PHONE MINISTRY: 12 Things to Attend To in Phone Visits
So many of our parishioners and community members are suffering with isolation and loneliness right now. Making caring calls can make all the difference and brighten someone's day!
Held Wednesday, 26 January at 7 p.m., the session offered insights on some best practices related to phone ministry. The Rev. Bonnie Baird, Associate Priest at Christ Church, Dartmouth, shares, real-life examples and her passion for visiting with people over the phone. You'll be inspired and encouraged by her presentation.
This session is 1 hour and open to anyone.
Hosted by the Diocese's Creating Missional Communities Team (VSST).
Our Parish Nurse, Sarah Ecker, offers encouragement and suggestions for wellbeing.
In the cold of January during another round of single household bubbles and reduced contact with family, friends, and community, I just want to send a note of encouragement. You are not alone. Part of maintaining wholistic health is found in taking care of our mental and spiritual wellbeing. Here are a few practical ways to do this:
** Connect with others over phone or video calls - you can even schedule a group chat with some friends on a weekly basis.
** Try to get some sunlight, even if that means pulling up a chair beside the window and pretending to be in a warmer place. On the odd warm day, bundle up and get some fresh air, even if that means opening your windows or sitting outside for a few minutes.
** Make room for your feelings and emotions. Being cooped up is hard, and it is important to recognize when it is making us feel out of sorts. You can use this as an indicator that maybe you should reach out to someone you trust to have a meaningful conversation and connect.
There is no shame in talking about the challenges of these times. We can accept that while we have many things to be thankful for, we can also struggle. Those two concepts can exist together, and accepting reality and finding ways to connect will help us stay mentally and spiritually well until we can all meet again. If you need a person to talk with, please reach out to myself or someone you feel comfortable sharing with. I pray for wellness despite the circumstances for you all.
On Friday, January 14 at 11:59 p.m., the Province of New Brunswick enters Level 3 of the COVID-19 Winter Plan, in order to reduce the rapidly rising number of cases of the highly transmissible Omicron variant.
New pandemic restrictions are not welcome news for any of us as we avoid in-person worship and meetings. However, added attention now should assist with stress on our health care system and the help to keep our most vulnerable with medical needs, COVID-19 and otherwise, as safe as possible. We’ll continue to care for one another with patience, compassion and kindness and see this through together.
During Level 3 of the COVID-19 Winter Plan, worship will be held online only, Sundays at 10:30 a.m. View the livestream and recordings on our YouTube channel. While we are in Level 3, worship at 8:00 a.m. on Sundays and 10:00 a.m. on Wednesdays will be cancelled.
Cathedral office hours will be reduced: Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon. The doors of Memorial Hall will be locked outside of these times. Email and voicemail will be checked throughout the week (506) 450-8500.
Under Level 3 precautions, public gatherings are not permitted. As such, groups will be unable to hold meetings inside Cathedral Memorial Hall.
We hope that this temporary pause will help to protect each other, and look forward to seeing you again when it is safe to do so.
During this time, your continued support is appreciated. Donate online, by postal mail, or drop an envelope in the secure mail slot on the front door of Memorial Hall. Thank you!
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 I wrote back in February things were going well, slowly beginning to normalize. Senior students at each level were preparing for national exam, and other classes were studying at various intervals. The plan was to have the normal school year back in place within two years. We were feeling pretty optimistic, despite what was going in the rest of the world.
The Library compound was finished. Some of you may have been left wondering what we would do with the large hole in front of the library. Even I was left wondering for a long period of time. Then it became obvious to me. It would become an outdoor auditorium.
Before….
After….
Library Outdoor Auditorium
Palm Sunday 2021
Palm Sunday 2021
Palm Sunday 2021
We were blessed in early March with an informal visit by Rt. Rev. Johnson Twinomujuni who came to check on the school and to encourage us in these difficult times.
A highlight and a moment of personal encouragement for me was when I was recognized for my years of service by the Diocese of Ankole in late May. It was a tremendous honor and I continue to be so grateful that God has called me to serve in this particular part of his vineyard, and for his abundant grace and blessings for the past 23 years.
The good news is that in those first months of 2021 all the finalists successfully completed their examinations, and are now preparing for their next level of studies. The bad news is that a second wave of covid hit us in May, and in early June the President put the country under full lockdown. Once again, we were to stay in our homes apart from getting necessities, but the use of cars and other forms of passenger transport were banned. The good news is that the lockdown worked, and restrictions were partially lifted. Curfew of 7 pm remained, and churches and schools remained closed. Churches were eventually allowed to reopen at the end of September and universities as of November 1st.
The availability of vaccines in Uganda is improving slowly slowly. The government is optimistic that they well have as many as 12 million doses by December. The actual process of vaccination was problematic for a while, but there has been much improvement and there have been an increasing number of mass vaccination exercises.
So, what does the future hold for primary and secondary schools. A few days back, the President announced that everything including schools would open up fully in January. News that we were happy to receive. Previously there were conditions set that had to be met before this could happen. One is that 5 million people must be fully vaccinated. This group are the vulnerable, those over 60, the vulnerable etc. (Those over 65 years of ag comprise just under 2% of the total population). Secondly that all teachers, staff and students over 18 are fully vaccinated. A big task but I’m becoming optimistic. About 3.5 million doses have been administered so far. The argument behind the decision not to open the schools is that the children will catch covid and spread it to the unvaccinated adults in their families, potentially creating another generation of orphans as AIDs did previously.
We are now beginning to prepare the school for reopening in 6 weeks’ time, although we have yet to be told the specifics of how it will happen. Theological studies have already resumed this past week. So, there are signs of normalcy returning at the school.
Despite all of the hardships we were able to make good progress on some of the school projects before we were closed again. We were able to reach the roofing stage on all three of the music buildings, with the concrete also be poured in the choral rehearsal room, as well construct a new administration building to keep up with our growth these past twenty plus years. We were very pleased to complete the first phase of construction including roofing.
Left (Music, Dance & Drama/Band; Center (Electronic Keyboard Lab); Right (Choral Rehearsal Room)
Interior Choral Rehersal Room
New Administration Block
While 2021 was not the year we anticipated, and that it brought further difficulties for the school, our staff, and students, we have much to be thankful for just the same. Because of the tremendous support we received in 2020 – 2021 the school continues to be in great shape and we will be able to reopen in the coming months with minimal difficulties. We are grateful to have been able to celebrate with Rev. Joseph Tusinguire, our student for 6 years, and now Chaplain, Teacher, and Coordinator of Theology program, as he wed Praise. We congratulate Joseph and Praise and wish them all the best in their new life together.
On this happy note let me close. I can’t tell you how much we appreciate everyones support for so many years, and particularly in this difficult period. With your help we are truly making a difference. May God continue to bless and keep you!
Paul
Rev. Canon Paul Jeffries
Rector
Bishop McAllister College & Bishop McAllister Anglican Seminary
The tree is decorated, the presents are almost wrapped and the Christmas dinner is all planned out, however our favorite part is to give all glory and honor to the Lord for your partnering with us. Without your support and especially your prayers, our ministry would never have been possible. We give our heartfelt special thanks to all of you for your sacrificial giving as parishes and individuals who with great effort and prayers contributed to make our ministry possible; all honor and glory be to God.
Nothing stops the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, and we continue to spread his word of peace, love and compassion for our people.
Our Bishop Lloyd Allen just recently gave instructions to all clergy to reopen all the church buildings in Honduras. Due to the pandemic some of the buildings had been closed.
At the Episcopal/Anglican Church in Roatan our buildings continue to be open as we comply with all the biosecurity requirements.
Baptisms
On the Second Sunday of Advent we moved the church to the beach to celebrate ten baptisms, one adult and nine kids from Emmanuel Church in Coxen Hole, where five families got together to make their faith public and become new Christians as Jesus commanded us to do.
A mother was baptized with her two boys and two girls it was a blessing that the whole family became part of the body of Christ. Congratulations to all of them.
Christmas At Emmanuel
On Sunday the 19th we had a special Christmas service programmed so that the boys and girls as well as the adults could participate with Christmas songs, choreographed music, Bible verses and drama.
It was a very enjoyable time and it was beautiful to see children and adults put into practice their gifts and qualities to exalt and glorify the name of our God, who has given us salvation through his son Jesus Christ.
Also during this special service we collected an offering which will be used to finalize the project of Emmanuel Church’s floor.
Impact of Covid 19 in Honduras and Roatan
To update you on the impact of Covid 19 on Roatan, at the moment we have a few cases of Covid 19, and the Covid center continues to be open for the people to go for rapid and PCR tests free of charge. 95% of the population is vaccinated with the two shots. We are at the moment waiting for the booster shot. I want to share with you that my wife, the Rev. Kara Thompson de Mejia, was infected with Covid 19, and she is recovering from the aftermath of the virus. Thanks to the Lord and your prayers, she is recovering very well.
Financial Support
On the financial side, we continue to be very positive and to pray and praise God with faith and thanksgiving. We also ask you to continue to pray about our finances, that for the next year and in coming years our support will stabilize and be sufficient to cover our needs. At the moment our balance is very low, so we have a deficit of over CAD 4000.00. Therefore, please consider sending a special offering in order to balance our finances for our expenses and the ministry in Roatan.
To donate now, please click on the following link (or copy and paste it into your browser):
Or you can visit the Diocese of Fredericton’s website (www.anglican.nb.ca) then go to “Donate” for various ways to give online. Be sure to select “Honduras Mission Fund”.
Address change
Cheques should be made payable to “The Diocesan Synod of Fredericton” and sent to: Anglican Diocesan Synod of Fredericton,
168 Church Street Room 20, Fredericton, N.B. E3B 4C9
Phone: (506) 459-1801
All cheques should have “Honduras Mission” noted on the reference line.
We know that with the global impact of the pandemic it is difficult for everyone in the world. That said, we greatly appreciate your prayer and financial support to date and trust that you will continue to support us.
1. For our family: Nelson, Kara, Stephen and Kelly.
2. Pray for Stephen Mejia Thompson, our son as he continues studying at Providence University College in Manitoba; he is in his second year.
3. Continued and stable financial support for the next years as we continue to serve the Lord in Roatán, Honduras.
4. The ongoing construction in Coxen Hole. Pray for the remaining installation stages: Cement concrete for the floor at the moment.
5. Our congregations: St. Peter by the Sea in Brick Bay, and Emmanuel in Coxen Hole, that we can embrace the new year with a different way of worshiping, but focusing on Jesus Christ.
6. Please pray for the Rev. Robert Browning and for his ministry to English-speakers in Eastern Roatán.
7. Evangelism and practical outreach in the local communities in the midst of the pandemic.
8. For leadership for the Church in Roatán that embraces the new challenges as we serve in the Kingdom of God.
9. The Episcopal Church in Honduras and our Bishop Lloyd Allen
Thank you to all who have faithfully prayed and faithfully given to support this incredible work of ministering to the people in our congregations.
Matthew 25:40: “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” Your prayers and continued support enable us to continue touching people’s lives with Jesus’ love.
Ms. Jane Martinez, principal of St. Hilda's Anglican School in Belize, sent us some photos of 'St. Hilda's Harvest', a recent event where the students collected and packaged items for senior citizens in their neighbourhoods. View the gallery below to see photos of this special event.
Christ Church Cathedral provides funds each year to help provide necessities for the elementary school, which educates approximately 200 children between kindergarten and grade 8. Over 60 Cathedral members ranging in age from 15 to 79 have gone on a mission trip to Belize between 2005-2018, and hundreds of people in Fredericton have supported the work through organizational support, donations and prayers.
The Cathedral's four high school scholarship recipients, Korey, Edvin, Jenniah and Gian, continue their efforts. Two of the scholarship students had a difficult year due to pandemic challenges and family circumstances, but both have persevered and improved their marks in the recent semester. We have high hopes for all of the students' continued success at overcoming obstacles.
In Belize, the average age at which a child leaves school is 13 years old, because of the prohibitive costs of tuition for high school, which is not publicly funded. Unemployment in the country is high, there are many large single-parent families, and almost half of Belizeans live below the poverty line. In 2010, Cathedral mission team members established a high school scholarship program which has allowed St. Hilda’s students to apply for a scholarship to continue their education past grade 8. Some of the graduates supported by the Cathedral have gone on to post-secondary education.
Please pray for the students and teachers at St. Hilda's School, our scholarship students, and their families. Contributions towards the Belize mission are welcome and appreciated, especially during these pandemic times when the Missions Committee has not been able to hold a fundraiser. You may give and receive a charitable tax receipt by making an online donation or submitting a donation marked 'Belize' through the Cathedral office or offering plate.
Scroll through the photos below from St. Hilda’s Harvest:
New Brunswick Public Health has published the COVID-19 Winter Plan which informs all sectors of current restrictions and protocols. Visit the website for information about how the Plan will affect your activities.
Level 2 (revised) comes into effect at midnight, 27 December 2021. We continue watchful and will implement and communicate changes as needed. For faith venues, Level 2 introduces additional restrictions.
An appeal is being made to reduce the number in groups gathering in homes and elsewhere during the Christmas Season, reduced to a steady 10 in Level 2.
Most importantly, our capacity at worship gatherings is reduced to 50%, again requiring 2 metres of distance between bubbles and masks are required at all times. No corporate singing is allowed, which means that there will be no congregational singing but a soloist at 4 metres distance is allowed. We will continue to require proof of vaccination upon entry. Please be as understanding as possible with greeters as they are asking to see verifications in staying within Public Health requirements.
Groups and events at the Memorial Hall are also limited to 50% capacity, two metres of distance, masks at all times (except briefly when eating or drinking while seated), and proof of vaccination.
To review
Proof of double vaccination or medical exemption is currently required for anyone 12+ attending worship in the Cathedral or visiting Memorial Hall. Please remember to bring your vaccine record to worship and group events, and wear your mask. Leaders of groups holding meetings at Cathedral Memorial Hall will be responsible for checking proof of vaccination for those attending [details]. Individuals visiting during office hours please check-in at the Cathedral Office.
The current Sunday bulletin will continue to outline restrictions in place, including:
NO CORPORATE SINGING - the Omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus is proving to be quickly spread and readily airborne. Some studies have indicated that singing in groups can add an unnecessary risk of transmission if someone happens to be infected.
VACCINATION STATUS - Proof of full vaccination is required for all age 12 and up at the Cathedral. ID will be required for those not known to greeters. These requirements apply similarly to weddings, funerals, and events held in Cathedral Memorial Hall as per current direction by Public Health.
FACE MASKS - The Government of New Brunswick currently mandates wearing masks in gatherings.
As always thank you for your continuing cooperation as we care for ourselves and others.
Worship livestreams are available at worship times and as recorded on our YouTube channel. Audio podcasts are also available. Listen here. Get notification of new podcast episodes when you Subscribe here.
The Health Ministry Team is willing to assist members of the congregation with making appointments for vaccinations and answering health questions. Please contact Parish Nurse <nurse at christchurchcathedral.com>.
If you have questions or concerns, please contact the Cathedral Office <office at christchurchcathedral.com> or phone (506) 450-8500, or the Dean <dean at christchurchcathedral.com> or (506) 450-7761.
For your consideration: Some Canadian epidemiologists are suggesting moving to n95 respirator-type masks with the surge in COVID-19 due to the Omicron variant.
There is some evidence that points to it being airborne, and cloth masks and even surgical masks offer less effective protection. This news article addresses the discussion of which type of mask will be most effective.
If you feel you are wanting to switch your cloth/medial mask for an N95 or KN95, remember that FIT is the key here. For an N95 to work as it is intended, there must be a SEAL around the entire edge. The area of the bridge of the nose, and under your chin seem to be main problem areas when forming the seal. If you can feel air moving in or out from the edges of the mask when you are breathing, then you need to re-adjust, or may need a different size or type. Be sure to read and follow the directions provided with the purchase of your N95 mask, if you choose to go that route.
In typical New Brunswick fashion, we are a bit behind in the Omicron surge compared to our neighbours, which gives us a few extra moments to plan how we can adapt. This gift likely will not last long, and I suspect we will be hearing more about N95 usage in the coming days.
As always, my intent is to inform and update you all in as timely a manner as possible so you can make informed decisions. This was something I found interesting and valuable, and wanted to pass it along. Please take care, and reach out with any concerns or questions. We can get through this pandemic together.
With access to primary health care becoming increasingly challenging, have you heard of New Brunswick's e-Visit program? It is very simple to book an appointment online, and can save you long wait times in the ER. They can handle many urgent health care needs and send a needed prescription right to your pharmacist. The best part is that you do not have to leave your home, as it is done over the phone or video.
We all know someone (or many someones) currently without a family doctor. Even if you are blessed to have one, there are times when we cannot access them the same day, and you may have a more urgent need. It makes it challenging for continuity of care, and it can be a major challenge to book in a walk-in clinic or end up in the ER for something that could have been managed with a simple visit.
For a fee of about $49 you can book online to have a virtual appointment with a nurse practitioner who can manage treatment for many ailments and health inquiries. While this may not be the ideal answer for all, it may help in a pinch considering the current state of health related affairs in New Brunswick.
e-VisitNB is very straightforward to use, but if you need assistance, I'd be glad to help! Email or phone the Cathedral Office (506) 450-8500.
PHONE MINISTRY: 12 Things to Attend To in Phone Visits
