 kilometres from Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, to Brussels to Montreal to Fredericton this week. The long trip is only the start of their challenging journey. A smiling welcoming committee waved balloons, welcome […]
Waiting for the family
On July 26th a family of four Liberians, who fled a civil war and who have been living in a refugee camp for six years, will board an airplane in Côte d’Ivoire, West Africa, and start winging their way toward Canada. The family will find a clean, fully furnished, comfortable, bright, three-bedroom apartment waiting for […]
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