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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 Tuesday 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 2025 is 20254630. Rate details are available here.

You can watch past live-streamed services on our YouTube channel — click to watch the ones you missed or rewatch the ones you enjoyed!

Reverend Areeta is away May 12-19, 2025.

This summer, a team of clergy from the Diocese of New Westminster—Dean Chris, Archdeacons Rob James, Adam Yates & Kevin Hunt, and the Revs Areeta Bridgemohan & Clare Morgan—are answering God’s call to journey north to Whitehorse, to serve and stand alongside the Diocese of the Yukon. They will travel north to Whitehorse from June 7 through the end of August in sequential weeks to support the Diocese of the Yukon.

In a region where clergy are few and resources are stretched, the faithful witness of the Church continues with quiet strength and deep commitment. By offering pastoral support, financial assistance, and ongoing formation opportunities, our dioceses are working together to build up the body of Christ across vast geography and diverse communities. This partnership reflects our shared calling to serve, to accompany, and to proclaim good news—not only with words, but through presence, relationship, and mutual encouragement in the work of God’s mission.

As we prepare to send this team north, we invite the Cathedral and the whole Diocese of New Westminster to be part of this journey in spirit and prayer. Please pray for the Diocese of the Yukon—for its people, its clergy, and its faithful communities scattered across vast and often remote regions. Pray also for those traveling to serve this summer, that their ministry may be a source of encouragement, renewal, and hope. And stay tuned: in the weeks ahead, we’ll be sharing a blog series that follows this northern mission—telling the stories, reflecting on the experiences, and celebrating the ways the Spirit is at work in this partnership. Together, from coast to North, we continue to strengthen the Church in the name of Christ.

Join us in the Cathedral on Sunday May 18 at 4pm for Sung Evening Prayer with music from the Taizé Community.

Gathering Song - Surrexit Christus Alleluia! (Taizé)
Service of Light - Christ be our Light
Thanksgiving - Let my prayer rise up
Psalm 84 - Sung response: Ubi Caritas (Taizé)
Reading: Matthew 7: 7-14
Magnificat (Taizé)
Litany - O Lord, hear my prayer (Taizé)
Lord's Prayer - Pater Noster (Taizé)
Closing Song - Jubilate Deo (Taizé)

The Taizé Community is an ecumencial Christian monastic community in eastern central France, and an important site for Christian pilgrimage, especially among youth. The music developed by the Community places emphasis on broad participation, achieving this by using charmingly simple and meditative refrains and responses that are repeated in the manner of a mantra.

Sundays@4 features a different 45-minute music-centered worship each Sunday, based on the service of Evening Prayer following the Revised Common Lectionary.
Please join us in-person for Sundays@4. These services are not livestreamed.

The full schedule for Sundays@4 is available here.

Image credit.

The Future Outlook Survey is a second survey, not to be confused with the Census which is now complete. 

This Future Outlook Survey is a deeper dive into your thoughts about our Cathedral life, and an opportunity to express what matters most to you. 

All the input we are gathering will be used for the purpose of determining the future direction of the Cathedral. The Future Outlook Survey will take about 15 minutes to complete and must be done in one sitting. The results will be used to shape our discussions in the upcoming Listening Circles taking place in June. Registration for Listening Circles (choices for in-person and Zoom) will open soon.

Access the Future Outlook Survey

·      through the link in a special email you will receive on Friday afternoon.

·      or by scanning the QR Code in this Sunday’s Bulletin or on posters in the Narthex, Parish Hall and outside the office. 

·       through the link in the 10:30 livestream Chat Room. 

Please call or email reception@thecathedral.ca and you will be contacted by one of the Steering Committee members if you:

·       have questions or thoughts about the Future Outlook Survey or the Strategic Planning Process, 

·       need help linking to or help completing the Future Outlook Survey, or 

·       if we don’t have your email address.

Thank you for helping us grow together!

Jennifer Barr & Jane Osler
On behalf of the Cathedral Strategic Planning Steering Committee

Are you looking for a way to deepen your spiritual life? Every weekday morning at 9:30am the Cathedral holds Morning Prayer.

We will follow a simple liturgy with a Psalm, a Reading, Prayer and Silence. This form of regular, daily prayer is used in the Anglican Communion and a number of other church denominations. All are welcome to start the day in prayer with us.

Morning Prayer takes place online via Zoom. To join in, please email Morning Prayer for Zoom coordinates.

We’re looking for friendly, enthusiastic volunteers to help welcome people to the Cathedral for the 1:30pm, 4pm and 8pm services on Sundays.

As a greeter, you’ll have the opportunity to create a warm, inviting atmosphere for everyone who walks through our doors—whether they’re first-time visitors or long-time members. Your smile, handshake, and kind words can help set the tone for a meaningful worship experience.

If you enjoy meeting new people and want to be a part of making our church a more welcoming place, we’d love to have you join the team!

Please email reception@thecathedral.ca if you are interested.

Please note that incense is used at all Sunday 4pm Evening Prayer and 8pm Compline services.

On Sunday May 4th, 2025 Joshua our son was officially welcomed to the body of Christ through the sacrament of baptism and with his first gift to the church, a gift of wafers and symbol of a thankful heart, he was dedicated to God Almighty who made his power manifest in his  life. Circumstances surrounding Joshua's arrival was a rollercoaster journey for us, a journey filled with anxiety, uncertainty and contemplation, "but thanks be to God who has given us victory through Christ Jesus". 1 Cor.15:57

Despite arriving three months early, Joshua defied all odds, and in resilience and perseverance, he stayed in the NICU for four months,  fought and won all his battles, and miraculously pulled through- 'CHUKWUEMELIE'! God prevailed! 

We thank the Christ Church Cathedral staff team and parishioners led by The Very Rev. Christopher A. Pappas for the prayers, words of encouragement, support and gifts. 

Thanks to our Bishop and Archbishop, The Most Rev. John Stephens for the calls, check-ins, and support. 

Thanks to the church women for organizing a baby shower for Joshua, who attended his own shower.

And to all our family and friends, we are grateful for the love shown to us throughout this period. 

"Thou that hast given so much to me, give me one thing more, a grateful heart: ...Not thankful when it pleaseth me, as if Thy blessings had spare days; but such a heart whose pulse may be Thy praise."—George Herbert.

Thank you all, May God bless you abundantly! 
From:  Christian, Debby and Joshua. 

If you are a young-ish adult (however you define it!) attending the Cathedral, join Pastor Matthew Senf for a coffee/tea and treats on Sunday May 18th from 12-1 p.m. We'll connect with one another, and share a little bit about our faith journeys. 

No registration required, just show up!

On June 1, CATS is sponsoring a Blessings for Bicycle Riders event at the 10:30 service. Bicycle riders and their allies will bring their helmets to receive blessings and prayers for safety. The event is CCC’s contribution to City-wide Bike Week sponsored by HUB, a non-profit organization dedicated to bicycle transportation.

It's probably clear that urban bicycle riders could use a prayer or two for safety.

It's probably also clear that cycling is a health-enhancing act of stewardship. HUB points out that bicycles do not use fossil fuels and do not contribute to air pollution. Bicycle riders do not create commuter congestion and do not add to traffic noise. Whether commuting, running errands, or simply adventuring, bicycle riders enjoy an easily accessible, low-impact activity that builds fitness, reduces stress, elevates mood, and improves mental clarity.

But what does the bicycle have to do with spirit? Here, HUB does not comment, so cyclists in our midst will offer a few paragraphs about cycling and spirit in the Chronicle each week until the June 1st event.

In my own experience of cycling and spirit, evening rides are a portal through the neighbourhood into the numinous. Raindrops wink from hosta and hellebore; spruce and sequoia sweep the sky. I stop for moms, dads, and babies, for downy fluffball goslings, then pedal on, under blue clouds, beneath blue mountains, along blue seas, further, into the mystic blue.

The air enlivens heart and lungs and corpuscles. The air renews spirit; the air invites the day’s review; the air allows focus on what is life giving and what is not; the air shows where and how to proceed more fully alive.

The bicycle. “Tool for conviviality,” avenue to spirit. Bless the bicycle.

Submitted by Lin Langley on behalf of CATS

The Cathedral has a special retreat opportunity at Rivendell Retreat Centre on Bowen Island this June. 

Space is available for 25 people in 17 rooms (some rooms are double-occupancy). Food will be catered. 

Cost will be $350/person for the weekend, food and drink are included.

More information and registration will become available as planning unfolds. If you have any questions, please connect with Rev. Areeta. 

Healing Touch, in person, is available for members of Christ Church Cathedral the third Sunday of the month.
 
The next in person Healing Touch offering will be on Sunday, May 18, 2025.
 
Sessions will be offered at 9:00am, 9:30am, 12pm and 12:30pm.
 
To register for a session please email the office at healingtouch@thecathedral.ca to request a time. 

In your email, please state “Healing Touch In Person” in the subject line.  

All requests from parishioners will be considered, and confirmation emails sent by May 16th.
 
If you would like more information about Healing Touch, there are brochures in the rack outside the office.

On what would have been his 150th birthday we remember our first Curate, Henry LeGallais Roy (May 7, 1875 – September 20, 1953). Roy’s father was the Reverend Josias Jesse Roy, later minister of St. George’s Church, Winnipeg, a descendent of the Abraham Martin upon whose land the Battle of the Plains of Abraham was fought. Henry Roy graduated from the University of Manitoba with a silver medal in 1894, then studied at Wycliffe College in Toronto for five years. By the turn of the century Christ Church’s finances had improved to the point that Rector Tucker was authorized to hire an assistant priest. Roy was chosen and duly arrived in January 1901 – one of his first tasks was preaching at the services of commemoration for the recently deceased Queen Victoria. After the departure of Tucker in 1902 Roy acted as interim rector before the arrival of Cecil Owen in 1903. In 1905 Roy returned to Winnipeg to accept the Rectorship of St. George’s Church; his departure was considered a great loss to Christ Church, especially to the Boys’ Brigade in which he had always taken an active role.

Subsequently Roy was Rural Dean of Turtle Mountain (Manitoba, 1908-1913) before serving as Assistant General Missioner for the Diocese of Rupert’s Land. In 1928 Roy was named an Honorary Canon at the Pro-Cathedral of St. Matthew in Brandon, Manitoba. These days Roy is perhaps best know as a chess organizer, a role he did not get involved in until 1936 when he was already sixty-one years old. Describing himself as a ‘run of the mine’ player, Roy noted: “By learning chess, you have a spare-time filler until you're ready for the grave. You might be an athlete, but you're a has-been at thirty – in chess there is no limit… Never aspired to become a chess expert but did try my hand at organizing chess in local, provincial and national fields. Acted as president, for eight years, of the Winnipeg Chess Club, six years of the Manitoba Chess Association, two years secretary of the Winnipeg Jewish C.C. and President, Chess Federation of Canada for five years.” Early in 1947 Roy returned to Vancouver where he became involved with the British Columbia Chess Federation. He passed away after returning from his last Annual General Meeting of the Chess Federation of Canada, having just completed his final term as President.

Upper Zoom Bible Study of Sunday Readings | Thursdays | 7:15 p.m.

Fellowship for Parishioners of African Descent | Last Saturday of each month | 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.

1st Sundays Godly Play | June 1 | 10:30 a.m.

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.

St. Brigid’s Eucharist | 1:30 p.m.

Sundays@4 Choral Service | 4:00 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.

Those seeking prayers for themselves or others may email the Cathedral Prayer Link at prayerlink@thecathedral.ca to have their name added to the list.