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.

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

All are welcome to join us as we walk towards the cross with Jesus and celebrate their resurection.

Please click on the link below to see the entire schedule.

Please note that incense will be used during the following services during Holy Week:

Eucharist on Palm Sunday | April 13 | 10:30 a.m.

Taizé (Lamentation for the Opiod Crisis) | April 13 | 4:00 p.m.

Chrism Mass & Installation of the Archbishop | April 15 | 12:15 p.m.

Holden Evening Prayer | April 15 | 7:00 p.m.

Maundy Thursday | April 17 | 7:00 p.m.

Easter Vigil | April 19 | 8:00 p.m.

Eucharist on Easter Day | April 20 | 10:30 a.m. 

Compline | April 20 | 8:00 p.m.

Incense is used at ALL Sunday 4pm Evening Prayer and 8pm Compline services.

Starting on Sun April 6th, during the 10.30am service, we will be slowly starting our children's Sunday school program again. On the first Sunday of the next three months, children are invited to come downstairs, following a prayer in the service, for a Godly Play* lesson. They will come back upstairs and rejoin their parents for communion. 

*Godly Play is a Montessori-informed approach that nurtures children's spirituality as they engage with the stories and sacraments of the church. It was developed by Dr. Jerome Berryman, an American Anglican priest. 

On April 14, 2016, BC declared a public health emergency about the number of opioid-related deaths. At that time the rate of overdose deaths was 20.4 per 100,000 people. In 2023, the rate of overdose deaths was 45.7 per 100,000. Thousands of our family members, friends and neighbours have died. And we are grieving their loss.

On Sunday April 13, 2025 at 4 pm, a Remembrance Service for the Victims of the Opioid Crisis will be held at Christ Church Cathedral. In partnership with our neighbours we will offer prayers, reflection, music and pastoral care.

The space will be open at 3:45 pm and we will have spiritual and pastoral support available during and following the service. Please join us to mark the anniversary of this public health crisis, joining our hearts together to remember those we have lost and to say that more must be done.

For this service, please send us the names of loved ones who have died due to the opioid crisis. You can send the names of your loved ones to: reception@thecathedral.ca. 

“So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation.” — 2 Corinthians 5:17-18

Dear Friends in Christ,

The Fourth Sunday of Lent invites us to reflect on reconciliation—not as an abstract ideal but as a lived reality. St. Paul reminds us that reconciliation is at the heart of God’s work in the world. Through Christ, God has made peace with us, and now we are called to carry forward this ministry of healing and renewal.

This year, the Cathedral’s Trustees have discerned that Lent is an opportunity to renew our commitment to Truth and Reconciliation. As a national church, we have been named ...

Fr. Kevin Hunt, retired Rector of our neighbour church, St James Church, spiritual director, and friend of the Cathedral, will lead us on an exploration of safeguarding practices in our Diocese, and guide us in reflection on times where the Church has not kept some of the most vulnerable members of our communities safe. 

Join us at 9:15 a.m on Sunday, April 6th to reflect on and deepen our community's commitment to being a safe and sacred space.

This week's Sundays@4 features Choral Evensong sung by the Cathedral Choir.

All are welcome to join us in-person at the Cathedral. Please note that a livestream is not available for this service.

It has been said that “God behaves in the psalms in ways that God is not allowed to behave in theology” (Sebastian Moore, OSB). This Lent encounter God in the Book of the Psalms. Claude St-Denis will be leading an exploration of the Psalms: an exploration of the Psalms as scripture and an exploration of the Psalms as prayer. 

Join us online on Tuesday evenings in Lent (from March 11, 18, April 1, 8 & 15), from 7:30 to 9:00 p.m. (zoom room opens at 7:15 p.m.). 

If you have any questions, please call the office at 604-682-3848 ext. 100, and we will connect you with Claude St-Denis. 

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.

It is the time of year the Altar Guild begins its preparations for Easter.

We will be collecting money for our decorations after the 8 and 10:30 services on April 6th.

Donations can also be made by phoning the Cathedral office and speaking to Vanessa Ho at extension 121.

There is still time to participate in the Cathedral's census.

You will now find the link to the census and other information about the Cathedral's strategic planning process on the Cathedral's website.

A link to the census is in the post "There's Still Time!"

We’ve all come to know and appreciate Father Christian over these past few months. It is now time to welcome his wife Debbie and his son Joshua to our community. Everyone is invited to a baby shower/reception as part of the coffee hour after the 10:30 service on April 27th.

Baby gifts for Joshua are appreciated; either individual gifts, or for those who would like to contribute to a larger item (e.g. crib), there will be an opportunity to participate and sign a group card at coffee hour over the next couple of weeks. We would prefer earlier than Easter Sunday as it could be a bit hectic that day. If you would like ideas from a wish list for Joshua, please check with Holly MacMillan or Judy Mostardi.

There will be cake!

We are delighted to announce a number of new opportunities to sing in a choir or vocal group at the Cathedral, including some that are suited to those with little or no previous choral experience. We now have five choral groups, including a Taizé Choir, the St Brigid's Choir, and of course our beloved Cathedral Choir.

Each group has a different time commitment: the Cathedral Choir meets twice a week or more (and as often as daily during Holy Week); the other choirs have lighter schedules so they may be easier to fit within your routine.

Further information on each of the groups (and how to join) is given on our website.

Come and sing!

This is what Helen Williams kindly submitted when asked to write an article about the energy savings she made in her apartment unit:

"I did it! After years of planning and saving I did two major renovations in 2024. The first was to install a walk-in-shower (with heated floor) to enable me to live independently for longer. The second was to install new windows to replace the original windows from the 50’s. My family had been telling me for years that I had been personally heating Stanley Park which is just outside my living room window. A three-month reno turned into a six-month reno ~ think permits! At last, seven triple-pane windows were installed. It was also recommended that I install timers on all my heaters, so that rooms are heated only at the right time in the right room. I just received my BC Hydro bill, and my energy usage has been reduced by 41%!"

This journey began in 2007 ...

Earth Hour 2025 was held on March 22nd at 8:30 pm local time. Millions of people globally participated in this event, saving nearly 3 million hours for the Earth. This confirms that Earth Hour can positively affect the environment and promote environmental awareness.

You will find more details on the Earth Hour website at the link below.

If you are a newcomer to the Cathedral within the last three months, or missed the last newcomers gathering, you are warmly invited to our upcoming Newcomers Coffee Hour.

We will meet in the Park Room after the 10:30 a.m. Eucharist on Sunday, April 13th.

Please join us.

Please join us for our symbolic version of the "The Last Supper", followed by the Maundy Thursday service.

A simple dinner will be served in the Maundy Café from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. and the service will follow in the Nave at 7:00pm.

All are welcome.

If you need to drive: we are inquiring to see if there is any flexibility on the start time for the evening parking flat rate on Maundy Thursday, and will update you in next week's Chronicle.

Join the Very Rev. Christopher A. Pappas, Rev. Clare Morgan, Dr. Neil Cockburn, and Jane Dittrich, for a relaxing retreat at the Sorrento Retreat & Conference Centre July 20-26, 2025.

The Rev. Canon Dr. Harold Munn will also be in residence this week to offer his course, "God Talk for Secular Ears".

You won't want to miss Cathedral led activities such as: Theology on Tap, Hymn Sing, and Hike & Pray at Margaret Falls.

Contact Sorrento Retreat & Conference Centre to reserve your place for this wonderful week.

On Saturday, April 5, Vancouver will hold a civic by-election for two council seats. If you are unsure of whom to support, you might consider checking out their platforms on environmental issues. What is their plan to protect our water, air and green spaces? Typically, civic by-elections have a very low voter turnout.

Your vote is important. For more information, go to Vancouver.ca.

Sylvia Passmore's funeral will held at the Cathedral on Friday, April 4, 2025 at 2pm.

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 | Sunday, April 6 | 10:30 a.m.

Maundy Café Simple Supper | Thursday, April 17 | 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.

Sun Run | Sunday, April 27 | 9:00 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.

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

Sundays@4 Choral Service | 4:00 p.m.

Compline | 8:00 p.m.
(to resume on Easter Sunday, April 20, 2025)

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.