Advent will start on 01 December, so check to see if you need Advent candles!
Mothers' Union will be selling candle sets for $20 after worship on Sunday, 17 and 24 November and 01 December.
The cost is $20 for a five candle set and booklet ‘Celebrating Advent at Home’.
Candle sets can also be pre-ordered. Please make delivery/pick-up arrangements with Susan Watson. Email <bagel.watson at hotmail.com>.
Mothers' Union volunteers served students at university 'Pause Tables' in April 2024. Held during exam weeks, the event has become a welcome tradition.
The 'Pause Table' initiative has become one that is welcomed by university students during exam week.
Campus ministries at the University of New Brunswick and St. Thomas University are once again collaborating with faith communities to host the Pause Tables during upcoming exams, and the Cathedral branch of Mothers' Union will be participating again this year.
Volunteers will provide free food, beverages, a listening ear, and conversation, and handwritten personalized notes to give students a break from studying. Mothers’ Union will host a Pause Table on Monday, 09 December, 2024.
Donations of food from the congregation would be greatly appreciated. Non-perishable items such as hot chocolate, granola bars, juice boxes, microwaveable noodles etc.) can be delivered to the Hall Kitchen any day during office hours (9:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon). Perishable items (baked goods, sandwiches, fruit, etc.). can be dropped off on Sunday, 08 December during services. Please mark items for UNB.
Mothers' Union also welcomes anyone who would like to spend some time at the Pause Table interacting with students. Contact Diane Nash <mrsnash68 at gmail.com> or Susan Watson <bagel.watson at hotmail.com> if you have any further questions or wish to be added to the schedule for that day.
The Robinson and McKnight girls helped to decorate the trees in the Cathedral.
Sixty-five paper angels from Greener Village (the Fredericton food bank) are waiting to be chosen from small Christmas trees in the Cathedral. Each requests a specific Christmas gift for a needy boy or girl in our city.
Please print your name and telephone number on one of the clipboards to indicate which angel you're adopting (each clipboard lists different numbers). This is important in case you misplace your angel, and helps us keep track of the gifts. Bring the unwrapped gift, with the paper angel firmly attached, to the Cathedral on Sunday, 24 November. Drop-off boxes will be set up near the angel tree.
If you can't bring your gift on Sunday, please take it to the Cathedral Office any weekday between 9 a.m. and noon. The final deadline is Monday, 25 November at 12:00 noon.
Please mark your calendar - the Outreach Committee will have to buy any gifts missing at the final deadline.
If you have previously participated in this program, you will notice a change to the angels. This year, instead of asking for stocking stuffers, Greener Village is requesting a $25 Regent Mall gift card. This will allow parents the flexibility to choose stocking stuffers that suit their child's unique interests.
For over 30 years, the Angel Tree program in Fredericton has provided gifts for children in need, and the Cathedral congregation has been involved for over 25 years. The need is great, and this year, Greener Village anticipates filling wishes for over 2000 children in our city.
Another way to give:
Would you prefer to support Christmas outreach initiatives in a different way? Write a cheque payable to Christ Church Cathedral and indicate Christmas Outreach on the memo line or mark your offering envelope. As in past years, these funds will be divided equally among the Fredericton Homeless Shelters, Women in Transition House Inc. and the Fredericton Community Kitchen. Please deliver these cheques to the Cathedral Office by Friday, 13 December, to allow time for distribution to the charities.
Doug Milander hands out vouchers to guests attending the monthly Outreach program.
Each month, volunteers from the Cathedral's Outreach Committee gather inside Cathedral Memorial Hall to offer support and hospitality to our neighbours.
When people in need visit Cathedral Memorial Hall for an Outreach drop-in, they receive a $10 grocery store gift card or bus tickets and a goodie bag containing fresh fruit, baked goods, a drink, a sandwich, and treats. Guests can also choose from a selection of non-perishable grocery items. During the Outreach program, visitors are also invited to choose items from tables of seasonal clothing and household items donated by members of the congregation and community. They are thankful for the the shirts, jackets, footwear, hats, gloves, water bottles, towels, and personal care items such as soap, toothbrushes and toothpaste.
Charlotte McKnight and Sharon Miller set-up a table of children's items.
The need in our community is great, and volunteers typically help between 50-70 guests at each gathering.
The program would not be possible without the assistance of many people from the Cathedral and other churches (St. Margaret's Anglican Church and New Maryland United Church). Volunteers help onsite or with advance preparation, and others assist with baking. Many others regularly donate items or funds. We sincerely appreciate everyone's assistance!
Guests receive sandwiches, baked goods, fruit and non-perishable food items.
Recent requests:
The Outreach Committee has had requests from people in need for a few specific items: snow pants for a 7-year-old boy; mittens and winter hats for children; bottles of shampoo and body wash; a table to hold a computer and printer. Except for the toiletries, those items do not need to be new. Thanks for your support!
Ann Deveau displays warm, pretty lap blankets handcrafted by Mary Coffill Deveau of Kentville, NS, for people in need in Fredericton
Upcoming Outreach days:
* Monday, November 25, 9:30 - 10:30 a.m.
* Monday, December 16, 9:30 - 10:30 a.m.
Click here to learn more about outreach activities supported by the Cathedral congregation.
If you would like to help prepare food or volunteer to help onsite, please contact the Cathedral Office (506) 450-8500.
The Fall season is here and it is beautiful!
Along with this weather comes the flu, increasing numbers of COVID cases, and various viruses and colds. Flu vaccines and COVID vaccines, if not available now, will be very soon. Health care providers and pharmacies will be able to advise us and administer the vaccines.
Hand washing frequently, masking to protect yourself and others, and staying home when ill, are ways to protect ourselves and others.
Thank you for your care.
October is Clergy Appreciation Month. Take some time to say thank you to our clergy! We are blessed by all that they do to support our congregation and community, through their leadership, faithfulness, integrity, pastoral care and prayer.
Our Cathedral congregation is blessed with the service of Dean Geoffrey Hall, Canon Jon Lownds, Canon Rod Black, Deacon Debbie Edmondson, and Deacon Isabel Cutler. We are also thankful for our Director of Christian Formation, Kurt Schmidt, and our Director of Music, Thomas Gonder, whose contributions enhance our worship and ministries.
Please join the members of Bishop and Chapter in expressing our appreciation for all that they do.
Special thanks also to Archbishop David Edwards for his service and leadership across the Diocese of Fredericton!
We were pleased to welcome National Indigenous Anglican Archbishop Chris Harper to the Cathedral on Sunday, 15 September.
It was a privilege to learn from him. If you were not able to attend and hear him preach, watch a recording of the service.
Following worship, we were treated to a corn boil and picnic on the lawn. It was a beautiful and warm day, and many people stayed for food and fellowship. Special thanks to the Welcome and Hospitality Committee, and the many volunteers who pitched in to make the event possible.
Photos from the event are below, including some prep volunteers, Archbishop Harper with a Bishop's Crozier presented to him by the Parish of St. Andrews, and members of the congregation enjoying the event.
The NB Anglican has also posted an article about the Archbishop's visit to New Brunswick.
As another year begins at St. Hilda's Anglican Elementary School, the Belize Mission committee acknowledges the hard work and dedication of the teachers. May they and the students have a positive start to this new school year. Please keep them in your prayers.
Please also remember in your prayers our Cathedral high school scholarship students, Korey Kelly (grade 12), Caleb Martinez (grade 11), Sylvia Trapp (grade 10), and new scholarship recipient, Amalio Revolorio, who is entering grade 9.
Are you familiar with the story of how the Cathedral congregation became involved in Belize, and why we offer a scholarship program for high school tuition? Read on!
About the Cathedral's Belize High School Scholarship Program
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. High school is not publicly funded in Belize, and many families do not have the financial ability to pay for their children to attend. Unemployment in the country is high, there are many large single-parent families, and almost half of Belizeans live below the poverty line.
Currently, the congregation of Christ Church Cathedral provides scholarships for four students who would not able to attend high school without support. Each scholarship is $1000 CAD per year, and we currently support one student in each of the four grades of high school. This additional education provides the teenagers with important skills and opportunities which can improve their lives.
The Cathedral has a special relationship with the staff and students of St. Hilda’s Anglican School, an elementary in the rural village of Georgeville. Over two hundred children attend the school, ranging between kindergarten and grade 8, in addition to a recently established preschool.
Cathedral teams have travelled to Belize five times: in 2005, 2007, 2010, 2013 and 2018. Over 60 Cathedral members ranging in age from 15 to 79 have participated in a mission trip to Belize, and hundreds of people in Fredericton have supported the work at St. Hilda's through organizational support, donations and prayers.
In 2010, Cathedral mission team members established a high school scholarship program which has allowed students from St. Hilda’s to apply for a scholarship to continue their education past grade 8. Some of the graduates supported by the Cathedral have continued on to post-secondary education, and all have gained knowledge and experience that will help them in their future.
We are grateful for all who have helped to provide scholarships for these teenagers, and support for programs at the elementary school. Learn more about our mission work in Belize.
You can contribute to the mission in Belize through offering envelopes or donate online.
If you are interested in participating in future endeavors benefiting the students in Belize, please contact the Cathedral Office to connect with members of the Belize mission committee.
The Cathedral's Prayer Shawl Ministry began in 2006 during the early stages of the Parish Nurse and Health Ministry. It was under the leadership of the late Wendy Brien, and she soon invited Marilyn Lewell to join her in making the shawls.
Prayer Shawl Ministries exist worldwide, and provide shawls free of charge to anyone who requests one. We make them primarily for those who are undergoing stress in their lives, usually for health reasons, but we have made them for happy occasions as well, such as weddings and births. Since these are for the women, our team decided to make soft fleece blankets for men. They are washable and cozy, and provide much comfort.
Since the Cathedral Prayer Shawl Ministry began, we have made almost 300 shawls, and 82 blankets for all ages and genders. They are wrapped in tissue and presented in a gift bag, accompanied by appropriate, beautiful prayers. Some families have even buried them with their loved ones or wrapped the shawl around the urn during a funeral service.
If you know of anyone who would benefit from a shawl or blanket, please contact the Cathedral Office or the Dean.
Unfortunately, we have lost our team of crafters, and Marilyn Lewell is currently the sole maker of blankets and shawls. If you wish to become a knitter, crocheter, or blanket maker for the Prayer Shawl Ministry, or donate to the cost of the yarn and/or fleece, please let the Office know.
- by Marilyn Lewell
