We are saddened to learn that Roger Balk died last Saturday night.
Educated at Harvard and at St Andrew’s University in Scotland, Roger came to Montreal from the United States in 1961, after serving as a priest in Ohio and New York City. He served as honorary assistant at the cathedral for over 40 years, was at various times Anglican chaplain at McGill University, director of the Yellow Door, and responsible for developing the religion department at Dawson College. He was also a medical ethicist, holding a number of important positions in this field at McGill, Concordia and Ville-Marie Medical Centre. He has published papers on human ethics, with special emphasis on human organ transplantation, as well as papers on ethical issues relating to the use of animals in research.Cathedral parishioners will remember his thought-provoking sermons and strong support for social justice issues. Recently, eye and mobility problems have prevented Roger from participating in Cathedral services, but we are grateful for the many years he served the community so faithfully and send our condolences to his wife, Pat.
On Saturday, L’Oasis Musicale presents Twinmuse: 20th Century Piano Duet Recital featuring twins Hourshid and Mehrshid Afrakhteh. They will play works by Debussy, Lecuona and Stravinsky (including The Rite of Spring). For details visit http://loasismusicale2.blogspot.ca/ Please forward this message to any of your music-loving friends! If you, or they, would like to be on this mailing list, send an email to loasismusicale@gmail.com
Prayers on the Eve of the Election
The coming weekend will be very busy as we finally reach Election Day. If you are feeling at all worried or conflicted about the choices to be made, you might find solace in gathering with other members of the cathedral community who will be meeting for prayer and discussion about the issues facing our country and its communities. Come to the cathedral at 4 pm for Evensong or 5 pm for the discussion.
Earlier on Sunday, at the 10am service, we will have the privilege of a visit from The Right Rev’d James Almasi, Bishop of Masasi, our partner diocese in Tanzania. Anglicanism was brought to Masasi by UMCA missionaries in the nineteenth century. The first bishop was consecrated in 1926. Trevor Huddlestone, author of Naught for your Comfort, was its bishop for most of the sixties. Masasi is one of the poorest parts of Tanzania with an average per capita annual income of $165 earned mainly from subsistence farming. Bishop Almasi will preach at the 10 am service on Sunday.
After the service the Fair Trade Boutique run by SJAG will be selling coffee from Tanzania as well as a variety of other foods which are being sold at end-of-season bargain prices. Come and support justice for producers and farmers around the world. The current PWRDF Fred Says campaign is raising money to improve food security in Tanzania. As a result of Jonathan’s interactive display about seed banks, the Cathedral raised $2100 for this project. Congratulations! Another initiative described on the PWRDF website, “Kids Rock”, illustrates the value of a goat-and the increased value of two goats! Kizito is living with AIDS in the small community of Mkumba. The Diocese of Masasi runs a program that teaches the benefits of goat ownership not only for individuals like Kizito but for the entire community.
At 2 pm on Sunday Pain, partage et prière, the French Bible study and prayer group, will meet in the Hollis Lounge.
Future Events worth marking in your agenda
Tuesday, October 20, the day after the election, is the next meeting of Forum. All Cathedral members are invited to attend. If you are an elected member and can’t come please send regrets to the cathedral office.
Monday, Oct 26 at 5:30 at Montreal Diocesan Theological College, a meeting of the Public Theology Group. Climate change, the refugee crisis, and contemporary First Nations issues have been identified as key areas for education and advocacy at the Cathedral in 2015/16. Come help shape the program.
Saturday, October 31st One Mission – Many Ministries. Rhonda writes “The Cathedral is a busy place full of wonderful people. Whether you are new to the community or have been a member for decades, this day is for you! Join us from 10 am to 2pm, starting in Fulford Hall and ending with lunch.” There will be displays and workshops, a chance to learn new skills or refresh old ones and lots of opportunities to sign up for tasks like reading the lesson, or serving coffee on Sunday. Register here
Friday, November 6th: A special concert. Whenever people are asked about the things they particularly like about the cathedral almost everyone mentions the music. We have a fabulous choir, organ and choir director, but having a music programme of such a high standard costs more than the regular budget can afford. It has become a tradition to hold a fund raising concert each year to close the gap. This year’s concert on Friday, November 6, Splendeurs de la tradition anglaise: a pilgrimage through five centuries of English choral music will indeed be splendid as you can see from the list of composers whose works are being performed – Reformation era composers Tallis, Byrd, Gibbons, Romantic composers Vaughan Williams and Stanford, Modern composers John Tavener and Jonathan Dove. The concert will be followed by a wine and cheese reception, open to musicians and audience alike. Tickets cost $15 for students, $30 for seniors and $35 for regular patrons. If you can’t come to the concert, please consider making a donation. Please help the music committee publicise the concert.
On Sunday, November 15 at 7 pm the Cathedral reading group will gather to discuss Twenty-One Cardinals, a novel by Quebec author Jocelyn Saucier, translated by Rhonda Mullins. If you like reading and talking about books (or even just listening to other people talking), please join us. You can be sure of a good cup of decaffeinated coffee and a warm welcome. Speak to Ann, Jane, Diana, Donna or Helen to find out where we’re meeting. The title of the French version of the novel is Les héritiers de la mine.
A recent CBC review declared “With twenty-one kids, the Cardinal family is a force of nature. And now, after not being in the same room for decades, they’re congregating to celebrate their father, a prospector who discovered the zinc mine around which their now-deserted hometown in northern Quebec was built. But as the siblings tell the tales of their feral childhood, we discover that Angèle, the only Cardinal with a penchant for happiness, has gone missing – although everyone has pretended not to notice for years. Why the silence? What secrets does the mine hold?”
Please consider sponsoring flowers to beautify the Cathedral in thanksgiving, in memory of a loved one, or for the joy of offering flowers to the glory of God. The cost of the flowers is approximately $60.00. Please speak to the Rob Wells.
Help us keep our records up to date, if you receive this newsletter but have never given your address to the office, or have changed your address, , we invite you to do so by filling in the insert in the hymnal and giving it to a greeter or a clergy member after the service – or email the cathedral office: cathoff@belnet.ca .
May your spirits all be uplifted by the joy of autumn colours.