Patrick Wedd announces his retirement – Annual choir concert – Nicholas Capozzoli a CIOC finalist – Breakfast with Archbishop Dawani – Annual General Vestry, Part 2 – Parish Supper – Santa Claus parade – Oasis musicale concert – Reformation, Reconciliation, Homage to Luther – Cathedral Reading Group – Should Christians respond to Bill 62?
Dear Friend of the Cathedral
Last Sunday we learned in church that our Music Director, Patrick Wedd, will retire in early summer, i.e. at the end of the 2017-2018. Although this is a very well-earned retirement we are of course sad to be losing Patrick. He has been an inspiring, creative and spiritual force in the cathedral for almost two decades. We have been privileged to hear some wonderful choral music under his direction and have been awed and excited by his masterful organ playing.
The annual choir concert which raises money to support the choir will take place on Friday, November 10, at 7:30 pm. Here’s the press release which gives you an idea of the programme. Please share this poster with your colleagues and friends. You can share the event as a FB invitation, too. There will also be some printed posters available in church (and tickets, of course!). The concert will be followed by a reception. The music committee is hoping that many members of the congregation will support the music program by coming to this concert, by inviting friends to join you, or by giving a donation. This is Patrick’s last fund-raising concert, so let’s make it the best ever! The goal is to raise $12 000.
Our Assistant Organist Nicholas Capozzoli is one of 6 finalists in the Concours international d’orgue du Canada, currently being held in Montreal. He is playing in the third and final round on Thursday afternoon (October 19). The result should be posted soon on the CIOC blog. Huge congratulations, Nick!
Were you planning to attend Saturday’s breakfast with Archbishop Suheil Dawani at 9 am in Fulford Hall? (See last week’s newsletter) If you are, please email Robert Camara vicar.general@montreal.anglican.ca or cathoff@bellnet.ca before 9 am Friday (October 20) The breakfast is a great opportunity to learn more about the work and witness of the church in the Land of the Holy One!
Corporation hopes that many people will attend the Annual General Vestry meeting in Fulford Hall after the 10 am service. The agenda is here. There will not be a 12:45 service to enable everyone to attend the meeting.
Please put November 18, the date of the parish supper, in your agenda. There will be a vegetarian main dish and roast beef. If you’d like to help set up or clear, please contact the office and we’ll let Natasha Henderson and George Deare know. In the morning of that same day, the cathedral will open its doors to serve hot chocolate to people watching the Santa Claus parade on Ste Catherine. George Deare will welcome people to help. This is another great opportunity to reach out to the people of Montreal.
Also reaching out to people are the Oasis concerts held every Saturday at 4:30. This week (October 21) pianist Scott Downing explores polyphonic music from three different eras, performing works by JS Bach, Johannes Brahms and Frank Martin.
I wrote earlier about “Reformation– Reconciliation“ – a celebration of the start of the Protestant Reformation in 1517 when Martin Luther pinned up his 95 theses in Wittenberg. There is a terrific concert this Saturday evening (October 21) “Hommage à Luther” at l‘Église Très-Saint-Nom-de-Jésus, 4215, rue Adam, Montréal, at 7 pm. The programme will include works by Monteverdi, Telemann, Vivaldi and Bach. Guest artists and speakers will include Maestro Kent Nagano, Dr. Gisela Steinle, Rev. Grahlmann (Eastern Lutheran Synod), Rev. Dr. Glenn Chestnutt (Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul), Archbishop Christian Lépine, and other guests from the Roman Catholic Diocese, the Lutheran Synod and the Church of Saint Andrew and Saint Paul, as well as other members of the community. Admission is free. There will be a free-will offering at the end.https://www.facebook.com/rrc2017.ca
The Cathedral Reading Group will meet on Sunday, November 19 at 7 pm to talk about “The Women in the Castle” by Jessica Shattuck. You are warmly invited to read the book and join the discussion.
The Bishop’s annual fundraising dinner will be held at the Atwater Club on Thursday, November 19. The guest speaker is the Rev’d Dr Jesse Zink, Principal of Diocesan College. Here are a letter from the bishop’s office and a form to reserve your place at the dinner. The organizers are looking for items for their silent auction.
I hesitate to bring politics into this newsletter, but separation of Church and State, the apparent justification for Bill 62, shouldn’t mean that the church has nothing to say to the state. As Christians we should call out injustice and intolerance when we see it. At the very least we should pray that common sense will prevail. In the seventeenth century John Locke, the British philosopher wrote, “To love our neighbour as ourselves is such a truth for regulating human society, that by that alone one might determine all the cases in social morality.” He also said “Every man has a property in his own person. This nobody has a right to, but himself.” More than 300 years later these statements still resonate. How will we respond, individually and as a community to the controversy over face-coverings?
Ann Elbourne
If you want to receive this newsletter earlier (by email) and with it various additions (Forum minutes and reports; posters, photos; etc.) simply send your coordinates to the Cathedral office.