Dear Friend of the Cathedral

In this edition: Parish consultation – Forum – Pledging – Nuit blanche – Sponsorship of Syrian family – coming events – Merger St Stephens and St Jax –

There are a number of important messages in this newsletter, so please read it carefully, especially the opening communication from the Parish Search Committee.

Parish consultation – questionnaire

The Parish Search Committee has prepared a brief questionnaire to gather parishioners’ views regarding our strengths, challenges, needs, and future goals as a community. This consultation is an important step in the process of seeking a new dean and rector. All parishioners and friends of the Cathedral are invited to respond to the questionnaire online by going to: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ParishConsult

For those who prefer to respond in writing, paper copies, in English and French, will be available at the 8am, 10am, and 12:45pm services next Sunday, January 15th. Closing date for completion of the questionnaires is Wednesday, January 18th, at 10pm.

Consultation paroissiale – questionnaire

Le Comité de sélection a préparé un questionnaire afin de saisir les perspectives des paroissien(ne)s à l’égard des points forts, des défis, des besoins et de la vision de notre communauté. Cette consultation est une étape primordiale du processus de recrutement d’un doyen et recteur. Tous les membres de la paroisse ainsi que les ami(e)s de la Cathédrale sont invité(e)s à y répondre en ligne à: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ConsulterParoisse

Pour ceux qui préfèrent y répondre par écrit, des questionnaires imprimés, en français et en anglais, seront disponibles lors des services de 8h, 10h et 12h45 dimanche 15 janvier. Tous les questionnaires doivent être soumis avant mercredi 18 janvier à 22 heures.

Forum will meet on Tuesday, January 17. All members of the cathedral congregation are invited. If you are an elected member who can’t attend please send regrets to the office. Light refreshments at 6, meeting starts 6:30. Please see attached documents.

The budget for the coming year will be on the agenda. If you can’t come to the meeting please pray for our financial crunch. Please also consider making a generous pledge. Our wardens and treasurer are helped in their planning by knowing how much identified giving to expect. There are leaflets titled “What can I bring?” at the back of the church. You can also read the leaflet in the attached pdf. I will put a copy of the pledge form at the end of this newsletter. You can print it out, fill it in and send it to the treasurer, Jane Aitkens at the address given, or put it in an envelope in the collection plate on Sunday.

The Annual General Vestry meeting will be on February 19. Tania is busy organising the report.

Nuit blanche is on Saturday March 4th – The organisers of this city-wide event have selected the Sixties, particularly 1967, as the theme for the evening. As I mentioned in the last newsletter we are looking for photographs and reminiscences of the sixties at the cathedral. Peggy Simpson is in charge of this exhibition. Please contact her mlsimpson@bell.net with your pictures and memories. I am looking for about 30 volunteers to help out on the evening itself, so if you are good at greeting people, counting with a clicker or handy at making and serving hot chocolate I’d love to hear from you. We are not allowed to publish our programme yet, but I can promise an evening that will be fun, interesting and crowded with visitors.

Janet King, Marian Dagher and Jan Jorgensen have sent some important information about refugee sponsorship.

On Jan.22, after the 10 am service in Fulford Hall, there will be a meeting for anyone interested, giving an update on the status of the Syrian family being sponsored by the cathedral and including a discussion about what to expect. Syrian snacks, visuals, and volunteer opportunities. All welcome.

Quebec’s decision not to allow any more private sponsorships does not affect the application for our family. Their papers arrived in Lebanon, as of July 2016. The average wait time has gone back to pre-crisis times of 8 months from the reception of properly processed papers. Ours were properly presented, thanks to Action Refugiés, so we might expect the wait to end during March when Interviews will be arranged with the Canadian officials, and then, all being well, medical checkups will follow and finally transport to Canada will be arranged. Meanwhile, “our” family is not in a refugee camp but staying with cousins.

The committee would like to start preparing for their arrival, with details and general thoughts about who does what/how/ and where

Resources are available on the internet and via Action Refugiés. There will be a French presentation of the history of Syria on January 25…Date : Le mercredi 25 janvier 2017 …Heure : 19 h à 21 h …Lieu : Maison Bellarmin – 25 rue Jarry Ouest…Conférencier : M. Samir Saul, professeur agrégé à l’Université de Montréal. La session est au sujet de l’histoire en Syrie, visant les groupes parrains dans le but de mieux comprendre la situation actielle en Syrie.