“Greater Works than These”

A message from The Very Rev'd Ansley Tucker

This is an invitation to every member of the Cathedral to consider who and what we want to be in middle 50 years of the 21st century.

In the Gospel of John, Jesus makes a convincing impact by performing many “signs.” The first of these was at the wedding in Cana, when he turned water into (good) wine. He also threw the moneychangers out of the Temple; he walked on water; fed 5,000 with two fish and five barley loaves; gave sight to the blind; and brought Lazarus back from the dead. It’s a pretty impressive résumé.

And then on the night before he dies, as he gathers for a final meal with the Twelve, he tells them this: “Very truly I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do, and in fact, will do greater works than these because I go to the Father.”

In other words, the work of kingdom-building is now up to us – and because Jesus sends us the Holy Spirit, he is confident in our ability to surpass even what already seems astonishingly fine.

Christ Church Cathedral has provided a sacred presence, ministry to its members, and help to those in need for over 150 years. We have a proud heritage. We also have the encouragement of Christ himself to do “even greater works than these.”

But, which works? This is the question now before us.

What is the Church (our Church) called to do and be? Why are we here? What do we have to contribute to the world that matters? What shall we focus upon as we enter the middle 50 years of the 21st century? We recognize that determining what we want to be, and why, must drive any further conversation about reconfiguring our space. This only makes sense!

Together with our School, the Cathedral has engaged Walter Stewart, a seasoned and successful consultant – and a committed Anglican – to assist us with these conversations. Over the next few weeks, we will be inviting everyone on our parish list to participate in a small facilitated discussion group.

At the moment, we envisage these conversations lasting 2 hours, and taking place here at the cathedral, with several groups meeting at the same time. In addition, there will be at least one meeting held in Saanichton, and we are also looking for a host west of the Johnson Street bridge.

What needs to happen next? Please take a moment to sign up now for one of three dates – you’ll see there is a Tuesday morning in June, a Saturday morning in July, and a Thursday afternoon in August.

There are sign-up sheets available at the Burdett and Quadra doors, in the Chapter Room and at the Cathedral Office.

We’re looking for all the input we can get. We need people who’ve been here since Moses was in knee pants, and people who have joined us recently; people who want to protect what we are, and people who want to venture into new territory; people for whom the Cathedral is their parish Church, and people for whom the Cathedral is their Cathedral. In other words, everybody.

If you would like to know more, please contact any of the following: the Cathedral Office, 250.383.2714 / cccadmin@christchurchcathedral.bc.ca; or any member of the Steering Committee: Neil MacDonald, Maureen Piercey, Phil Saurette; Marilyn Taylor, Patricia Crossley, Peter Ameerali, Stuart Hall, Barry Foster, or the Dean.