WHAT’S ON!
Welcome to the ‘What’s On at St John’s Cathedral’ page. Here you will find what is on this week, coming up, concert information and much more.
THIS WEEK AT ST JOHN’S
Click on image above to enlarge schedule
English Conversation Group
Mondays
2-3pm
Darnell Room
Zoom Coffee on Tuesdays
10.30-11.30am
(Zoom link below)
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Take a break, have a coffee (or other preferred cuppa) and chat online with various members of the extended Cathedral community. Relax, bring your beverage and be welcomed into the conversation on Tuesdays – any time between 10.30am and 11.30am.
Use this Zoom link: (video/audio) or your phone – (07) 3185 3730, enter Meeting ID: 885 952 546#, Passcode: 399344# and then Participant ID: #.
Christian Meditation
Tuesdays
6.45-7.30pm
Cathedral & zoom
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Our Cathedral offers a weekly Christian meditation group on Tuesday evenings from 6.45 to 7.30pm. The meditation group is always open to new members. A simple meal of soup and bread is available in St Martin’s House from 5.30pm.
The meditation group meets in the Cathedral as well as by Zoom. To join via Zoom, use either this Zoom link or your phone – (07) 3185 3730, enter Meeting ID: 278 417 931#, Passcode: 042853# and then Participant ID: #.
Further information: Please contact The Rev’d Canon Julia Van Den Bos by email (jvandenbos@stjohnscathedral.com.au) or via the Cathedral office.
Why Christian Meditation?
Meditation is a universal spiritual wisdom and a practice found at the core of all the great religious traditions, leading from the mind to the heart. It is a way of simplicity, silence and stillness. It can be practised by anyone, wherever you are on your life’s journey. It is only necessary to be clear about the practice and then to begin – and to keep on beginning.
In Christianity this tradition of contemplation, the prayer of the heart or ‘apophatic prayer’, became marginalised and often even sometimes suspect. But in recent times a major recovery of the contemplative dimension of Christian faith – and prayer – has been happening. This is transforming the different faces of the Church and revealing the way the Gospel integrates the mystical and the social.
Central to this process now is the rediscovery of how to pray in this dimension and at this depth: finding a practice of meditation in the Christian tradition. The World Community teaches a practice derived from the Gospel teaching of Jesus and the advice of early Christian monks. The Desert Fathers and Mothers teach a Christian spirituality of powerful relevance for those today who want to live their discipleship to Jesus in a radical and simple way.
Information about Christian meditation is available at wccm.org/content/what-meditation.
Coffee on Wednesdays (COWs)
10am-2pm (in the Cathedral)
Good coffee, good food, great conversations!
Chair Yoga
Wednesdays
11am-12noon (Darnell Room)
Holy Hermits Online
The Muppets Christmas Carol
A study on the themes of Advent
Thursdays, 6-7pm
November 27; December 4, 11, 18
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Step into the heartwarming world of The Muppet Christmas Carol, where laughter, music, and timeless storytelling come together to create a perfect companion for your Advent journey! More than just a holiday tradition, this beloved film invites everyone—young and old alike—to reflect on the deeper themes of the season: Death, Judgement, Heaven and Hell, and the radiant gifts of Love, Hope, Peace, and Joy.
As Ebenezer Scrooge encounters the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come, we’re gently drawn into a story of transformation. The Muppets bring both lightness and depth as Scrooge faces the reality of mortality, the weight of judgement, and glimpses of both despair and redemption. Each scene becomes a creative springboard for discussing life’s big questions in an accessible, family-friendly way—making space for honest conversations and personal growth as we prepare our hearts for Christmas.
Across four weeks of Advent, we’ll journey together through The Muppet Christmas Carol, using the film’s memorable moments to spark meaningful conversation. As we watch, we’ll reflect on both the traditional themes of Death, Judgement, Heaven, and Hell, as well as the modern gifts of Love, Hope, Peace, and Joy—considering how these resonate in our own lives as we prepare for Christmas.
To sign up go to: https://holyhermits.com.au/pages/sign-up
Saints on a Mission
Fridays
10.30-12noon
Zoom only
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SAINTS ON A MISSION (on Zoom only)
Blair Martin (Meanjin/Brisbane) is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Time: 10:30 Brisbane
Every week on Friday
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86022109248…
Passcode: 904552
Sacristan for a Morning
Saturday, 13 December 2025
9am
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The Sacristans invite you to join them for an hour or 2 on Saturday 13 December, to help make our cathedral gleam in preparation for Christmass.
We begin at 9am, and spend until 10.30am polishing vessels, timberwork and processional items (crosses, thurible, etc), and at 10.30am share morning tea.
Everyone is welcome to join. If you have any questions, please contact Helen Lancaster HLancaster@stjohnscathedral.com.au or just turn up! We supply everything you’ll need.
Kids @ St Johns
Sundays
9.30am
in person during the Choral Eucharist
and online via our Facebook & YouTube Channel (recorded and available from Saturday 9.30am)
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Children’s Ministry
Children are very much part of our family and the children’s area in the Cathedral is available whenever the Cathedral is open.
Children’s ministry is offered in the Cathedral on Sundays during the 9.30am service and online (recorded and available from Saturday mornings at 9.30am).
The videos appear on the Cathedral’s Facebook page and YouTube Channel.
Yarning Circle
With Hilary Langford
Sunday, 14 December 2025
11.15am-12.30pm
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Human beings create meaning and understanding through the sharing of stories. Listening to personal stories is an important way of gaining a deeper understanding of the world in which we live. Last year we began our Yarning Circle series in order to provide opportunities to hear the stories of First Nations people.
Our next Yarning Circle will be held on Sunday 14 December, 11.15am to 12.30pm, in the Darnell Room. Our guest will be Hilary Langford, whose mother, Muriel Langford, was very active in working with Aboriginal people from soon after she arrived in Brisbane in 1957, having lived in India from 1944 to 1955.
Muriel believed that Christianity was about action and she became very active in many ways. She was involved in the establishment of the One People of Australia League (OPAL) in 1961. She worked alongside Joyce Wilding, Kathie Cochrane, Oodgeroo Noonuccal and others as they developed programs that provided networks of support for Indigenous families who had moved to Brisbane. Issues they addressed ranged from domestic violence to coaching school students to running holiday camps to reduce stereotyping. She organised positive Indigenous news stories in The Courier Mail.
Hilary will talk about her mother’s work and the value of taking action.
The Journey 2025: God’s story, your story, my story.
Exploring the art of storytelling as a way to discern God’s call on our lives.
Sundays (on zoom)
4-5pm
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Who is The Journey for?
Those who want to take stock of their lives using a spiritual focus; Those considering baptism for themselves or for their children; Those considering confirmation;
Those who want to become an Anglican;
Those wanting to discern some future direction for their life; Those interested in unpacking the faith.
What is the process?
The Christian faith is a way of life. Entering into a way of life requires reflection. Christians are people who seek to live out the way of love. We seek to follow Jesus who, in his own life, demonstrated that we were made by God, who is love, for love. God’s love gives us the energy to love in turn. Since we are made for love, we each have a purpose. The Journey exists to enable people to discover what this truth means for them. The process aims to give people the space to test and then find their own way into this way of life. It takes what has happened in life to this point seriously. We believe that by reflecting on our life-story we discover how God has been at work in our lives since before we were born, and also identify ways in which we, as unique people, are to respond to this. We discover the way in which God’s love for us can shape our relationships, inform our motives, and help us find deep happiness.
How does it work?
By allowing those involved to ask questions, to talk over issues, share insights and to learn about specific areas that interest them. This takes place within small groups.
Why this way?
We learn most effectively when we are seeking answers to questions that matter to us.
Attending via Zoom: Use either this Zoom link (video/audio) or your phone – 07 3185 3730, enter Meeting ID: 894 0003 0380#, Passcode: 885493# and then Participant ID: #.
For more information please contact:
The Dean, Peter Catt, pcatt@stjohnscathedral.com.au or phone 3835 2239.
Choral Evensong
sung by the Cathedral Choir
Sunday, 14 December at 7pm
(Please note this is in place of 6pm Evensong)
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Sunday evenings in Advent (please note these services will replace 6pm Evensong)
30 November 7pm
Advent Procession of Light (sung by the Cathedral Singers)
7 December 7pm
Cantata Evensong (sung by the Cathedral Singers with orchestra)
14 December 7pm
Choral Evensong (sung by the Cathedral Choir)
21 December 7pm
Nine Lessons and Carols (sung by Cathedral Chamber Choir)
These services will also be live-streamed on our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@StJohnsCathedralBris/streams.
COMING UP
Sunday, 21 December 2025
12-3pm
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Wine Before Breakfast
First Friday in the month
7-8.30am
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Labyrinth Walk
Sunday, 4 January 2025
from 11.15am
A Walk with …
In person and online
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Take time to reflect, to offer up what confuses, distresses, and befuddles you! The Labyrinth is an excellent place to lay down your burdens and to receive insight and affirmation from the Spirit of God.
Please meet at the Labyrinth under the Rose Window in the Northern Transept or join online (both live and later available via the Cathedral’s YouTube channel).
The path is always new, because,
as a spiritual discipline, the labyrinth
is a path of contemplation,
reflection, prayer …
Beneath the surface, walking the labyrinth
is a profound discipline in listening,
in active silence, in finding movement
and rhythm in the stillneses underneath
and in between everyday’s noise.
Walking the labyrinth is an exercise
in finding the voice speaking in whispers
underneath the whirlwind of sound.
~ Travis Scholl, “Walking the Labyrinth –
A Place to Pray and Seek God” p.17, IVP Books, 2014
St John’s Cathedral Community
Visioning and Planning Day
Saturday, 14 February 2025
9am-4pm
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The world around St John’s shifts and grows, as do we. As we enter a new year we take the opportunity to reflect, explore, and make choices about who, where and how to minister and to be.
Please plan to be with us as we gather and explore the possibilities for 2026:
Next Steps: Building on the Foundations of Beauty, Worship, Inclusion, Justice Seeking and Peace-Making
Further details about this event will be provided in the Christmass 2025/January 2026 edition of Monthly Notices
St John’s Cathedral Retreat 2026
Theme: Spiritual Odyssey
Friday 6 March (dinner) to
Sunday 8 March (lunch)
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Spiritual Odyssey – it is active, challenging and like all great journeys, involves laughs, rests, common ground and discovery.
Jonathan Sargeant is the Diocesan Director of Lay Education, working from St Francis Theological College. Jonathan is trained as a teacher and a youth and children’s worker and spent seven years as a high school chaplain.
For more details check out the WHAT’S ON! page of the Cathedral website or collect a retreat brochure from the cathedral or contact Bishop Bill Ray via the Cathedral Office.
CONCERTS
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Monday 15 December 2025 7:00 PM – 8:15 PM (UTC+11)
St John’s Anglican Cathedral
Ann Street, Brisbane Queensland 4000
Full Admission – $35.00
St John’s Cathedral
FREE! MORNING CONCERT SERIES 2025
Next Concert
In recess until 2026
Click here for 2026 concert schedule
GENERAL
The Advent Giving Tree
Please consider giving help to those less fortunate than yourself this Advent, by donating through the Trinity Centre Pantry, Holy Trinity Anglican Church, Fortitude Valley.
Donations of non-perishable food items [packed in cans, packets and bottles] may be placed under the undecorated Christmass tree in the Cathedral.
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Laying on of Hands with Anointing (Healing Ministry)
Following the example of Jesus, and his explicit instructions to his disciples, the ministry of healing for any kind of disease or distress is an integral part of the proclamation and application of the Gospel of compassion. It is administered by the “Laying on of Hands with Anointing” by a priest gently touching the head or shoulders of the person in need. No questions are asked although a person may, if they wish, give their name or a brief description of their concern. It is perfectly acceptable, even encouraged, to receive this ministry on behalf of another who cannot be present.
The Ministry of Laying on of Hands with Anointing is available during the 9.30am Choral Eucharist on the first Sunday of the month. Those seeking the laying on of hands with anointing are invited to make their way to The Oratory after receiving communion.
The laying on of hands with anointing is also available by appointment; please speak with one of the clergy if you are seeking this.
Click to read about 'Spiritual Direction'
What is Spiritual Direction?
Spiritual direction is about making a space for God in your life. Contrary to the name, Spiritual Direction is not about being ‘directed’; it is being encouraged to draw closer to God in a more conscious experience of God’s presence, grace, and love in your daily life.
In the midst of life we often find it difficult to notice God’s action within it. And yet we yearn to be able to discern the presence and the voice of God at a deeper level. In the practice of Spiritual Direction you are given the time and space to reflect on the experiences of your daily living, and as this contemplation takes place, you begin to discern God’s invitations and the work God is doing in your life.
Click here to read: ‘What is Spiritual Direction?
Spiritual Direction sessions are now available at the Cathedral. To find out more, please contact the Cathedral Reception at St Martin’s House on (07) 3835 2222 during business hours.
Mystics, Theologians & God-Botherers
1st Sunday in the Month
IN RECESS UNTIL FEBRUARY 2026
Sunday, 1 February 2026
6-8pm
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This event will be held ‘in person’ in the Cathedral, over YouTube and Zoom. Choral Evensong will be ‘in person’ at 6pm in the Cathedral and will also be accessible on our YouTube channel
As part of Evensong, ………………….. will talk about ………………………… in the sermon as part of Evensong.
From about 7.10pm we join together in person in the Cathedral or via Zoom to share a discussion with ………………… over refreshments. All are welcome to join us.
To join via Zoom, use either this Zoom link (video/audio) or your phone – (07) 3185 3730, enter Meeting ID: 768 010 419#, Passcode: 267366# and then Participant ID: #.
Please note: October’s Mystics, Theologians and God-botherers will be the final for 2025.
On Sunday 2 November, the 6pm service will be our annual Commemoration of the Faithful Departed – All Soul’s Choral Requiem – where we remember those we no longer see.
On Sunday 30 November, the evening service will be our annual Advent Procession of Light at 7pm. Mystics, Theologians and God-botherers will resume on Sunday 1 February 2026.
2nd & 4th Saturdays
10-11am (Darnell Room)
In recess until 24 January 2026
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2nd and 4th Saturdays – 10am to 11am
Mainly Music is designed for children aged 0 to 5 years, but older children may join in. Friends, parents, grandparents, aunties, and uncles are welcome. Mainly Music is a community connection initiative.
Each Mainly Music session includes play time, singing and dancing time, and refreshments time.
Mainly Music is held in the Darnell Room, St Martin’s House. Parking is available.
For more information, see Hannah Dillingham or Ken Willett or contact them through the Cathedral office: phone – (07) 3835 2222; email – cathedral@stjohnscathedral.com.au.
In Recess until 2026
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Anglican Mothers Union Australia (AMUA) is part of a worldwide fellowship of Christians united in prayer, worship and service.
AMUA Vision: a world where God’s love is known through loving, respectful and flourishing relationships.
AMUA Aim: to demonstrate the Christian faith in action by the transformation of communities worldwide through the nurture of family.
Membership is available for all [women and men] who have been baptised. If you are not yet a member and would like to find out more, please do get in contact.
The Cathedral Branch usually meets on the 2nd Thursday of each month in the Cathedral at 9.45am for coffee and the gathering starts at 10am..
2025 AMUA SPECIAL COLLECTION – OUTCOME
Sincere thanks to all who gave generously to the annual Anglicare special collection on 10 August by members of Anglican Mothers’ Union Australia (AMUA), Anglican Church Southern Queensland, in honour of Mothers’ Union founder, Mary Sumner. The 2025 collection will support the Angliccare SQ Youth Homelessness Accommodation Project. A total of $728.65 was given.
Sincere thanks to all who make ongoing donations to our AMUA Cathedral Branch Projects:
Project – Hope in a Suitcase: Hope in a Suitcase is for children going into Foster Care under the umbrella of Foster Care Qld. Anglicare SQ are also involved. When a child goes to a foster parent, they are given their own little suitcase or backpack filled with their own special things, e.g. teen activities, Uno cards, puzzles, games, colouring books and pencils. Babies also go into foster care and need baby wipes, baby toys, throw rugs etc.
Project – Zephyr Education: Zephyr Education provides school needs for children who change schools because of domestic violence. Items include lunch boxes and water bottles; children’s underwear (girls and boys all ages).
Project – BOOKS4PNGKIDS: please bring new and used books for children aged 0-14 years old – early readers (numbers, alphabets, picture books, animals and cardboard books), primary school fiction and non-fiction, basic school supplies, Bibles.
For further information or to ask a question, please contact Mary de Vries via reception@stjohnscathedral.com.au or through the Cathedral Office.
Wasting Time With God
1st Wednesday in the month
In recess until 4 February 2026
9.30am (Darnell Room)
In person and via zoom
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Event Info: This event will be held in person and on Zoom and will begin with a short introduction at 9.30am. The Stations will then follow until 10.30am when the session will end with worship and then morning tea from 10.35am.
To join via Zoom, use either this Zoom link (video/audio) or your phone – 07 3185 3730, enter Meeting ID: 823 3447 0652#, Passcode: 303180# and then Participant ID: #.