Dear Cathedral Community,



I am sharing below various important updates that impact our common life. 

It is a great blessing to serve God and God’s people with each one of you.  Let us keep up the good work.

Faithfully,

The Very Rev. Miguelina Howell, Cathedral Dean

Arrival of Canon Garcia  

I am delighted to share with you all some exciting news. The Rev. Canon Ramon Antonio Garcia has successfully obtained his religious worker visa and will soon be joining us here at Christ Church Cathedral as Canon for Latino Ministries. His arrival to the United States is scheduled for next month.

Canon Garcia's first day in the office will be March 7th, and his first Sunday with our community will be on March 10th. This will be a special day as we come together to welcome him, and his wife Iris Margarita, warmly into our midst.

We will be hosting a joint fellowship hour between the 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. services on March 10^th to show our Cathedral hospitality to Canon Tony and his wife Iris. Of course, we will have cake! We always have cake when there is something to celebrate!

Let us prepare to embrace Rev. Garcia as he begins this new chapter with us and may his ministry here at Christ Church Cathedral be blessed abundantly.

Sabbatical of the Rev. Jay Cooke, Priest Associate 

The Rev. Jay Cooke, our esteemed colleague and friend, will be embarking on a sabbatical from March until September. Jay will be with us on March 17^th which will give us an opportunity to wish him well as he starts his sabbatical.

During this period, Rev. Cooke will take the opportunity to renew and refresh himself through a retreat and life-giving activities.



Let us pray that Jay’s time away will be spiritually enriching and that he may return to us rejuvenated and inspired. We are so blessed by Jay’s ministry among us. He has served the Cathedral over the years and look forward to continuing being recipients of his God-given gifts in the years to come.

Rev. Roxana Videla’s last Sunday at

Christ Church Cathedral

It is with a mixture of gratitude and sadness that I announce that the last Sunday of Rev. Roxana Videla as our Pastoral Assistant will be on March 31st. We will have cake on Easter Sunday, following the joint 10 am service, to express our gratitude to Roxana.

Over the past year, Rev. Videla has graced us with her loving spirit. She accepted the call to serve as Pastoral Assistant for a specified period until Canon Garcia obtained his visa. Throughout her time here, she has transitioned from lay to deacon and finally to priest, enriching our worship and ministry in countless ways.



Please join me in expressing our heartfelt appreciation to Rev. Videla for her dedicated service and in praying for her as she transitions to her next endeavor. May God’s grace and guidance be with her.

Artists in Residence

It is with mixed emotions that we write to inform you that our esteemed Artists in Residence, Seth Allen and S. Blair, will conclude their season with us at Christ Church Cathedral by June 1, 2024. Seth will complete the requirements for his Master of Music degree from the Hartt School of Music in May, and has been offered a remarkable opportunity back in his home state. It is hard to believe that it has already been almost two years since Seth and Blair joined our program. While we are saddened to see them depart, we are also thrilled for their promising futures and the new artistic endeavors that await them.

Seth and Blair write: "We are sad to announce that after Trinity Sunday we will be leaving our positions at Christ Church Cathedral. We will be moving to Fort Wayne, Indiana to work for a nonprofit performing arts organization called Heartland Sings. We want to thank you all for being such a welcoming community and making us quickly feel at home here in Hartford, CT. We have loved our time here and will miss everyone at CCC and will only be a call or text away if you feel like reaching out! Thank you all so much for everything!"

Throughout their tenure as Artists in Residence, Seth and Blair have made invaluable contributions to our community, both as members of the Cathedral choir, and through their dedicated work with the children's choir. Dean Howell remarked, "Seth and Blair have brought extraordinary gifts to our congregation, enriching the musical life of Christ Church Cathedral. Their contributions have been nothing short of exceptional, inspiring our youths, fellow musicians and congregants alike."

As we bid farewell to Seth Allen and S. Blair, we extend our deepest gratitude for the seeds they have planted, and for the beauty, joy, and inspiration they have shared with us during their time with the Cathedral. We trust that their artistic journey will continue to flourish.

Our Director of Music, Marianne Vogel, is actively engaged in a search for new candidates for our Artist-in-Residence program.

Faithfully,

Marianne Vogel, Director Music

The Very Rev. Miguelina Howell, Cathedral Dean