BEFORE STARTING TO READ THIS NEWSLETTER, PLEASE SCROLL DOWN UNTIL YOU SEE “VIEW ENTIRE MESSAGE” (OR SIMILAR MESSAGE) AND CLICK ON IT. THIS WILL OPEN THE CHRONICLE ON YOUR DEFAULT BROWSER AND WILL ENSURE THAT YOU DO NOT MISS ANYTHING.

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. 

New Parking Rates (Effective August 1, 2025)

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

August 24: Dean Chris at Holy Cross Vancouver

August 31: Rev. Areeta at Holy Cross Vancouver, and Deacon Kevin at St. Mary's Sapperton

August 18–August 31: Fr. Kevin at Christ Church Cathedral Whitehorse 

Two years ago, we walked together through the Five Marks of Mission—those signposts that help us live out the Good News of Jesus in the world. As we enter this year’s Season of Creation (September 1–October 4), I want to return to the Fifth Mark of Mission:

“To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation, and sustain and renew the life of the earth.”

This isn’t an “extra” or a “nice-to-have.” It’s part of what it means to follow Jesus. From the very beginning, humanity was called not to dominate but to tend and keep the garden. The Gospel is about reconciliation—not only between people and God, but also with the whole created order that God called “very good.”

Peace with Creation

This year’s theme, “Peace with Creation,” comes from Isaiah 32:14–18, where the prophet imagines a time when justice and righteousness bring peace. It’s a vision where people live in safety, communities flourish, and even the land itself rests in wholeness.

But we also know the truth: the earth is not at peace. Fires, floods, and climate instability tell us that creation is groaning. And the ones who suffer most are our most vulnerable neighbours—those who did the least to cause the damage.

When we pray and work for peace with creation, we’re also praying and working for peace with one another. The Fifth Mark of Mission calls us to live differently—for the sake of the world God loves.

Our Responsibility as Stewards

So what does this look like? It begins with faithfulness in the small things:

• In daily life: choosing to reduce waste, walk or cycle more often, support sustainable food, conserve energy, and tread more lightly on God’s earth.

• In community: lifting our voices for policies that protect creation, standing with Indigenous leaders who have long cared for the land, and shaping our Cathedral life so it models good stewardship.

• In prayer and worship: giving thanks for the goodness of creation, confessing where we have fallen short, and asking God’s Spirit to renew us for this holy work.

Every act of care for creation is also...

Early in 2025, we started a weekly service of musical Evening Prayer at the Cathedral. Sundays @4 features music of different styles and traditions, from traditional Choral Evensong with the Cathedral Choir to Taizé, Holden Evening Prayer, Organ Vespers, and even Broadway Vespers.

Now that Sundays @4 is in full swing, we invite volunteers to join our team of greeters and servers. The time commitment is Sunday from 3.15pm until approximately 5pm, and we would be delighted for team members to commit to one Sunday each month.

• Greeters meet congregation members at the door and distribute service bulletins, and they assist with receiving and counting donations

• Servers participate in setting up the liturgical space, and they robe for the service to assist the Presider, including the lighting of candles, the ceremonial use of incense, and the reading of scriptures.

Compline - Weekly on Sunday at 8pm, Christ Church Cathedral

We also invite volunteers to join our team of greeters and services for our long-established services of Compline, weekly on Sundays at 8pm. The tasks are...

You see us working every Sunday morning at the 10.30 service. We would love to recruit some more people (and kids!) to our ranks so if you would be interested in wearing an alb and carrying a cross or candle, or helping in other ways, or if you might be interested, but have questions before you decide, please let reception@thecathedral.ca know.

At Christ Church Cathedral we are discovering that the Spirit’s imagination often stretches wider than our own. Increasingly, we are called not only to serve as a parish church in downtown Vancouver, but also as a resource hub for ministry that extends far beyond our own walls.

This is what we have come to call the hub and spoke model of ministry. In this model, the Cathedral is the “hub”—a place with resources, leadership, and formation to offer—while “spoke” communities are parishes, congregations, and partner organizations who connect into that hub in a mutual way. Each spoke is unique, with its own strengths, gifts, and challenges, but together we form a shared network of ministry.

What this looks like in practice

• Holy Cross, Vancouver: The Rev. Clare Morgan serves half-time as priest-in-charge at Holy Cross and half-time as Cathedral Nave Missioner. The Cathedral provides preaching, presiding, and vacation coverage (Dean Chris is covering this Sunday, and the Rev. Areeta Bridgemohan on August 31). Holy Cross parishioners are also invited to join Cathedral formation events and special services.

• St. Mary’s, Sapperton: Once a month, the Rev. Kevin de la Mare serves as deacon among this vibrant Filipino congregation, ensuring they have the sacramental and pastoral leadership that would otherwise be missing.

• Whitehorse, Yukon: In collaboration with...

The United Nations Climate Change Conference, known as COP30, is being held this year in Belém, Brazil, from November 10th to the 25th.

The theme for this year’s conference is “Addressing Global Climate Change for a Sustainable Future.” While there are several environmental topics that will be discussed, the main item is “countries to make progress towards securing a global treaty to end plastic pollution, including in the marine environment.”

On August 16th, Anglican Rector Emilie Smith (St Barnabas in NW) began a pilgrimage to COP30. She left from Coast Salish Territories and is travelling in green, sustainable ways by bus, boat, bike, train, and burro to attend the conference. We will be following her during her journey and...

Picture this: it’s early morning and the deafening sound of chainsaws jolts you awake. Looking out, you see every tree on your street being cut down. Shocking isn’t it?

That unsettling picture is, in fact, the reality in Canada’s boreal forest, one of Earth’s greatest forests, where millions of trees are logged each year, mostly for paper.

But what does that have to do with us here at the Cathedral?

During The Season of Creation, August 31 - October 4th, we will be initiating a small change together. Guided by our Music Director, Dr Neil Cockburn, and supported by Cathedral staff, clergy and CATS (Climate Action Through Stewarding) ministry, we’ll return to using the hymnals in our pews (the large blue books found nearby in every pew) rather than printing every hymn in the Sunday 10:30 service bulletins.

This latest effort to reduce ...

Last meal is Friday, July 25. 

We will see you again on Friday, September 5. 

Summer is here – or at least school is out! 

During the summer, our Sunday school (I'm still working on finding a good name for it) is on a summer hiatus. Sunday school will be on a summer hiatus starting on Sunday July 6 and will be back on Sunday August 31. 

We will have the mats in the Nave (where the 10.30am church service takes place) with quiet toys and books, where children and their grownups are invited to sit.

In the Anglican Church, we have a phrase: "lex orandi, lex credendi" – meaning the law of prayer is the law of belief. In terms of children's ministry and spiritual accompaniment, we believe that worshiping together teaches children lots of things about praying together and we also believe that children teach us about their place in worship when they worship with us. 

May your summer be a time of renewal, of slowing down, with moments of leisure. God bless you wherever your summer journeys lead.

Your friend in Christ, 

Areeta+

---

P.S. Here is an excerpt from an article with...

Morning Prayer on Zoom | Monday to Friday | 9:30am to 10:00am

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

Summer Hiatus for Upper Zoom Bible Study - Resumes September 4, 2025  

As summer begins and some of us may be longing for some time to unwind, your Upper Zoom is also taking a break for a few weeks. After an amazing year studying our Sunday readings as well as the Book of Psalms, it is time for me to get ready for what comes next, and for you to enjoy the long expected summer.

Thank you for your presence week after week. Thank you for the knowledge and spiritual insights you shared through our conversations. The depth of this ministry comes from the group as a gift from God. We pause for the summer, but the Upper Zoom Bible Study will be back on Thursday, September 4, 2025.

In the meantime, the references for the Sunday readings are published online through our Canadian lectionary. Feel free to reach out to share your thoughts and questions through the summer. My email is claude@thecathedral.ca.

Blessings,

Claude

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.

Please Note: Unless otherwise requested, names are removed from the prayer list after three weeks. The Prayer Link ministry sincerely appreciates any updates on recovery or changes in circumstances.