Open to all – Palm Sunday – drama of the Passion – Holy Week (schedule attached) – making palm crosses – stewards needed for Holy Week and Easter – Gethsemane Watch – decorating the church, giving flowers – reminders of other events (fair trade kiosque, Lunch n’ Chat, PPP, Hungry Minds, Oasis concert, The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy) – collect for the Search for a new Dean – News from the Diocese – news from Ami-Québec – a prayer for repose when we are troubled
Dear Friend of the Cathedral
Please take a look at the attached photograph of our open front door which is from a recent booklet published by the conseil du patrimoine religieux on page 60. On the following page the writer expresses regret that so many restored churches are only open on Sunday. It is one of our great strengths that we are open to visitors every day; this picture is a wonderful symbol of that openness.
We are nearing the end of Lent so the Lent study group led by Gideon meets for the last time this Sunday and will try to reach a consensus about the way we might dethrone mammon. One very good way of doing this is to put worship at the centre of our lives in the period leading up to Easter. This Sunday is the last Sunday in Lent. The following Sunday is Palm Sunday, also known as Passion Sunday. It is a glorious service, beginning with a procession outside the church if the weather is kind, and finishing with a dramatised reading of the Passion of Jesus Christ from Matthew’s gospel. Rosemary will be rehearsing this on Sunday and will be delighted to include members of the congregation as part of the crowd who shout for crucifixion. My participation reduces me to tears every year.
During Holy Week, the week between Palm Sunday and Easter, and the most important week in the Christian year there will be special services every day. It is a time when all Christians are called to walk with Jesus in prayer, worship and study and so we are urged to come together in the cathedral as often as we can. Please see the schedule posted along with this letter. I’ll write more about the services next week, but please note a number of ways you can help:
1. On Saturday, April 8, from 10 am in the Undercroft a group of people will be making palm crosses for distribution the next day. New helpers are always welcome. No experience is necessary as you will be shown what to do. Speak to Janet King.
2. Because there are a lot of extra services we need extra stewards. You can either sign up at the back of the church or in the baptistery on Sunday, or you can contact the cathedral office.
3. Another important sign up sheet is for people who would like to be part of the all-night Gethsemane Watch in the cathedral, spending an hour in silent prayer between the end of the Maundy Thursday evening service and 8 am on Good Friday. Again, either sign up in church or contact the office. I’ll attach a copy of the sign-up sheet so you can see the suggested times. David Burnstun will be on security duty all night and will let people in through the entrance to the Chapter House.
4. The church will be beautifully decorated for Easter on Saturday April 15. Help with decorating will be welcome from 10am. If you would like to donate Easter flowers in thanksgiving or in the memory of a loved one please speak to Rob Wells or contact the Cathedral office.
Other cathedral events
1. The Fair Trade kiosque will be offered on the Sunday after Easter as it is not possible to hold it on Easter Day, the normal third Sunday slot.
2. Lunch n’Chat will meet for potluck fellowship on Tuesday April 4, from noon to 2 pm in the Bishop Hollis Lounge on the second floor at 1444 Union ave (Fulford Hall). Everyone is welcome
3. Pain, partage et prière : The French sharing and bible study group will meet on April 9 at 2:00 p.m. in the Hollis Lounge.
4. Hungry Minds, a group for university students and young adults, meets in the Undercroft each Wednesday at 6 pm. I’m guessing that some people in this group have been helping Jean-Daniel spruce up the Sunday school rooms and make them more attractive. They are doing a fine job!
5. The next Oasis concert is this Saturday, April 1 at 4:30 pm featuring Songs my Mother Taught Me with Carol Léger, soprano, and Nicole Lorenz, piano. Join them to experience how music can powerfully share an array of poems, legends, and musical traditions. Songs by Rodrigo, Copland, Wolf, Ravel and Dvorák. For details about this and upcoming concerts visit http://www.oasismusicale.ca/
6. The Cathedral reading group will meet on Sunday, April 23, at 7 pm to discuss The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy by Rachel Joyce. It is a companion novel to The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry written from the point of view of the dying friend he walked the length of England to visit. According to the review in the Independent “It is not necessary to read Harold’s story before reading Queenie’s to enjoy this bittersweet novel which is a pleasure in its own right, but reading both will only serve to double that pleasure”. The Washington Post has an excellent review of the book.
Please speak to Donna, Jane or Ann if you’d like more information. Some new people have recently joined us and we’ll be delighted to welcome still others. Be warned – we read novels, though we often recommend to each other all kinds of books we’ve enjoyed.
The Search committee looking for our new Dean is very pleased with the amount of publicity which has been generated. Please keep praying for the guidance of the Holy Spirit. You might like to use this collect which was written by the search committee which found Paul.
COLLECT FOR THE SEARCH COMMITTEE
Almighty God, giver of all good gifts,
look on your Church with grace,
and guide the hearts and minds of those who shall choose a new Dean for this Cathedral,
that we may receive a faithful servant who will care for your people and support us in our ministries;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
News from the Diocese
Nicki Hronjak publishes an e-newsletter twice a month. You can find out what’s new in the diocese and see information about events parishes are organising. Latest e-newsletter
You can also read the Montreal Anglican on line. The next Montreal Anglican deadline is April 28. If you intend to submit an article, ad, picture, etc, please let Nicki know.
Submissions to editor@montreal.anglican.ca
News from other organizations
Ami-Québec, whose mandate is to take action on mental illness, contacted the office with a link to their latest newsletter. Please click here to read their Spring Newsletter. Don’t miss articles on grieving mental illness, understanding schizophrenia, promoting mental health in children, and more. For information about their programs and services, please visit www.amiquebec.org
A Final Prayer
Compline is a beautiful medieval monastic service said and sung at the completion of the working day. The concerns of medieval worshippers have echoes in our own worries. For us, as for them, the answer lies in the peace of God “which passes all understanding”. Here is a particularly comforting prayer from the service
Be present, O merciful God,
and protect us through the silent hours of this night,
so that we who are wearied
by the changes and chances of this fleeting world
may repose upon thy eternal changelessness;
through Jesus Christ our Lord
Wishing you all peace and joy
Ann Elbourne