Dear Friend of the Cathedral

If you were at the reception and presentation offered to the cathedral last Tuesday by the organisers of the capital campaign I’m sure you would agree that it was a special occasion. Bob King chaired the evening, Bishop Mary Irwin blessed it, Paul Kennington spoke movingly and effectively about the cathedral’s role in the city, Jane Aitkens, our treasurer, presented figures of funds raised so far. Bruce McNiven, chair of the fundraising campaign, the innovative architects from EVOQ, in charge of the major repairs to the spire, and Pierrette Rayle, a former member of the parish all inspired us with their passion for heritage and history. More than 150 years ago the congregation of Christ Church cathedral raised the beautiful building which they bequeathed to us. The theme emphasised by all the speakers was that we have a responsibility to preserve Christ Church Cathedral for future generations. This idea also came out in the video about the cathedral which was produced for the campaign. Not only were the speeches inspiring, the hors d’oeuvres and drinks were delightful. I left feeling appreciated and uplifted. I didn’t feel in any way pressured to open my purse. The group of people working on this campaign are extraordinary and deserve our heartfelt thanks.

Meanwhile, the urgency of repairs was emphasised when the roof over the chancel began leaking during Evensong on Sunday. Our gardens were certainly blessed with a lot of rain on Sunday. Take a look at the vegetables beginning to grow tall in the beds around the Fulford Memorial and contact Anika Gerols if you would like to help care for them. You can also speak to Louise Lockhart if you have ideas for re-landscaping the flowerbeds around the Cathedral or would like to help with this project.

The audience for the inaugural L’Oasis at St George’s concert on Sunday afternoon arrived soaked to the skin, but appreciated the baroque music. There will be a concert at St George’s every Sunday at 2 pm. This is in addition to the Oasis concerts in the cathedral at 4:30 on Saturdays and 6:30 on Wednesdays. As was recognised at the gathering on Tuesday, our concerts are a valuable outreach to the city, particularly in the summer, when classical music can be sparse. Please read Jonathan’s letter further down the page.These are the next two concerts in the cathedral:

Saturday, June 11 at4:30pm An afternoon with Debussy and Ravel. Come unwind to the beautiful sound of French 19th century romantic composers and their refined melodic and harmonic textures created for voice and piano. Barbara Heath Lopez, soprano and Martin Dubé, piano.

Wednesday June 15, at 6:30pm One Hour in Europe. Escape with us to Europe to experience its beautiful scenery through charming music. Rémi Collard and Catherine Calderone, oboe; Judy Hung, violin, piano, harpsichord.

Reminders about coming events;

Sunday, June 12, 12:45, A special service and lunch for Francophone Anglicans. Francophones from St George’s and other churches are invited to join our French congregation for a special Eucharist, followed by lunch. Everyone is invited. Une rencontre des anglicans francophones aura lieu le 12 juin 2016. Un service eucharistique sera célébré par la rév. Josée Lemoine et l’homélie livrée par le rév. Jean-Jacques Goulet à 12h45 à la Cathédrale Christ Church. Cette célébration sera suivie d’un repas de partage et d’échange amical. Le repas principal sera fourni par la Cathédrale et chacun est prié d’apporter une salade ou dessert pour compléter ce repas. Prière de confirmer votre présence auprès du secrétariat de la Cathédrale par téléphone au 514-843-6577 ou par courriel à l’adresse « cathoff@bellnet.ca ».

Sunday June 12, Two requests to write letters after the 10am Eucharist

1. Amnesty letter writing: Sign a post card or write a letter to speak out against injustice. SJAG letters (attach)

2. A second session of writing letters to the Minister of Education in support of Call 62, organised by SJAG. Model letters will be available in French and English.Sunday June 12, The Cathedral Reading Group meets at 7pm to discuss Finding Home by Eric Wright. Speak to Helen or Jane for details. All welcome, especially as we will be deciding what book to read over the summer.

Saturday, June 18, The LGBT Group’s next event will be a pot-luck BBQ at 6 p.m. Bring something to grill and to drink, and a salad or dessert to share. RSVP to Jean-Jacques, Donald or Paul and to get details about the location.

Sunday June 19, beginning at 11:30, Garden Blessing & Parish Picnic:  – Hot dogs & tofu dogs, watermelon and beverages provided – bring your picnic blanket & finger food to share. Also, after the 10am Eucharist and Garden blessing, look for the fair trade kiosque supporting justice for producers and farmers.

Another kind of reminder – volunteers always needed!

• For Summer greeters (contact Vivian or Natasha) There will be a training session soon.

• For people to visit shut-ins on a monthly basis (contact Jean-Jacques)

• For Sunday stewards (contact Bob King, Ann or Sam)

• For donations of flowers to beautify the church on Sunday.
  

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Finally, here is Jonathan’s letter. It’s so nice that the hard work of the Oasis team has met with success.

I would like to share with you some excellent news for our downtown churches, which is certainly worth shouting (or singing!) about.

Looking through the La Scena magazine concert listings, (the ‘go-to’ website and magazine for cultural events in and around Montreal), of the 37 concerts in Montreal from July through to the first week of September 27 of these concerts are L’Oasis Musicale concerts either at the cathedral (=20) or now (hooray!!) at St Georges (=7), and a further 2 are rental concerts in the cathedral!

This represents an extraordinary ministry of hospitality to our local music-lovers and the many tourists, who plan their visits by seeking out activities online and in such magazines. At the cathedral we are already well aware that this music ministry brings thousands of people into our building, and thousands of dollars into the coffers each year.

So, please use all your contacts, networks and opportunities to spread this good news story for the Diocese.

What a great note on which to end this newsletter.

Ann