There was no newsletter last week so a rather belated wish for a happy New Year!
Probably by now most of you will know that Rhonda’s husband, Thomas, is leaving Montreal for an interesting new job in Ottawa, and of course Rhonda and Gilbert are moving too. Rhonda’s ministry has been a wonderful gift to the cathedral and we will miss her greatly. However, she too has a new and interesting job. She has been appointed interim priest-in-charge of St. Matthew’s Anglican Church, located in the Glebe, beginning March 13th.
Rhonda’s last Sunday with us will be on February 21st. At a farewell reception following the 10am service, we will be presenting her with a gift. If you wish to contribute, please put your contribution in the offertory, marked “Rhonda Waters Farewell” or hand it to Robert King.
There are a number of interesting and important events coming up and some appeals for help (of course!)
Forum will meet at 6:30pm on Tuesday, January 19. All congregation members are invited. If you are an elected member and can’t attend please send your regrets to the cathedral office.
One of the items on the agenda will be Nuit blanche, taking place on Saturday February 27, with a small celebration of the Eve of Nuit blanche on Friday. I invite you all to think about ways in which you might participate – joining the audience for some of the concerts or for candlelit compline at 11 pm, trying your hand at bellringing, greeting our many visitors (just under 3000 last year) making and serving hot chocolate or submitting some artwork for exhibition to Natasha Henderson
Ash Wednesday is on February 10. The schedule of services will be in a later newsletter. There will be a Pancake Supper the night before celebrating Shrove Tuesday – Mardi Gras. Don’t expect outlandish costumes or wild dancing, but the pancakes and sausages cooked by George Deare and his team will be very good. George is looking for volunteers to help set up and clean up. February 9 at 6 pm in Fulford Hall.
We are rather good at combining food, fellowship and prayer:
Hungry Minds: Bible study and supper for students and young adults meets Wednesday evenings from 6 to 9 pm. in the Undercroft
The LGBT group will be having a pot-luck supper and talk, Saturday February 13 at 6 p.m. Donald will be speaking on Saints and other sinners for Valentine’s Day! If interested, please talk to Jean-Jacques for further information.
Pain, partage et prière, tThe French sharing and bible study group will meet on January 24 from 2:00 p.m. in the Hollis Lounge
Please consider joining the Monday evening Bible studies for Lent. They will take place between 6 and 9 pm in Fulford Hall, between February 15 and March 14 with a final meeting on April 4. The cost of $40 includes the book and suppers. To register contact Rhonda – rhonda.m.waters@gmail.com – or call the office
Baptism, Confirmation and Reception into the Anglican Church will be part of the liturgy for the Easter Vigil.
If you would like to have a conversation about being baptized, confirmed or received into the Anglican Church please speak to one of the clergy as soon as possible.
In order to beautify the church for Easter, Rob is asking for volunteers to clean brass and silver and asking for people to sponsor flowers.
The Social Service Society is asking people to donate new warm socks to be distributed at the end of the month lunch. She is hoping to amass 200 pairs.
The ecumenical Week of Prayer for Christian Unity service is being celebrated this Sunday, January 17 at 4:00 p.m. in Église Arménienne Sourp Hagop, 3401 Rue Olivar Asselin, Montréal, QC H4J 1L5. Bishop Mary is preaching.
Oasis concerts continue every Saturday. This week come out to hear Catherine Arnaud, a soprano soloist with the Cathedral Singers and Julien LeBlanc, pianist, perform opera arias and Italian canzone dating from the baroque age to the 1950s in a programme called Viva Italia.
The Social Justice Action Group invites you to two events, the Fair Trade Boutique after the 10 o’clock service this Sunday and on February 7 at 12 pm a discussion about some of the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. More details to come.
If you’re interested in justice for the people of the First Nations, you might also be interested in an event being put on by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada which voted at their national convention last summer to formally repudiate the Doctrine of Discovery (the notion that Europeans discovered this continent, and explored/settled an empty land). Pastor Jim Slack, Dean of the Montreal Ministry Area, is inviting Anglicans to attend a discussion in St. John’s Estonian-Finnish Church in NDG on Saturday February 27. There is no fee or registration form.