Sweltering Songs festival returns to the Cathedral Green

Posted on July 12, 2023July 24, 2023

Do you love live music? Check out the summertime festival 'Sweltering Songs', presented by the folks at Shivering Songs!

We're pleased that once again the Waterloo Stage will be held on the riverside Cathedral Green, July 22-23. Additional shows will be held at The CAP on Queen Street.

Sweltering Songs co-organizer, Zach Atkinson, says, “We’re excited to return to the area after bringing our Waterloo Street Tent to life for the first time in 2022. It’s a cozy and beautiful setting to host a wonderful line-up featuring old friends and musical peers, new favorites, and emerging artists alike for Fredericton listeners.”

Learn more about the festival, artists and tickets.

Fredericton’s 175th anniversary concert

Posted on July 6, 2023August 9, 2023

Christ Church Cathedral will be the host venue for Fredericton's 175th anniversary concert, A Celebration of Us, to be held on Tuesday, 08 August, 2023, 7:30 p.m. This article was shared in a recent newsletter from the New Brunswick Summer Music Festival.

Fredericton-based composer Christian David Bérubé has been commissioned to create a new work to celebrate the city's 175th anniversary. Partnering with the New Brunswick Summer Music Festival and Atlantic Sinfonia, Bérubé will bring a spark of celebration to the event and add to Fredericton's rich history of classical orchestral performance.

Bérubé began his composing career later than most, and he has more than made up for it with his wealth of credits which include film and video game scores. When asked about his entrance into composing and arranging, Bérubé states that “[he] began by writing piano arrangements for The Doors and Led Zeppelin, after finding [himself] unsatisfied with existing versions of [his] favorite songs.” Finding a love for the creative aspect of composition, he dove straight into the deep end by writing a piano sonata that won first place at the provincial music festival. Soon after, he switched from Biochemistry to Music at the University of Alberta.

This summer, Bérubé is writing a new piece for the Atlantic Sinfonia Orchestra, bringing local influences and an element of celebration to the work. He states that “it is a privilege to write a concert piece, and for instrumentalists to learn [his] work. It takes so many hours to create and rehearse something like this.” In early August, 13 musicians be at Christ Church Cathedral as the venue to perform a collection of Fredericton’s historical pieces, fan favorites, and Bérubé’s new creation. This event will be one of seven projects that received support from the City of Fredericton to mark the anniversary.

“I am looking forward to working with musicians, sitting in on the rehearsal progress, and hearing the final performance” (Bérubé).

Bérubé [has spent] two months creating and working with Atlantic Sinfonia and the New Brunswick Summer Music Festival. “[His] job in this case is to write a piece, an entertaining piece, a musically interesting piece, that is a celebration of us.”

Fredericton, A Celebration of Us takes place on Tuesday, August 8th, 7:30 p.m. at Christ Church Cathedral. For more information, visit www.nbsummermusicfestival.ca.

Repertoire

Now-Baroque Suite – Richard Gibson
Aperture Akimbo – Christian Bérubé
Subway Thoughts – Eldon Rathburn
Song without Words – Robin Bayley
Improvisations on Two Latvian Folk Songs – Janis Kalnins

Free will offering. Seating is on a 'first come first served' basis.

2023 Summer Music Series

Posted on June 20, 2023August 25, 2023

The annual Summer Music Series at Christ Church Cathedral is back! All are welcome to attend these concerts, designed to fit perfectly within the lunch hour.

Fridays from 12:10-12:50 p.m., 30 June - 25 August at 150 Church Street, Fredericton.

Join us inside historic Christ Church Cathedral as we present a series of concerts featuring soloists and instruments such as piano, violin, guitar, organ, fiddle and viola. View the poster.

Free admission, donations encouraged. Proceeds will support the Organ Renovation Fund. Online donations will receive a receipt for tax purposes emailed immediately. Thank you for helping us to preserve the organ!

June 30
Julien LeBlanc, piano
Matthieu Deveau, violin
Julie Ekker, voice

July 7
Stephen Peacock, guitar
Natalia Delacroix, viola

July 14
Katherine Moller, fiddle
Tom Richards, guitar

July 21
Kathrin Welte, voice
J. Thomas D. Gonder, organ

July 28
Christian Vanicek, piano and organ

August 4
Barachois Summer Music Academy

August 11
New Brunswick Summer Music Festival:
Natalia Delacroix, viola
Nicholas Roy, piano

August 18
Jillian Bonner, voice
J. Thomas D. Gonder, organ

August 25
J. Thomas D. Gonder, organ

* * *

Make a donation to the Organ Renovation Fund
(tax receipt emailed immediately)

Thy Kingdom Come 2023 – A guide for 11 days of prayer

Posted on May 18, 2023June 1, 2023

Thy Kingdom Come is a global prayer movement that invites Christians around the world to pray for more people to come to know Jesus. What started in 2016 as an invitation from the Archbishops of Canterbury and York to the Church of England has grown into an international and ecumenical call to prayer.

Download the Guide for Eleven Days of Prayer

Join the global wave of prayer calling all Christians to pray between Ascension and Pentecost for more people to come to know the love and peace of Jesus Christ. We hope that you choose to participate in this global prayer movement. This year, a special emphasis is suggested as we pray for youth and young families.

Christ Church Cathedral will participate from 18-28 May 2023, with group and individual prayer initiatives. View the Guide for Eleven Days of Prayer for information about events, resources for all ages, and readings to help you focus. Printed copies are available at the Cathedral and Hall. Resources such as a Prayer Journal and Novena are also available to download for free on the Thy Kingdom Come website.

Thy Kingdom Come begins with Ascension and ends with Pentecost. Celebrate the Ascension of the Lord on Thursday 18, May at 7:30 p.m. in the Cathedral. Celebrate Pentecost on Sunday, 28 May at 8:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. in the Cathedral, and 4:00 p.m. Choral Evensong.

In the days between Ascension and Pentecost, it has been the habit of many Christians, for centuries, to make the focus of our prayers the same as those first believers. Christ’s last instruction to His disciples on the day of his Ascension is to ‘wait for the gift my Father promised’ (Acts 1:4).

Join us on weekdays during Thy Kingdom Come for a local discussion (45 min) about the series of reflections by the Very Rev’d Bob Key on 1 John. We begin at 5:15 p.m. Friday 19 May in the Memorial Hall boardroom or via Video Conference (see our calendar).

Commit to attending the Daily Office in the morning (8:45 a.m.) and the evening (4:45 p.m.) in the Cathedral. Join us for this prayer Tuesday - Friday during Thy Kingdom Come (due to the Victoria Day holiday on Monday, May 22). It takes about 15 minutes.

Choral Evensong celebrating the Coronation

Posted on May 11, 2023May 18, 2023

Nicholas Saulnier ordained to the priesthood

Posted on May 4, 2023May 19, 2023

Local musicians featured in Cathedral concerts

Posted on May 2, 2023May 18, 2023

Known for its wonderful acoustics, Christ Church Cathedral is considered an excellent venue for musical performances. We are pleased to be the host venue for concerts featuring local musicians this spring.

12 May, 2023 -- The High Tide Winds will perform a classical music concert on Friday, 12 May at 7:30 pm at Christ Church Cathedral. Performers are Julie Grant on flute, Margaret Isaacs on clarinet, Charlie MacKinnon on French horn, Fran Robinson on oboe and Catherine MacDonald on piano. The group will perform pieces from Carl Reinecke, Heinrich Herzogenberg, Malcolm Arnold, Paul DeWailly and Gabriel Faure. Admission is by donation. Doors open at 7:00 p.m. Phone Fran Robinson at (506) 461-5817 if you have any questions.

27 May, 2023 -- Fredericton's Bel Canto Singers and the Sussex Choral Society are joining forces to present Gabriel Fauré's iconic Requiem and other works in Christ Church Cathedral. Fauré’s Requiem mass, well-known as a comforting and tender vision of the afterlife, will include soloists and chamber musicians, along with the Cathedral’s historic Casavant pipe organ. The choirs will also present a number of contemporary pieces, some jointly and some individually. Artistic Director: Christopher Lane. Accompanists: Thomas Gonder and Betty Weatherby. Saturday, 27 May, 7:30 p.m. Tickets: $20 general admission, $10 students. Available online, at the door, or from choir members. Visit the Bel Canto Singers website for details.

We look forward to welcoming you to the Cathedral to enjoy these musical events!

The Cathedral Summer Music Series will return in 2023 with concerts at noon each Friday throughout the summer. Stay tuned for an announcement about the lineup.

Celebrating Easter with Ukrainian traditions

Posted on April 21, 2023May 18, 2023

On Saturday. April 15, the Ukrainian Community of Fredericton gathered at Christ Church Cathedral to celebrate Easter.

A priest travelled from Moncton to hold worship for over 100 attendees of all ages. Many wore traditional Ukrainian clothing and brought baskets for a special tradition - the Easter food basket blessing. They were thrilled to be able to worship in their own language, for the first ever Easter service of its kind in Fredericton.

Archbishop David Edwards, Bishop of Fredericton, gave permission for the Greek Catholic service to be held in the Cathedral. In that tradition, Easter was celebrated on Sunday, April 16 this year, so Ukrainians in Fredericton celebrated the Saturday evening before.

Oksana Tesla, volunteer with the Ukrainian Community of Fredericton, coordinated with the Cathedral. She shared,

"Everything went flawlessly and fabulously! We were singing acapella and the acoustics made the Cathedral sing along. Many community members mentioned to me that they were feeling this bright warm light inside during the service. Thank you so much for opening your doors for our community and we really appreciate your support."

Thanks to Cathedral members Hank Williams and Kurt Schmidt for facilitating the event.

Through the Facebook page of the Ukrainian Community of Fredericton, the group commented, "We are so happy to have such an amazing supportive community here in Fredericton. And the opportunity to celebrate at such an incredible place - the Christ Church Cathedral - is a blessing! ... We cannot thank you enough for such generosity! We felt like we are home at the Cathedral!"

Easter worship in the Cathedral

Posted on April 7, 2023April 11, 2023

Join us for Easter worship at the Cathedral. All are welcome.

The Great Easter Vigil will be held on Saturday night, April 8 at 8:00 p.m. + livestream

On Easter Sunday, April 9, there are three opportunities to worship:

8:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist (Book of Common Prayer, no music)
10:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist (Book of Common Prayer, with choir) + livestream
11:45 a.m. Come Worship Eucharist (contemporary, with music group) + livestream

View livestreams on our YouTube channel. Recordings of Holy Week worship are also available.

2023 Easter Pastoral

Posted on March 30, 2023April 18, 2023

View or Download in PDF

Fredericton NB
Lent 2023

Dear Friends,

Between now and Easter Day we who begin the final leg of Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem will take what is the most intense of Christian seasonal journeys. As the images go by we continue on our own personal ones. While some are celebrating new life or relationships, others are recovering from illness or have recently experienced losing a close friend, family member or spouse. Many struggle with the stress of work life that unrelentingly demands time and attention while others are learning about retirement. Students prepare for exams. While we’re all in different places and walk our own road we’re also invited each year to walk with Jesus to the cross.

At the beginning of the road we were invited to observe a holy Lent. “I invite you, in the name of the Lord,” were the words, “... to observe a holy Lent by self-examination, penitence, prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, and by reading and meditating on the word of God.” Many of us have done that this year. A variety of worship, devotional and study opportunities have created possibilities for self-discipline or to focus for a time on something new to deepen our own spiritual life ourselves or with others.

The seasonal journey now comes closer to an important conclusion. It calls us to push pause on our own personal trek—and maybe even our troubles—long enough to look one more time upon the road of suffering and sacrifice taken by the one called Messiah. Joining him, we should expect it to be different each time we experience it. We hear in gospel texts that Jesus performed miracles. The most significant of all may be the choice made by this man, who was also God, to walk willingly into pain, suffering and even death for the sake of all who love him throughout time. He walked this road for us. His journey gives ours meaning as we rest on his promises.

At the first glimmer of Easter light angelic words made announcement to first witnesses. He was supposed to be in the grave, but “He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said.” At the end of Jesus’ journey was light and life. In retrospect, because of who he is, could it have been any other way? He walked the painful way so as to enter as completely as possible into ours. He knows the drill. At the end of our journeys we can know that with faith, after bearing the burdens, there is light and life for us too. In the words of the Book of Common Prayer we pray that we might “be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light,” “entering with them into the fullness of God’s unending joy.”

Alleluia! Christ is risen! Join us as we walk with him liturgically and symbolically in worship through the week to come: Palm Sunday, weekdays in Holy Week, to the Upper Room and the hill at Golgotha, meeting on the other side at a tomb now empty. The schedule of worship follows. Please don’t hesitate to make contact if you need to schedule a home Communion. Extending blessing for the Season, I remain,

Yours sincerely,

Geoffrey Hall
Dean of Fredericton
GMH

View or download the 2023 Holy Week-Easter Worship Schedule

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