Holy work on holy ground
Cate Henderson attends the Kingston Garden Expo in early March.BY CATE HENDERSON Today’s Holy work on Holy ground is the tag line of Val Westgate’s new instructional video. Indeed, Holy work is taking place out on these Holy grounds, even as I, the farmer, try to take my winter rest! The land is working hard to assess all that has been done to it over the growing season. As I write this, the land is gathering moisture and cosmic energies that...
Sanctity of Seed
BY CHRISTINE ROSS Sanctity of Seed, a film produced by the Sisters of Providence and directed by Kingstonian Val Westgate, premiered at the Kingston public library on March 10. The 5 disc DVD series introduces us to Carol and Robert Mouck, local seed savers hired by the Sisters of Providence over a decade ago. In partnership with the Sisters, their collective work resulted in the 2008 prestigious award — Canadian Geographic Environment,...
Awakening the Dreamer, changing the Dream
Symposium facilitator: Tom PickensBY CHRISTINE ROSS The workshop delivered on its promise to disturb, inspire and force real action on environmental sustainability. Awaking the Dreamer, changing the Dream was held at Providence Motherhouse in Kingston on Saturday, February 27th. Designed with the collaboration of widely recognized experts from around the world, Awakening the Dreamer pledges to wake people up from the destructive dream in which...
Letters from Peru
BY SISTER SARA JIMÉNEZ The following Christmas season letter was submitted by Sr. Sara Jiménez in San Felipé, Peru. It did not arrive in time for previous edition of Providence Pages. We always wait for gifts at Christmas, we have become accustomed to this. I would like to send a box as a gift with the following letter to the authorities of Peru and to the thousands of businesses, bankers, investors and representatives of the world...
ISARC Social Audit – taking the pulse of our city
photo courtesy: Mark Kerr, EMC KingstonJamie Swift and Tara Kainer of the SP’s JPIC office, and members of the Kingston Community Roundtable on Poverty Reduction, organized a panel discussion on poverty in February. It featured social policy expert Marvyn Novick and Senator Hugh Segal.BY JAMIE SWIFT It was exactly eight years ago this month — well before I started working here at Heathfield — that I arrived at the Vincentian Room to meet other...
Time running out to save prison farms
Sister Pauline Lally visits the prison farm at Frontenac Institution along Bath Road during a visit in July 2009.BY BRIDGET DOHERTY Time is running out to save prison farms. In a few months, the Frontenac Institution dairy herd will be auctioned off. This herd genetically dates back to the 1800’s and when it’s sold, the decision to close Canada’s prison farms is virtually irreversible. To highlight the urgency, the Kingston Save Our Prison...
Lenten Reflection on Providence Quote
This Lenten Reflection was written by Sister of Providence Frances O’Brien May you be blessed in Providence this Lenten season. Lenten Reflection on Providence Quote “Jesus replaced the love of enlightened self-interest with creative love, which gives one’s life to foster life in others… To be ‘in Christ’ is to enter into the revolutionary events of Holy Thursday by experiencing the archetypal death and resurrection, letting an old modality of...
Protect yourself in a Wired World
BY SISTER PEGGY FLANAGAN The rapid rate of technological changes, a part of the society in which we live, leaves many of us feeling a bit dizzy and unable to keep up with the latest innovations. Change is inevitable, a law of life, as we all know. Still, have you noticed that whereas the older generation used to teach the next generation, now, grandchildren teach their grandparents how to navigate the internet? Do we still have anything...
350 Climate Change
BY TARA KAINER 350 is the number that leading scientists say is the safe upper limit for carbon dioxide, measured in parts per million in our atmosphere. It’s the number humanity needs to avoid runaway climate change. Read more about the involvement of the Sisters of Providence of St. Vincent de Paul to encourage real change. This photo was taken at the “Fill the Hill” event in Ottawa on Oct. 25th. A leading expert in issues relating to energy...
Canada’s Prison Farms
BY LAWRENCE SCANLAN Why it’s wise to keep them,folly to close them down Stroke a cat.Pet a dog.Groom a horse.Observe any creature, even fish swimming in a tank. These activities have one thing in common: All lower blood pressure, relax us, and make us feel better about being alive. We are hard-wired to connect with our fellow creatures, and pet owners in this country — who spend $4 billion annually on their animal companions — know it. The...
Leaving with Sadness & Gratitude
BY CHRISTINE ROSS The end of an era was marked with laughter, tears and memories during a special Thanksgiving Mass at St. John The Baptist Parish in Perth on Sunday, June 21. After 116 years of dedicated service, pastoral ministry and teaching, the Sisters of Providence are leaving Perth. Sister Josephine (Joey) Doiron, the last Sister to serve the community, was overcome with emotions as she spoke to the congregation following Sunday service...
Celebrating 66 years in Montreal
left to right: Sisters Evelyn O’Grady, Mary Mona and Marilyn Kearns. The trio worked together in Montreal.Calling it the most rewarding ministry in all her years of caring for the sick, Sister Marilyn Kearns reflects on the last five years as sole caregiver to her friend, Sister Evelyn O’Grady. These best friends lived together for almost 50 years. The pair graduated from nursing school in 1959 and after various appointments, both were assigned...
Thanksgiving celebration for Sr. M. Benilda
Thanksgiving celebration for Sr. Mary Benilda in the west.left to right: Sisters Diane Brennen, Elaine Jacob, Mary Bernadette, Patricia Amyot, Mary Benilda, Jeannette Filthaut, Rita GleasonSr. Mary Benilda is settling into her new surroundings in Kingston after retiring from ministry work in pastoral care and as a hospital purchasing agent in the west. On June 25, seventy five guests attended a very special Mass of Thanksgiving in Edmonton...
Sister of Providence Honoured
Sr. Joanne Colligan receives an award for her work with the Toronto Centre for Addiction and Mental Health also known as CAMH.Sister of Providence Joanne Colligan has received a prestigious award for her work with the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto. On June 17, 2009, Sister Joanne Colligan was invited to a gala celebration at the Arcadian Court in downtown Toronto by the Honourable Michael Chan, minister of the Honours and...
A career dedicated to nursing
BY CHRISTINE ROSS With her trademark wit and humour intact, Sister of Providence Elaine Jacob has returned to Kingston, ON from Edmonton, AB to live among her community. During a visit to the Communications office, the octegenarian chuckles, lifting her pant leg to reveal mismatched socks. The faux pas comes as no surprise to her friends — she’s always in a rush due to her tardiness! Sister Elaine puts her sense of humour aside long enough to...
Associate Digest November 2009
BY ELIZABETH COWPERTHWAITE On Oct 2nd and 3rd, the Associates held their Annual General Meeting. The event began with a Social Hour for Associates and Sisters. The Brockville Group, St. Vincent de Paul, began the evening with a beautiful prayer service based on an autumn theme. Following that, there was a Ceremony welcoming six Inquirers into the Candidacy Phase of the Associate Process. On Saturday morning, Sr. Marie Dundon provided an...
Save our Prison Farms
General Superior Sr. Pauline Lally speaks with a Corrections Canada official during a noon hour demonstration at Pittsburgh Institution.BY CHRISTINE ROSS Farmers, religious and social groups have formed a national campaign to try to prevent the closing of Canada’s prison farm program. Over the last few months, campaign members, including the Sisters of Providence of St. Vincent de Paul, have stepped up their campaign by setting up information...
Fall Equinox – time to reflect
Heirloom Gardener Cate Henderson hosts the Equinox celebration in the barn.Autumn officially arrived at 5:19 a.m. on Tuesday, September 22, 2009 — the autumnal equinox, or fall equinox. Technically speaking, an equinox is a day when the Sun will spend an equal amount of time above and below the horizon. This happens twice a year, in Autumn and Spring. The peak of the harvest season was welcomed with prayer, song and celebration at the Heirloom...
Canadian author visits Kingston
Margaret Atwood — Canadian author, poet, critic, feminist and social campaigner.BY TARA KAINER Margaret Atwood, arguably Canada’s best-known writer, appeared on September 23 at a Private Reception in the Davies Lounge of the Grand Theatre for a local Kingston group, the Community Harvest Working Group (CHWG). Co-sponsored by the Sisters of Providence of St. Vincent de Paul, the CHWG is dedicated to making local, healthy food more accessible to...
Goodbye with gratitude & sadness
General Superior Sister Pauline LallyGeneral Superior Sister Pauline Lally delivered this farewell addressd during the special Thanksgiving Mass at St. John in Perth on Sunday, June 21st. When I was a young girl growing up in St. Michael’s Parish,Belleville, it seemed that every Sister who taught me had either just come from teaching in Perth or when I returned to school in September, discovered that another Sister was transferred to Perth....