Honouring Our Past, Forging Our FutureCathedral Church of All Saints 1910 – 2010

Did you know that the official “launch” of the Cathedral plans for 2010 is slated for the fall of 2008? Mark your calendar for October 19, 2008, as this is the exact date, 100 years later, of the laying of the Cathedral’s cornerstone on the present site of the Cathedral. It is this re dedication ceremony on October 19 at the 10:30 service that will mark the official launch of the Cathedral 2010 plans.

As for the  cornerstone, did you know that it was cut and inscribed in 1887, the Centenary of the Diocese, and was laid in a ceremony of that year, at the intersection of Spring Garden, Coburg, and Robie, where the present Bank of Nova Scotia now resides? However, with the exception of a buttress to house the cornerstone, nothing else for the intended Cathedral, a dream of Bishop Hibbert Binney, was built on that site. The walls for the new Cathedral on the present site were high enough by October, 1908, for Bishop Clarendon Lamb Worrell, in the presence of the Lieutenant Governor, to re lay the 1887 cornerstone, now inscribed to explain the transfer from its original site. One doesn’t usually think of a cornerstone as a moveable object, but the Cathedral’s has not been static! It was damp and windy on October 19, 1908 – let’s hope for our famous fall sunshine 100 years later. 

All Saints’ Cathedral  - where strangers become friends, where Christ’s peace and justice are sought, where God is worshipped with heart, mind, and voice. We know that 2010 will provide the perfect opportunity for the Cathedral to promote its vision outcome of excellence in music and the arts. We are delighted, therefore, that our Organist and Choir Director, John Hudson, has made preliminary inquiries of an internationally recognized composer for the creation of a special anniversary anthem for the Cathedral. This is an exciting development.  

The Cathedral 2010 Committee has expanded its numbers and with Gay Hauser (the Cathedral’s representative on the Diocesan 2010 Anniversary Committee) as chair, we now have the following complement: Ray Carter, Kent Doe, Sheila Gordon, Frank Lovely, Cynthia Pilichos, and Robert Richmond. There is no question that 2010 offers the Cathedral a unique opportunity for honouring our past and forging our future.

Cynthia Pilichos for the Cathedral 2010 Committee