April 20, 2010

“Rekindling a Northern Light”

The Cathedral Parish of St. Jude’s is a strong community inside the larger community of Iqaluit/Apex, and is very used to and open in welcoming newcomers and visitors to the city and churches. The Queen has visited here on several occasions. Visitors are made to feel welcome during the services by the leaders and by parishioners taking the lead by smiling, shaking hands, etc.

Following the devastating fire (2005) and eventual demolition of St. Jude’s (2006), the parish hall is used for worship services. Unfortunately space in the parish hall is limited and this has caused some parishioners to stop attending services. However, the parish hall is well known in the community as a gathering/meeting place with excellent facilities and on average two community organizations meet here during the week. Several church groups also meet in the parish hall. The Lay Leaders’ group: meet twice per month for Bible study, worship and preparation for the many important roles the lay leaders play in the church and in the wider community, such as visiting the sick, counseling prisoners, youth, and the bereaved. Women’s group: meet weekly on Monday evenings at the parish hall for prayers, sewing, and fellowship. They are also active in meal preparation for special groups. Northern Lights: This is a lay-led youth group that is held regularly in the evenings weekly from October to spring time in the parish hall. All youth are welcome. Contemporary Christian music is a large component of this group. The Blessings bookstore which is housed in the parish hall supplies the community and the Baffin region with Bibles, Christian books and gifts.

Outreach continues to play a large role in the ministry of the parish. This work is overseen by a Church Army Captain. He is assisted at the soup kitchen, thrift store and food bank by a group of dedicated volunteers. 

The new soup kitchen opened in September 2009 with the official opening on February 2, 2010. On average 60 people are fed soup and sandwich daily at the facility. The building houses a Thrift Store which is opened Thursday evening, Friday evening and all day Saturday and a  Food Bank which operates every other Saturday. The soup kitchen space is also used every Monday evening by the local cathedral fundraising committee.  It is also used by the thrift store and by the men’s shelter society for their monthly meetings.  The Alcoholics Anonymous community group uses the parish boardroom two evenings per week.

We’re moving ahead!

Due to the disbandment of Altus Engineering and Canadian Wooden Domes a few months ago, we were unable to proceed with construction as planned for last year.  Over the past few months there have been several teleconferences and meetings involving the fundraising committees, our architects at FSC and our construction management team at NCC.

Late in March a decision was made to have Triodetic (of Arnprior, ON) produce the materials for the new dome. The following is an overview of the next steps:

Phase 1 – Production April 14 to June 14 (8 weeks) – Triodetic to commence production by April 14 to order material and produce the building. Colour finishes are to be arctic white and bronze. Triodetic will assemble and crate the package for shipping in June.

Phase 2 – Shipping June 15 to 29 (2 weeks) Transport material from Triodetic plant to the Ottawa airport. A meeting between Triodetic’s crating representative and the airline’s load coordinator will be required to have the material properly prepared for shipping.

Phase 3 – Construction July 5 to August 15 (6 weeks) assemble the tubular structure; install system framing to prepare for exterior finishes.

Phase 4 – Insulation August 15 to September 1 (2 weeks) the spray foam installer will arrive with 2 crews to be able to get the coverage in a short time ensuring a quality product.

Phase 5 – Completion September 6 to 30 (3 weeks) the assembly crew returns to make the connection for the Oculus and Spire. Completion of the insulation and metal system frame work to receive the interior gyproc.

The budget for these 5 phases is $1,800,000. We have approximately $1,000,000 on hand. Your help in raising the remaining $800,000 this summer would certainly be appreciated.

The Diocese continues to seek ways of raising funds. One such way is that the Executive Officer will be having a display at General Synod in June which will feature the rebuilding of St. Jude’s Cathedral.  It is our prayer that the many people attending Synod from across the country will respond to our need by taking the information back to their parishes for consideration.

Visit www.triodetic.com or www.arcticnet.org for additional information.