Dates to Remember

Tuesday, September 11
The S.M.A.R.T. exercise program for seniors
resumes at 10:00 a.m. in the John West Hall

Wednesday, September 12
Vestry, 6:00 p.m. potluck supper and table Eucharist;
meeting to begin at 7:00 p.m.

Thursday, September 13
Friendship Circle, noon to 3:00 p.m.
Ordination of Michael Bruce, 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, September 23
The Dean’s Forum: Dusting off the Bible gets underway at 9:15 a.m.,
and will be held every Sunday.

Saturday, October 13
Parish Visioning Day, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Thursday, October 18
Opening Service of Diocesan Synod.

Tuesday, November 13
the Neil Bardal Concert Series will present a special concert in memory of Bishop Patrick and Mary Lee with proceeds going to support the Kalagali/Fisher Branch School in Uganda.

Details

Dusting off the Bible…
Through conversation and by consensus at the early service, we will no longer say together The Great Litany before the Said Eucharist.  Starting on Sunday, September 23, Said Eucharist will move from 8:30 to 8:00 a.m.  At 9:15 a.m. on that Sunday we’ll begin The Dean’s Forum, which will conclude at 10:05 a.m.  The Sung Eucharist, with choir, will begin as usual at 10:30 a.m. Some of the titles for our ‘dusting’ until Christmas: You want me to do what?  (Abraham), God’s technicolour dream  (Joseph), Journey to the Inner Limits  (Ecclesiastes, Job… Struggling with the painful questions), A dragon slouching toward Bethlehem (Hope for the future)

Bible Study…
The Friday morning Bible study group resumes on Friday, September 14, from 10:00 a.m. to noon. The Thursday evening Bible study, which meets from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m., will resume later in September. Watch this space for the date. And don’t forget The Dean’s Forum: Dusting off the Bible on Sunday mornings from 9:15 to 10:05, starting September 23.

From Dreaming to Planning…
At its June meeting Vestry set the date for the Parish Visioning Day and it will be held from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 13. Please mark your calendars and plan to attend this important day in the life of the Cathedral. It is important to hear from as many members of the congregation as possible as we set the course for the Cathedral over the next few years.

Choir News…
In an effort to strengthen the choir in its ministry, I am taking the time this fall to interview and audition individual choristers. In the course of these discussions, I hope to solidify my understanding of members’ voices and their visions for the role of the choir, both for themselves and for our ministry to our faith community and in the Diocese. Also, from a very practical perspective we will seek to find a rehearsal schedule that fits members’ busy lives. Once these interviews have taken place, the choir will be formed.

Existing choir members will be contacted to set up their appointments. Anyone else who would like to explore the possibility of joining us should contact me by leaving a voice mail at 204-586-8385-ext 13, by calling me at home 204-942-9250, or by sending an e-mail to packham1@yahoo.com

Friendship Circle…
The Friendship Circle begins its weekly meetings this coming Thursday, with a brown-bag lunch at noon. It is a time for the women of the parish to come together to knit prayer shawls, pray together and be a sisterhood in Christ. Each meeting ends at 3:00 p.m.  All are welcome. Please talk to Bunny McCormick for more information.

Exploring the Enneagram…
The ‘Growing Towards God’ series started by Nancy Phillips,  continues with a five session course called ‘Inner Transformation Through the Enneagram’. Janelle Schneider will be the facilitator. The course is offered on the second Tuesday of each month, from September 11 to December 11, and each session runs from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.  You may want to come at 6:00 p.m. to enjoy the optional brown bag supper with your classmates (bring your own brown bag!). For more information about the Enneagram, the course, and Jannelle Schneider, log on to the Cathedral web site at http://www.stjohnscathedral.ca

Trinity Institute Conference 2012…
After a two-year hiatus, the Trinity Institute Conference returns with a new format this November, and the Cathedral will be web casting the event once again. As yet, the Cathedral Corporation has not set the fee for attendance, so this notice is just a heads-up that the Conference will be back at the Cathedral (which was the first off-site centre to web cast the Trinity Conference in Canada!) The theme of this year’s conference is ‘Radical Christian Life: Equipping Ourselves for Social Change’. There will be only one speaker this year, but since that speaker is the gifted Sr. Joan Chittister OSB, ably assisted by a group of theologians, spiritual directors and Christian activists as workshop leaders, it will be, as always, a worthwhile event, Watch this space for more information in the coming weeks.

Many hands make light work…
Our sincere thanks to Ted Ash, Dennis Beaulieu,Tony Chen, Wallace Desmarais, Alan Firth and Brian Ford for their willing hands and gift of time to re-paint the John West Hall in time for today’s festive luncheon marking the Bicentenary of the arrival of the first group of Selkirk Settlers. Thanks, too, to Mavis Ford and Rene Jamieson for feeding the painting crew.

New ministry in the North End…
On Wednesday, September 19 at 7:00 p.m., Bishop Donald will celebrate the inauguration of the new Trinity Anglican Ministry, and will install the Rev. Liz Richens (née McKendry) and the Rev. Michael Bruce as co-incumbents of the Ministry’s component Parishes of St. Anne, St. Barnabas and St. Martin-in-the-Fields. The service will be held at St. Barnabas, 730 McPhillips Street, at 7:00 p.m.  All are welcome.

Vestry Meeting Reminder…
The September meeting of Vestry will be held on Wednesday, September 12, rather than on the third Wednesday of the month, and it will begin at 6:00 p.m. with a potluck supper and Table Eucharist.

Get out the sweats and the running shoes…
On Tuesday, September 11, the S.M.A.R.T. exercise classes will resume at 10:00 a.m. in the John West Hall. S.M.A.R.T. is a low-impact program designed by the Victorian Order of Nurses to help keep those of us with aging bones and creaking joints in good shape, and it is delivered by trained instructors (two of whom are our own Gerry and Peter Spence). If you can’t make it on Tuesday, the class is also available on Friday mornings at 10:00 a.m., in the John West Hall.