Join us at Christ Church Cathedral on Monday, 21 December, at 7:00 p.m. for a Blue Christmas.
Visit the Cathedral Signup or contact the Cathedral office Monday to Friday, 9:00 - 12 Noon, to reserve your spot.
The idea of a “Blue Christmas” may be new to you. Behind it is the intention to provide a quiet, contemplative time of worship as an alternative to the more traditional gatherings at this time of year as a way to care for those who are sad or struggling while all around us are getting caught up in Christmas celebration.
In the northern hemisphere, these worship opportunities are also known as prayers on “the Longest Night.” Both tend to be held around 21–22 December -- the winter solstice when the earth tips farthest away from the sun and evening creeps in as early as it ever does.
We acknowledge many during this season who are struggling with different kinds of pain and loss at the moment. Whether this year you’re feeling the loss of a loved one, separation from family due to pandemic restrictions or other reasons, the holidays in any number of ways are going to be especially challenging this year, or if you would like to be part of an effort to prayerfully support those who are feeling this way, the Blue Christmas is for you. Many in our local community are saying they are just ‘not feeling very Christmassy’ this year.
Behind it is the intention to provide a quiet, contemplative time of worship
On the evening of December 21st, we’ll quietly recognize the coming of the baby in the manger, a fact of history. The incarnate One can easily be dismissed as irrelevant especially when our hearts are heavy. But most especially we’ll consider the way the God of love comes too in the midst of the mess and pain we know in our everyday lives and the lives of those around us.
November 18th was the Feast of Saint Hilda. Members of the Cathedral congregation will recognize Saint Hilda’s name, through our connection with St. Hilda’s Anglican School in Belize.
Mission groups from Christ Church Cathedral have travelled to Belize five times: in 2005, 2007, 2010, 2013 and 2018, and through these trips, bonds have been formed with the staff and students of St. Hilda’s, an elementary school in the rural village of Georgeville. Two hundred children attend the school, ranging between kindergarten and grade 8. Over 60 Cathedral members ranging in age from 15 to 79 have gone on a mission trip to Belize, and hundreds of people in Fredericton have supported the work through organizational support, donations and prayers.
To commemorate the life and work of Saint Hilda, at the worship service in the Cathedral on November 18, Canon Patricia Drummond shared these words.
Hilda was born in 614 A.D. She was a daughter in a royal household at the time when England had different royal families in various areas of the country. She was baptised a Christian at 13, but lived a secular life for 33 years. Then she became a nun. In 657 she was appointed the founding abbess of Whitby College and remained there until she died in 680. She followed strict ideals of monasticism - all property and goods were held in common, peace and charity were considered especially important, and everyone must study the Bible and do good works.
Hilda had a lot of wisdom and energy, and was a very skilled administrator and teacher. Kings and princes often asked her for advice.
St Hilda is the patron saint of the National Cathedral School for girls in Washington, D.C. Hers is also the name given to St Hilda's College in Oxford, established for female students, but now a college for both men and women.
For the last 7 years of her life Hilda was sick. She died on November 17th, 680 at 66 years old. In those days 66 was considered an advanced age. A man living nearby claimed he saw her soul being taken to heaven by angels.
St Hilda was an excellent example of someone who, as in St Paul's letter to the Ephesians (4:1-6), which was read earlier, lived a life worthy of the calling she had received, with humility, gentleness and patience, bearing with others in love.
Learn more about Saint Hilda in this video from the National Cathedral in Washington, DC. Canon Dana Corsello speaks enthusiastically about St. Hilda during the morning prayer service (approximately between the 5-and-11-minute marks). She calls Hilda "a ray of light during the Dark Ages," referring to her as brilliant and as a strong proponent of Celtic spirituality. She was a princess in Britain before becoming an abbess, teacher and peacemaker. There is a school for girls situated at that cathedral, which is named after St. Hilda.
Normally in November, a healthy crop of paper angels appears on small trees in the cathedral and in the hall foyer.
Carefully printed on each angel is a name, an age and a particular toy to make Christmas special for a needy child in our community. Members of the congregation would excitedly crowd around the trees to adopt the angels and, later, return bags and boxes of toys and stocking stuffers.
“In recent years, the Outreach Committee has gotten 60 paper angels from the Greener Village Food Bank, collected and delivered everything on deadline, and took heart that our congregation was so generous,” explained committee treasurer Doug Milander.
“This year, due to the pandemic, we really didn't feel it was smart or safe to carry out the Christmas Angels program in the usual way,” Doug continued. “However, we didn't want to disappoint families registered with the food bank because the cathedral has participated eagerly in the Christmas effort for well over 25 years.”
Outreach Committee chair Penny Ericson provides a cheque for $1,800 to a delighted Chris Fougère, client intake manager with the Greener Village Food Bank. The money covers the cost of 60 toys and stocking stuffers ordinarily donated by the cathedral congregation under the Christmas Angels program for needy families.
The solution for 2020 was to donate an amount of money equivalent to the value of 60 toys and stocking stuffers. Managers at the food bank were relieved and grateful to learn that the cathedral could still help to make the festive season bright during this unusual year.
“We brought a cheque for $1,800 so that the food bank can buy what it needs for these families,” Doug said. “It won't be as much fun for the congregation this time, but the help will be provided as in the past which will put smiles on children's faces on Christmas morning.”
The Outreach Committee dipped into its budget to come up with the $1,800. If anyone would like to help with the cost of the project, funds can be donated to Christmas Angels through offering envelopes or by contacting the church office during business hours.
“Thanks in advance to anyone who considers assistance in this regard,” Doug concluded. “We pray that 2021 can revert to normal for the Christmas Angels.”
by Ann Deveau
PHOTO CAPTION: Outreach Committee chair Penny Ericson provides a cheque for $1,800 to a delighted Chris Fougère, client intake manager with the Greener Village Food Bank. The money covers the cost of 60 toys and stocking stuffers ordinarily donated by the cathedral congregation under the Christmas Angels program for needy families.
Although Farraline Place could not hold its annual fall fundraising gala dinner due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the ongoing work and caring of its residents has not been cancelled. The challenge is ongoing to make a home for low-to-modest income residents, and this particular year is more crucial than previous years.
A virtual fundraiser was held with tickets $50 per person, and donations of any amount are still being accepted. For details about how you can support the home's important work, call Sharon Simms (Farraline Board) at (506) 452-8909 or Judy O’Donnell (home administrator) at (506) 455-6443.
How many of us have heard the above phrase in our working lives? It is an exhortation to use your time wisely so you can produce more with less effort and is typically well understood by everyone. Have you thought about stewardship in the same way? We all know of the tax benefits that come from donating to a registered charity, and I have written on this on a number of occasions.
Let’s look at food banks for example. How many of us add a few extra cans of soup, boxes of Kraft Dinner, or pasta to our grocery carts and donate it in the bin after we check out at the cash register?
We all know of the tax benefits that come from donating to a registered charity
Volunteering at a local food bank two afternoons most weeks, I can certainly see the need, especially now with all the restrictions and unemployment due to COVID-19, although New Brunswick is faring better than most provinces.
Instead of buying those extra items, welcome though they are, have you considered donating directly to the local food bank or to Food Depot Alimentaire, the organization that distributes to the food banks?
I’ve illustrated the advantages of doing this in a table. The food banks do not have enough food donations to fulfill their needs so they go out and purchase.
Due to their bulk purchases, the major chains give them a price break — more product for the same dollar amount. I had not thought about this until our parish had the executive of a local food bank give us a talk. If you think about what you spend, then gross it up to allow for the tax relief, then donate that amount, you have spent the same after-tax dollars. However, the food bank is able to use those grossed-up dollars and purchase much more. The end result is that for the same after-tax donation to the food bank, they receive far more product than if you had donated the product itself.
As you can see, the first column is an illustration of giving product directly. The second shows donating the same amount of cash, lowering your after-tax cost but giving the food bank extra.
The last column shows the result of giving so your net aftertax cost remains the same as donating product but the food bank receives three times the product that you would donate directly.
In New Brunswick the tax relief is a little below 50 percent, but I have used that percentage for ease of illustration. This is just one example of smart stewardship where you leverage the tax advantages so your charitable donation goes much further.
Think about all you do and whether there is a way to give smarter and benefit your chosen charities.
It was a long stretch (pun intended!) without yoga classes at Cathedral Memorial Hall. Thanks to the pandemic, the popular weekly classes ended abruptly on March 9th and finally resumed Sept. 21st.
Parish nurse Kathleen Snow, who organizes this wellness activity, is pleased that the classes can finally resume although certain restrictions are necessary.
“Participants must sanitize their hands upon arrival and sign in and out of the hall,” Kathleen said. “People have been asked to bring their own yoga mats, pillows and blankets rather than use items stored at the hall although some extra, sanitized mats will be available for the Monday afternoon classes.”
She added that people must maintain physical distancing while in the hall, but it isn't difficult since the mats are always set up a good distance apart even in normal times. The floor, with its pattern of foot-square tiles, makes it simple to stick to the rule of staying six feet (2m) apart.
While entering and leaving the building, and while setting up the mats, people must wear masks. However, it's permissible to remove them during the actual yoga practice. It could get hot and uncomfortable otherwise.
The first class attracted a mix of 13 new members and eager returnees who know that this type of self-care can help reduce stress and inspire well-being. The instructor, Tammy Blyth, said breathing deeply and deliberately provides oxygen to nourish the body; it can also relax the brain and nervous system.
Tammy also pointed out that exercise and stretching not only boost the effectiveness of the lungs and circulatory system, but can also lift the spirits. That's something most of us need in these trying pandemic times when life is so different.
Eric and Jane Hadley agreed it was good to be back for the physical and social aspects of the class. Although they kept busy all summer with gardening, hiking and biking, they looked forward to the resumption of yoga and the chance to see friends from the congregation and the community.
“I find that the gentle warm-ups to loosen shoulders, neck and back are helpful,” Ann Deveau said, “and the mix of standing and reclining poses can gradually increase mobility for people like me who are challenged by the stiffness of osteoarthritis.”
The yoga classes start at 1:30 p.m. on Monday afternoons except public holidays, last one hour and cost $5 per session. Kathleen asks people to arrive a few minutes early, due to the need for physical distancing and a requirement for newcomers to register the first time they participate.
I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. (Philippians 1:3-5, NIV)
We give all glory and honour to the Lord for your partnering with us. Without your support and especially your prayers, our ministry would never have been possible or impact our generation. We give our heartfelt special thanks to all of you for your sacrificial giving.
Emmanuel Episcopal Church
Time has passed quickly; in the blink of an eye, six months of pandemic have passed and of course there are many things that we have learned to do differently, in the church as well as personally.
I remember reading about the plans for reconstruction of the walls of the City of Jerusalem, a great project that God put in the hands of Nehemiah. Nehemiah Chapter 2:11
Today we are approaching the time when we will reopen the church buildings of the Anglican Church in Honduras. There are great challenges ahead, but we will put forth our best effort to rebuild the Kingdom of God in the midst of the pandemic. This will not be easy, but it is possible with God help.
We will rebuild the Kingdom of God, minister to wounded hearts, assist unemployed families, mourn lost loved ones, and create new ways of evangelism and the studying of the Word of God.
The kingdom of God will continue to grow and we thank God for your life, your family and your churches, who have not left us alone, but have always prayed for our ministry with faith. Not only have you prayed, your have also made financial sacrifices with love and have given to our ministry. We are truly very grateful to God and to each of you for your sacrifice.
God will continue to honor your lives, your families and your churches.
What is happening in our family?
God has been good to our family. Our son Stephen started classes at Providence University in Winnipeg, and Rev. Kara de Mejia arrived back in Roatan recently, after visiting and sharing with her brothers and sisters-in-law who had not seen her in a long time.
Our daughter Kelly will complete her entire educational year online, with new processes to which we have had to adapt.
Stephen is adapting very well to the first year of university. Fortunately, with the help of scholarships and other financial aid, he has been able to pay for his fall tuition. Please pray that he will find a job to pay for his winter tuition.
If you would like to contact Stephen, please send him an email at this address: [email protected]
“To catch you up over the last couple of weeks, we did feed between 700 and 750 the week before last. Last week back to 600+. The new stove and refrigerator (used) are working out fabulously. We are experimenting with beans to see what we can stretch. We are also looking into pricing hot dog spaghetti (I am reserving judgement but my Honduran friends insist that it is delicious). We are maintaining each serving at less than 50 cents including the plates and forks.
Things are getting pretty bad here with petty crime and desperation for food. People are literally standing out in the middle of the street holding out a hand for drivers to give them money. There are people walking through the grocery store asking that we buy cereal and milk powder so they can feed their kids. There are so many people asking for money that we have started handing out uncooked rice and beans. It only helps for a couple of meals but there are so many asking, it is all we can do.
And even we are having to make difficult decisions in these difficult times. We are so grateful to those of you who have supported the mission and helped feed the hungry, but the reality is that those funds have been spent and the food has been eaten. We are at a real crossroads here and are facing the idea that we may not be able to continue helping without some financial assistance. We have reached into our own pockets to our absolute limits.
We are almost out of money and will need to cut back unless we can get more in. They have no jobs, money, or means of escape. The airport is beginning to accept international travelers but it is a drop in the bucket compared to the cruise ships that won’t be back until next year. These are the children of Christ, our brothers and sisters. Please consider helping us feed the people of Roatan.”
To see weekly updates and support this project, please go to: www.tttfmicro.com
Please pray that all the resources will be obtained to continue with this project for the benefit of individuals and families on the Bay Islands who are impacted by Covid 19.
Impact of Covid 19 in Honduras and Roatan
To update you on the impact of Covid 19 on Honduras, at the moment we have 71,616 cases. There have been 2,185 deaths and 22,065 people have recovered. We in Roatán have over 1128 cases confirmed at the moment;151 people have recovered and there have been 17 deaths.
There are 24 people at the Hospital and 43 at the Covid 19 center.
On September 21st a group of nurses and doctors arrived in Roatan from the mainland to help with the Covid impact on the Island.
Roatan Emmanuel Episcopal Church
At Emmanuel Episcopal/Anglican Church our building continues to be closed. Our Diocesan Bishop Lloyd Allen called the Episcopal Church in Honduras to be prepared with the biosecurity protocol to open our buildings when the government approves. The protocol includes all the regulations regarding being in the building and celebrating the Eucharist, Morning or Evening Prayer.
Projects at Emmanuel Church
We finished the stucco of a side wall of the church, a small project that we had to pause due to government regulations, and also stained the doors of the church, providing some work for one of the kids at the church.
Stucco of the side wall
We also help families pay for electricity, medications and groceries.
There is not much that we can do, but we focus on the maintenance of the building until we can meet again to worship.
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 rest of the year our support will stabilize and be sufficient to cover our needs. At the moment our balance is very low. Therefore, please consider sending a special offering to cover our expenses and needs.
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”.
Cheques should be made payable to “The Diocesan Synod of Fredericton” and sent to: Anglican Diocesan Synod of Fredericton, 115 Church Street, Fredericton, NB E3B 4C8
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.
Please continue to pray for:
1. Please continue to pray for Roatan and Honduras at a difficult time caused by Covid 19.
2. Pray for Stephen Mejia Thompson, our son as he continues studying at Providence University College in Manitoba and for him to find a job to provide for his expenses.
3. Please pray for our Diocese in Honduras that is struggling financially to cover all the clergy stipends as Bishop Lloyd Emmanuel Allen said.
4. Continued and stable financial support for the next years as we continue to serve the Lord in Roatán, Honduras.
5. The ongoing construction in Coxen Hole. Pray for the remaining installation stages: Cement concrete for the floor at the moment.
6. Our congregations: St. Peter by the Sea in Brick Bay, and Emmanuel in Coxen Hole.
7. Please pray for the Rev. Robert Browning and for his ministry to English-speakers in Eastern Roatán.
8. For youth leadership, that God will provide someone to minister to and guide the young people.
9. Evangelism and practical outreach in the local communities in the midst of the pandemic.
10. For leadership for the Church in Roatán.
11. The Episcopal Church in Honduras, for the process toward self-sufficiency to be continued in 2020.
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.
Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen. Ephesians 3:20-21
Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ! Many of you have been keeping up with us regularly over the last few months, as we evacuated Belize, as we continued ministering remotely with our congregations, schools and diocese in Belize, and as we prayed urgently for our people there when cases began to climb dramatically last month. We want to thank you for your partnership with us in your prayers, in your giving, and in your words of encouragement during what has been some of the hardest six months of our lives. Again, thank you so much!
Mary Beth and I have two important things we need to share with you this week:
We are beyond excited to announce that Austin has a younger brother! James Edward Alenskis was born this week, and both he and his mother are doing very well. Please join with us in expressing our joy and thanksgiving to God who kept Mary Beth and James safe throughout the length of her pregnancy!
We are also excited to announce that we are entering a new season of ministry as SAMS missionaries, one during which we will be preparing ourselves to serve on the mission field in the realm of theological education and ministry development.I encourage you to watch the following video discussing these changes. In the video Mary Beth and I share the vision that God has put on our hearts for discipling and raising up leaders to serve Christ and his church … and SAMS president Stewart Wicker even has a cameo presenting his perspective on these new vistas in mission. You can check it out here: A Special Address.Please also read our blog update regarding our transition to a new season of ministry as SAMS missionaries: New Horizons.The short version is this: in order to answer God’s call to serve the church by teaching and equipping emerging leaders, and with the support of SAMS and the bishops to whom we are accountable, this month I am beginning a PhD in Theological Studies through Wycliffe College, an orthodox Anglican college that forms part of the University of Toronto. When the Canadian border actually opens to us, we will be moving to the greater Toronto area for the next 4–6 years in order to pursue this new direction for our ministry. This means that although our time in Belize will be coming to a conclusion, we will also still be serving as full-time SAMS missionaries and will still be in need of your fervent prayers and financial support.
On that note, I should add that your continued gifts to our ministry are crucial as we anticipate a much higher cost of living in Toronto than in Belize. We have been granted some scholarship funds by Wycliffe and by SAMS, but we will be covering the majority of my tuition and school fees from out of our family’s budget. Your financial support will help ensure that we are able to rent a modest apartment, feed our family, and raise our children over the next few years, allowing us to truly focus on finishing my academic program and therefore get back on the mission field as soon as possible.
Friends, we understand that you probably have some serious questions for us, and we would love to answer them, not only via email, but through Skype or FaceTime or Zoom or even an old-fashioned phone call. So please let us know how best to touch base with you, and we’ll do our best to make it happen.
Until then, know that we are deeply grateful for your partnership and collaboration with us, for your willingness to be stakeholders in our ministry abroad. May the Lord richly bless you and everything that you are doing, not only for our growing family, but for Christ and his Kingdom!
Had it not been for a conversation with a nun from Chicago, Kurt Schmidt might never had ended up in Fredericton. Between then and now, there were stops in Cape Breton, Tanzania, Tacoma, Halifax and Windsor, Nova Scotia.
Kurt, 45, was raised a Roman Catholic in Littleton, just outside Denver, Colorado, and attended a Jesuit high school.
“I grew up in the Roman Catholic tradition,” he said. “It’s pretty deep in my family. My mom is the only one in her family not a monk or a nun at one time. We’re Irish Catholic and German Catholic.”
After high school he studied mathematics and African studies at Colorado College, and connected with a small monastic community, called Nada, which had a relationship with his college. In his final year, Kurt did an independent study that included a stay at the monastery.
“While there I followed the rules of the monastery,” he said. “I was living as a monk while doing the study.”
There, over chores, he met the nun whose conversation would change his life.
“She asked me what I was doing after university, and said ‘why don’t you check out this remarkable community in Cape Breton?’”
She’d visited and had written a story about L’Arche Cape Breton. He read the story, and promptly wrote a letter asking if they had any room for him.
The L’Arche website says it is a worldwide organization that creates inclusive communities where the members, with and without intellectual disabilities, share life together. Each member receives support to grow, achieve goals, and contribute their gifts and abilities to create a more colourful, welcoming, creative, compassionate, and joyful community. Members live life together while working, learning and sharing their gifts. It has strong Catholic roots and United church influences.
From Colorado to Cape Breton
Kurt’s letter to L’Arche was obviously well-received.
“Four weeks later I was on a plane to this mysterious place called Cape Breton,” said Kurt. “It was my first experience of intentional community living. L’Arche Cape Breton is the only rural L’Arche community. It has a very special character. It was a really transforming experience for me.”
Transforming indeed, because while there, he met Catherine, his future wife and an Anglican, who was from Guelph, Ontario.
Kurt spent one year at L’Arche as an assistant, in exchange for room and board and a small stipend, “but it’s not really a practical career move,” he said.
From Cape Breton, he moved to Tanzania to teach for a year with Jesuit Volunteers International, another communal living experience in “the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen, and another non-paying job.”
Meanwhile, since this was 1999, he and Catherine kept in contact through letters, though he knows many were lost in the mail.
Married life
“On my return to North America, my first stop was Cape Breton,” he said. “Catherine and I got engaged.”
They spent their engagement year in another L’Arche community, this time in Tacoma, Washington. It was here, through L’Arche’s help, that he was able to pay off his student loan.
The couple was married in 2001 in Ancaster, Ontario at Canterbury Hills, an Anglican camp. It was an Anglican-Catholic service to honour the religious backgrounds of the bride and groom. Kurt’s uncle, a priest, was one of the celebrants.
The date was Sept. 9, and those guests who hadn’t left Ontario by 10 September, including his parents, were stuck there for a week as North American air travel was halted due to the 9-11 attacks in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania.
Kurt and Catherine chose Halifax to begin married life, and as they arrived Sept. 11, learned of the attacks.
That first year of marriage was a lean one, said Kurt, with Catherine finding work in home health care. Kurt, ineligible to work in Canada, managed to do some private tutoring.
A year later, his employment visa came through just in time for him to find work as a math teacher at King’s-Edgehill, a prestigious, very proper old Anglican boarding school in Windsor, N.S. He’d sent his resume on a whim. The day before it arrived, the math teacher had backed out of his contract.
With just eight days before the term began, they made a very quick move to Windsor, ultimately spending four happy years there. For three of those years, Catherine was a student at Dalhousie University, taking occupational therapy certification.
From Windsor to Fredericton
At graduation, Catherine was offered a job in Fredericton, and like she had done for Kurt, he resigned at the end of the term and followed her to the city that is now their home.
I’ve felt like our experience here at the Cathedral has been one of very deep empowerment
Once in Fredericton, Kurt found contract work with NBCC and at the Mi’Kmaq Wolastoqui Centre at the University of New Brunswick.
Their daughter, Rachel, was born in 2007, and after Catherine returned to work, Kurt became a stay-at-home dad, teaching a few courses at UNB as well.
“By the time Rachel was school age, Catherine and I had carved out part-time employment — me teaching and she doing occupational therapy — and both of us home schooling Rachel. It was awesome.”
From 2009-12, Kurt studied part-time for a Masters in Education and taught at UNB, while also homeschooling and taking care of Rachel.
Christ Church Cathedral
Shortly after arriving in Fredericton, their neighbour, Verne Sinclair, told them about the 11:45 service at Christ Church Cathedral.
“At the very first service, we happened to sit behind Nathan and Isabel Cutler,” said Kurt. “After the service, Isabel swung around and made us feel welcome. She really extended a warm welcome. We came and never left!”
Two other women in the congregation — Kirsten McKnight and Cindy Pope — were pregnant, and they and Catherine all gave birth to baby girls within six weeks of each other in early 2007.
“I’ve felt like our experience here at the Cathedral has been one of very deep empowerment,” he said. “We’ve had two deans and found both of them very empowering and the entire congregation has been nothing but empowering.”
In 2017, Kurt was hired as the half-time director of Christian formation at the Cathedral.
“It was the right time for me, our family and the Cathedral,” he said. “I’m working on my own formation as well as others’.”
It’s a cross-generational position with “a spectrum of freedom. It’s been really positive.”
So what’s it been like to make the move from Catholicism to Anglicanism?
“Frankly, I still consider myself a practicing Catholic,” he said. “I don’t experience any conflict. My faith is richer by having two approaches to it. I appreciate being able to explore more Anglican traditions.”
He was preparing for reception (into the Anglican Church) on Easter Sunday, but has had to wait until COVID-19 restrictions are lifted.
Rachel is 13, and attending middle school with her friends. Catherine is an occupational therapist for the New Brunswick Extra-Mural Program. Kurt became a permanent resident of Canada while at Kings Edgehill, and has been a Canadian citizen for more than a decade.
“I’ve lived more than half my life in Canada,” he said, adding, though, that he misses family back home, and he misses the Rocky Mountains “a lot.”
Article written by Gisele McKnight and originally published in the NB Anglican.
EDITOR'S NOTE: The New Brunswick Anglican's new series, My Journey Here, features a member of the Anglican Diocese of Fredericton whose roots are far from New Brunswick. If you are, or know of a parishioner who is from away and would like to tell the story of ‘how I got here,’ send the name and contact information to the editor: <gmcknight at diofton.ca> or (506) 459-1801, ext. 1009.
The COVID-19 pandemic has created an unwelcome but unavoidable delay in construction of a three-unit, affordable housing project to be owned and operated by the cathedral.
A computer rendering of the triplex of small homes that will be built on Albert Street, near Regent Street.
"The original plan was to grade the land on Albert Street and start construction last spring, so that three people would be able to move into supported housing this fall," Outreach Committee chair Penny Ericson said.
"Money has been raised in the community, the City of Fredericton donated the land and transferred the title, the design work is done, and people at the cathedral are eager to help. This type of compact, affordable housing is sorely needed by the homeless population."
Then in March the Province declared a state of emergency due to the COVID-19 health crisis, and the economy ground to a sudden and prolonged halt.
The United Way's Housing First co-ordinator Jason LeJeune explained a domino effect impacted the project on Albert Street as well as a four-unit project on Jaffrey Street to be owned and operated by another local church.
"It was really kind of death by a thousand pinpricks," LeJeune said.
When the pandemic hit, the builder of the proposed small houses, Maple Leaf Homes, shut down. By the time the business reopened, it faced a large backlog of orders and heavy demand for building materials. The closure of some municipal and provincial government offices resulted in delays for elements of the project. The two building sites need water and sewer lines installed and this type of work is backlogged, too.
LeJeune said the delay is unfortunate because the projects are designed to help some of the city's most vulnerable people at a time when the vacancy rate for rentals is extremely low. Forty townhouses, each ranging from 34 to 43 square metres, will eventually be built.
Penny Ericson agreed the work slowdown has been frustrating, but she said numerous items to furnish and equip the three townhouses have already been collected and are in storage awaiting construction next spring.
"We look forward to seeing things get back on track next year so that three people can move into their new homes in 2021," she said.
More information will be made available next year about ways in which the cathedral family might be able to help with final details for this project.
he idea of a “Blue Christmas” may be new to you. Behind it is the intention to provide a quiet, contemplative time of worship as an alternative to the more traditional gatherings at this time of year as a way to care for those who are sad or struggling while all around us are getting caught up in Christmas celebration.
