If you wish to see something published in this newsletter, please either fill out the Communication Request Form (click to be redirected to the Cathedral website) or email your edited and proofed text to newsletters@thecathedral.ca by Wednesday at Noon. If you have any questions, please email us at newsletters@thecathedral.ca.

Please note that these are the only two communication channels used in the creation of this newsletter.

If you attend in person on Sundays, a special parking rate is available at the Park Place Parkade. The parking code for 2024 is 18932447. Rate details are available here.

You can watch past live-streamed services on our YouTube channel. Click on the button below and watch the ones you missed or rewatch the ones you enjoyed!

Due to Early Music Vancouver’s Summer Festival, the noon Eucharist will be canceled and the Cathedral will close on the following dates:

• July 30th
• August 6th
• August 7th
• August 8th

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

Rev. Areeta is on vacation from July 7th to August 10th.

 Volunteering at the Cathedral is a great way to make new friends, enhance your spiritual life, and strengthen your connection with the Church. The following ministries are seeking new volunteers:

Altar Guild

• Holy Linens taken home to wash and iron
• 1 x 5-6 weeks on Saturday to wash vessels, replacing flowers, refreshing baptismal water etc.
• 30-45 minutes following 10:30 AM Sunday service, cleaning up and preparing for next service
• Special occasions (i.e. Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving), preparing and cleaning up
  TRAINING PROVIDED

Cookie Bakers

• Home-baked or purchased cookies for the gathering following the 10:30 AM Sunday service
• Cookies are made according to each bakers' choice and placed out with help of custodian
• 3-4 dozen cookies 1x month

Coffee Ministry

• Scheduling of Sunday coffee servers

If you are interested in volunteering for one of these ministries or need more information, please contact our Volunteer Coordinator Nicky Seppala at volunteer@thecathedral.ca or 604-682-3848.

Thank you!

Celebrating the laying of Christ Church’s cornerstone 130 years ago (to the day - July 28!), as the “Root House” grew into the building we know today. The music will include that of early organists Ferdinand Dunkley and Frederick Chubb.

Download the Poster for the Cathedral Summer Festival of Sacred Music 2024

Paul’s message to the Ephesians is a powerful reminder of the unity and reconciliation that we have in Jesus. As Jesus' followers in Vancouver, we are called to live out this reality in our diverse and secular context. By embracing diversity, practicing forgiveness, serving with humility, engaging in social justice, and living out the Gospel in our daily lives, we can be agents of Jesus’ peace and unity in this time and place.

The only way we can successfully live into this ideal is by making Jesus the cornerstone of our lives. Everything else in our lives must be set in reference to him. He alone must determine the position of the entirety of our lives.

I invite you to join me in re-committing ourselves to making Jesus the cornerstone of our lives, allowing His love and peace to guide us in all that we do. May our lives be a reflection of the new humanity that Paul envisions, and may our community be a testament to the transformative power of the Gospel in this time and place.

The Very Rev. Chris Pappas

How do we memorialize our mothers? This is a question I’ve been sitting with since my dear mother, Susila Bryant, a singer-songwriter and a parishioner at Christ Church Cathedral, passed away last year after a valiant battle with ALS. She was such a kind, loving, generous spirit who helped so many people in her life that I wanted to remember her with a public memorial that would give back to the community.

After she died last year, I was inspired to organize an annual memorial concert in her memory. In the last few weeks, an amazing programme has come together through love, friendship, and community. My mother’s spirit will be alive and well at the first annual Susila Bryant Memorial concert at Christ Church Cathedral on Saturday, August 10 at 7:30 PM. Proceeds will go to the Al Ahli Hospital in Gaza City, managed by the Anglican Diocese of Jerusalem. You can buy tickets in advance via Eventbrite or pay $25 cash at the door.

[…]

My husband, David Fraser, and I attend the 8:00am service at the Cathedral in Vancouver. At the end of May, we left for four months to come to our cottage in Ontario. At our last service, Dean Chris asked us to send a photo of us and the church we worship in over the summer months.

This photo was taken in front of the war memorial window at Christ Church Anglican in Meaford, Ontario. My father, Harold Appleyard, was rector of this church from 1938 to 1949. He went overseas as a padre with the Royal Regiment of Canada during WW2 and while away, he collected shards of glass from the windows of bombed churches and cathedrals in Europe. These shards were made into a series of magnificent windows in the church in Meaford in memory of those from that town who lost their lives. He kept track of where the broken pieces of glass came from and it is possible to know the origins of most of the pieces.

If you are interested in learning more, click on the button below.

The Dean joined members of the Cathedral for Dim Sum last Sunday, July 21st.

Here are a few photos from Cathedral Week at Sorrento Centre, happening now! Stay tuned for more photos from the week and a full report in next week’s Chronicle!

Lydia’s Conversion in Philippi- Acts 16:11-15

From Troas we put out to sea and sailed straight for Samothrace, and the next day we went on to Neapolis. From there we traveled to Philippi, a Roman colony and the leading city of that district of Macedonia. And we stayed there several days.

On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message. When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. “If you consider me a believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us.

[…]

From its earliest simple beginnings in the 1990’s with sandwiches made by parishioners at home and its formal start as a Food Ministry in 2006, Maundy Café continues to thrive and grow in meeting the needs of people with food insecurities.

Under the leadership of our manager Lane Wyness and approximately 55 volunteers, the Café has been serving delicious nutritious meals Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays to approximately 90-140 guests each day. In June, 1,595 meals were served, bringing this year's total to 11,279. All in, the cost per meal is $ 2.85. The Vancouver Food Bank has been a wonderful cost-effective source of food.

For the second year, Maundy Café has been operating through the month of July. Our last meal for 2023/24 is Friday, July 26. We will begin serving again Monday, September 9th.

Funds to support the Ministry come from parishioners’ donations, parishioner endowment funds held at the Vancouver Foundation and outside granting agencies.

Being part of Maundy Café is a worthwhile and rewarding experience. If you are interested in learning more about volunteering with us, please contact volunteer@thecathedral.ca.

Recently we have been experiencing hot temperatures. This heat can have detrimental health effects on all of us but is particularly hard on seniors.

Last year the BC Government introduced a new program whereby those who are in a low-income bracket (below $30,000 per year) could apply for a free portable air conditioning unit. These units are available to both homeowners and renters.
The Cathedral CATS Ministry is pleased to inform you that this program is available again to those who qualify. Here is the link to the program which provides details and conditions: free portable air conditioners.

If you are interested in applying for a free air conditioning unit, or know someone who is, we suggest that you review the information at your earliest convenience as the demand may outstrip the supply. Blessings to all for a safe and pleasant summer.

If you or someone you know would benefit from receiving a hand-knit prayer shawl, please email reception@thecathedral.ca. The shawls are prayerfully knit by members of the congregation, and blessed by clergy at a service. You can pick one up from the office on a Friday morning between 10:00 a.m. and noon, or ask one of the pastoral care ministry members to bring one along when they visit. 

A special evening of world music honouring mothers everywhere will be taking place at Christ Church Cathedral on Saturday, August 10th beginning at 7:30pm. Local writer and performer Hadani Ditmars has created a program of jazz, poetry and cabaret in memory of her late mother, Susila Bryant, a singer/songwriter who passed away last year, after a valiant battle with ALS.

Participating in this inaugural event with Hadani will be veteran Vancouver pianist Bob York, local jazz legend Lorraine Foster, Syrian singer-songwriter Grace Zakko, South African vocalist, composer Thema Tana and South-African-Canadian musician Shumba St. Albert.

Proceeds from this concert will be directed to all mothers at Al Ahli Hospital in Gaza. Founded in 1882, it is one of the oldest hospitals in the city, and the only Christian hospital in Gaza, treating people of all faiths, regardless of ability to pay. The Anglican Church of Canada has an ongoing appeal for funds to assist the hospital.

Event: Susila Bryant Memorial Concert
Date: Saturday, August 10th, 2024.
Time: 7:30pm – 9:00pm
Location: Christ Church Cathedral, 690 Burrard Street (at Georgia).
Admission: Suggested Donation of $25, or pay what you will. Tickets are also available in advance on Eventbrite (click to be redirected).
More Information: hadaniditmars@gmail.com

It is with great sadness that we announce that Rev. John Shozawa died on July 17, 2024. The celebration of life service date will be published in a future issue of this newsletter.

Please keep his family in your prayers.

A funeral service is planned for Wednesday, July 31, at 2:00 p.m. at Christ Church Cathedral, with a reception to follow.

The service will be live streamed on our website, YouTube channel, and Facebook page.

* Previous issues of this newsletter incorrectly stated that an internment would take place at the end of the service.

A memorial service is planned for Thursday, August 1st, at 2:00 p.m. at Christ Church Cathedral.

The service will NOT be live streamed.

Parish Picnic | Sunday, September 15

Alisdair's Retirement Party | Sunday, September 15

Cathedral Week at Sorrento Centre | July 20 - July 26, 2025

The Cathedral office is open Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Staff contact information is available here. 

REGULAR SUNDAY SERVICES

Holy Communion | 8:00 a.m.

Choral Eucharist | 10:30 a.m.

Eucharist with St. Brigid’s | 1:30 p.m.

Compline | 8:00 p.m.

WEEKDAY SERVICES

Holy Eucharist | Monday—Friday
12:15 p.m.

Holy Eucharist | Thursday
7:30 a.m. (with breakfast following)

Rite of Reconciliation (Confession) | 4th Wednesday
11:00 a.m.—Noon

Healing Prayers & Anointing | Wednesday
Following the 12:15 p.m. Eucharist

ONLINE

If you wish to worship with us online, click on the button below.