E-Connections – December 15, 2021
Priorities for a Time of Transition
When I was growing up, we visited my grandparents every summer on Prince Edward Island. It was something we all looked forward to eagerly. Back then, the now 6 hour trip took more than twice that time, not to mention long and boring waits in the ferry parking lot. As we crossed the Northumberland Strait, it was a welcome and exciting sight to see the Island appear on the horizon and get closer and closer.
The last two years have been a time of long waiting and emerging horizons for us at St. James Cathedral. We are finally seeing some semblance of normal in the distance, but the journey is not over quite yet. On top of that, our community has been involved in a multi-faceted visioning process under the direction of Janet Marshall, the Director of Congregational Development for the Diocese of Toronto. I am excited to tell you that we are at the point where we see the final report and strategy on the horizon and that clarity and purpose continues to draw closer and into sharper focus.
To push the nautical theme to the limit, it is helpful for us to view the final product of the visioning process as our rudder and guide over the next few years. “Priorities for a Time of Transition” reflects what this congregation and its leaders have discerned as the key landmarks and strategies for our community between Vestry 2022 and Vestry 2025. It is built on what we perceive to be our core strengths and is mindful of our limited resources at this time. The priorities in this document will help us make decisions and sharpen our focus regarding how we minister and apply human and financial resources. I am grateful to all who have taken the time to bring this process to the implementation stage after Vestry in March 2022.
We will share the final report with members of the parish by the middle of January, followed by a Town Hall meeting to allow for questions and clarifications prior to Vestry. Please stay tuned early in the year for dates and times!
May God bless you and keep you safe in this Advent, a holy season of waiting and expectation.
The Very Reverend Stephen Vail
Dean & Rector
Christmas at the Cathedral
Christmas Eve
4:30pm: Lessons & Carols service (also live-streamed) – Preceded by an Organ Recital at 4:00pm
7:30pm: Choral Eucharist (also live-streamed)
Christmas Day
8:00am: Said Eucharist
9:00am: Sung Eucharist
11:00am: Choral Eucharist (also live-streamed)
Registration to attend any of our Christmas services is required and is now open on our website here.
The Christmas Eve services and the 11:00am Christmas Day service will also be live-streamed on the Diocesan YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/tordio135
Canon Stephen’s Christmas Poem
Every year I write a poem for my Christmas Card. Last Christmas, as I reflected on the experiences and disappointments many had in the lockdown, I wrote the following which I am pleased to share with you.
There’s Joy at Christmas!
We could not welcome that new Christian
through the Sacrament of Baptism.
No elaborate wedding ceremony
where we could throw rice and confetti.
Nor was there that grand celebration
with our colleagues at graduation,
All due to the coronavirus.
But yet we know there’s joy at Christmas!
We could not gather at the altar
nor sing the Easter alleluias.
Meetings were via the laptop screen
ZOOM became the way we would be seen.
No Pride parade downtown on Church Street,
no carnival, steel pan, nor dancing feet.
No parties and picnics like years past.
But yet we know there’s joy at Christmas!
But something significant has occurred,
compassion and care have been unfurled.
The masks we wear are symbols of love,
visible reminders of the God above,
who that first night visited the earth
with healing and hope in Jesus’ birth.
So, peace and goodwill came from God to us,
that’s how we know there’s joy at Christmas!
The Rev. Canon Dr. Stephen Fields (2020)
Sunday, December 26: The First Sunday after Christmas
8:00am: Said Eucharist
9:00am: Sung Eucharist
11:00am: Choral Eucharist with Spiritual Communion.
Registration is required.
Registration for services on Sunday, December 26 will open on December 20 here.
You do not need to register for the 8:00am service; instead, there will be a sign-in sheet when you arrive.
The 11:00am service will be live-streamed on the Diocesan YouTube channel.
Weekday Service Schedule for Christmas Week
Please note: 8:00am Morning Prayer & the 12:15pm Eucharist will not take place on Friday, December 24.
For the week of December 27, there will be one in-person weekday Eucharist service only on Wednesday, December 29 at 12:15pm.
During this week, you can catch Morning Prayer online only each day at 8:00am on the Cathedral YouTube channel here.
Cathedral Centre Holiday Hours
The Cathedral Centre doors will be closed on Monday, December 27 and Tuesday, December 28.
If you would like to drop off an offering to the secure mailbox which is mounted in the Church Street vestibule at the entrance of the doors at 65 Church Street, the doors will be open the following times:
Wednesday, December 29: 9:30am – 3:00pm
Thursday, December 30: 9:30am – 3:00pm
Friday, December 31: 9:30am – 3:00pm
Drop-In Holiday Hours
St. James Cathedral’s Drop-In will be open during the holidays and offering meals on: Christmas Eve, Friday, December 24, 2021: 1:30 – 3:30pm
New Year’s Eve, Friday December 31, 2021: 1:30 – 3:30pm.
Drop In Fundraiser
The Drop-In is holding a ‘Christmas Bell Ornament’ Fundraiser!
All proceeds from the sales of these handmade ornaments go directly to the Drop-In Program. See the fundraiser flyer here.
Place your order with Kathy Biasi by email at kbiasi@stjamescathedral.ca or by phone at 416-364-7865, ext. *222 before December 17 at 12noon. You will be contacted to confirm pick-up date and payment details. Thank you for your support!
UPCOMING AT THE CATHEDRAL
Advent Through the Arts – Young Adult Advent Series continues
During Advent, we are hosting a series of conversations for young adults in the parish, looking at Advent themes in poetry, photography, music, and iconography. We’ll meet on Sundays at 12:30pm in Snell Hall. For details email Claire at clatimerdennis@stjamescathedral.ca.
Book Group – Today: Wednesday, December 15 at 7:00pm
Join the Cathedral Book Club in reading Laurus by Eugene Vodolazkin. A novel set in Medieval Russia, it follows a Holy Fool in his life’s adventures. It’s a strange, beautiful, and funny book! We’ll gather over Zoom on December 15 at 7:00pm. Email clatimerdennis@stjamescathedral.ca if you’re interested in joining the discussion.
La Nativité du Seigneur – Friday, December 17 at 7:30pm
| The talented Rashaan Allwood presents La Nativité du Seigneur by Olivier Messiaen on Friday December 17 at 7:30pm.
This organ recital will be both in-person (subject to the regulations in place for Sunday services) and on-line via the Cathedral Choir YouTube channel: Bookmark the link as it will be used for all further organ recitals: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCx44CA1TbPoJAjGSuj0DOJA No need to register to attend in person – we’ll have a sign-in sheet when you arrive. La Nativité is of the most startlingly original works ever created for the organ. Olivier Messiaen, a deeply devout musician, conceived a series of nine musical tableaux which reflect not only upon the actual events of the nativity – the shepherds, the wise men – but the profound implications of these events for us today. The organ portrays the story in music which ranges from quiet, timeless introspection to shattering excitement. Biblical readings and poems by George Herbert, W.H. Auden, Malcolm Guite, Tennyson, and others will intersperse the musical reflections. We look forward to welcoming you! |
IN THE NEW YEAR
January 1, 2022 – Choral Evensong & Presentations of the Order of the Diocese of Toronto
We are delighted to announce that Bishop Andrew Asbil has named Robert (Bob) Hart to the Order of the Diocese of Toronto. This distinction is in recognition of exceptional and exemplary ministry by laity in the Diocese. Many congratulations, Bob, on this well-deserved honour!
A Choral Evensong service which includes presentations of the Order of the Diocese of Toronto will take place on January 1, 2022 at 3:00pm. The service is for ODT recipients and their guests only and will be live-streamed. A Festive Organ Recital with Tom Bell precedes the service at 2:30pm.
Tune in to watch on the Diocesan YouTube channel here. We hope you can join in as we celebrate Bob’s ministry here and in the wider Diocese.
Organ Recitals
We are delighted that our organ recital series will resume in the New Year, both for attendance in person and online.
If you wish to attend in person, please complete the sign-in form at the door.
Concerts will also be presented through the Cathedral Choir YouTube Channel : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCx44CA1TbPoJAjGSuj0DOJA
All recitals start at 1:00pm on Tuesdays.
The schedule includes:
January 25: Imre Olah (St. Elizabeth’s Roman Catholic Church, Toronto)
February 8: John Paul Farahat (St. Basil’s Roman Catholic Church, Toronto)
February 15: Dan Norman (Anglican Church of the Redeemer, Toronto)
March 1: Mark Himmelman (St. Matthew’s on the Plains, Burlington)
March 15: Thomas Bell (St. James Cathedral, Toronto)
April 26: Brad Barbeau (St. George’s Cathedral, Kingston)
Details about the organ can be found here
Choral Evensong – Installation of Honorary Canons of St. James Cathedral &
Installation of Vice-Chancellors of the Diocese
Sunday, January 9, 2022 at 4:30pm.
This service will be live-streamed on the Diocesan YouTube channel.
Choral Evensong – Commemoration of the 70th Anniversary of
The Accession of Her Majesty The Queen
Sunday, February 6, 2022 at 4:30pm
This service will be both in-person and live-streamed on the Diocesan YouTube channel.
The service will be preceded by an Organ Recital of Music for Royal occasions at 4:00pm.
‘Becoming the Story we Tell’
Christ our Passover has been sacrificed for us; therefore let us keep the feast.
Over the next few months, Canon John Hill will walk with us as we engage the experience of “Becoming the Story we Tell – renewing our engagement in Christ crucified and risen”. In presenting this renewal program, the Primate’s Task Force, Anglican Church of Canada, wrote, “Many faithful members of the Church worry that the great tradition we inherited has lost its passion. We need to know how to renew our engagement in Christ crucified and risen. That is how we become the story we tell. And that is how, together, we will lay foundations for bearing witness to the Good News and making new disciples.”
In the new year and the weeks to follow, more information will be shared about this journey—from Ash Wednesday to Pentecost— as we seek to recover the Church’s original passion.
CONNECTING WITH ST. JAMES
Weekday Services at the Cathedral
Morning Prayer
Monday to Friday: 8am in person also live-streamed on our YouTube channel)
Morning Prayer will also be posted online only on our YouTube channel on Saturday at 8:00am.
Holy Eucharist
Monday & Friday: 12:15pm
Tues & Thurs: 8:30am
Wed: 9:30am (Snell Hall) & 12:15pm
All services take place in the Cathedral’s Lady Chapel except as noted.
No need to pre-register, but we’ll have a sign-in sheet when you arrive.
WORSHIP WITH US
SUNDAYS
Join us for in-person services at 8:00am, 9:00am and 11:00am.
Registration is required and is available on our website here.
You do not need to register for the 8:00am service; instead, there will be a sign-in sheet when you arrive.
The 11:00am service will continue to be live-streamed on the Diocesan YouTube channel.
SUNDAY COFFEE HOUR
Both in-person and virtual Coffee Hours are suspended for the time being, but please say hello on the West Lawn as you leave!
CONTINUING EACH WEEK
- Sermon Discussion Group on Zoom with The Reverend Dr. David Danner, one of our Honorary Assistants: Mondays at 10:00am; email the office to receive the link
Financial Stewardship
We are exceedingly grateful to those of you who continue to support us financially. If you would like to make a donation, here are the ways to do that:
- Mail a cheque to 65 Church Street, Toronto, Ontario, M5C 2E9.
- Use the ‘Donate’ button on our website.
- You can now hand-deliver your offerings to the Cathedral Centre: A secure mailbox has been mounted in the Church Street vestibule at the entrance of the doors at 65 Church Street. The doors are open from 9:00am – 4:00pm, Monday – Friday.
- Sign up for Pre-Authorized monthly giving, thus ensuring a vital stream of income for the Cathedral. Please note that at any time you can stop or change the PAG amount by emailing the office.
- Make a gift of securities (see details here).
- We are delighted to have a QR code for donating electronically which you will find in all bulletins. Simply scan with your phone camera and donate! You can also donate here.
Staying Connected
We invite you to continue to link to the Cathedral’s website or Facebook page for updates, links to services, and opportunities for fellowship and learning. St. James relies on your faithfulness and generosity, for which we are very grateful. God bless you.
The Very Reverend Stephen Vail, Rector of St. James Cathedral & Dean of Toronto
Joan Peters & Jayne Hobbs, Wardens
svail@stjamescathedral.ca
wardens@stjamescathedral.ca
