Motherhouse organ part of historic tour
The Motherhouse Chapel of Mary, Mother of Compassion features a rich and resonant organ. When the Royal Canadian College of Organists began planning their 2016 convention in Kingston, they ensured that the organ was on the program. Indeed, the organ was included three times this year: For a member concert in February, a student concert in March, and for the college`s convocation as part of the July festival. The 30-rank Casavant pipe organ...
Remembering Marg in song
Dr. Mark Sirett was first taught piano by a Sister of Providence – and he didn’t forget. Now a distinguished composer and the music director of the Cantabile Choirs of Kingston, every year he brings at least one of his choirs to perform for the Sisters at the Motherhouse. For many years, this was coordinated by the director of liturgical music for the Motherhouse, Marg Spooner, who passed away in December to great sadness. Born of her love of...
From private students that paid for missions to choirs and bands, Sisters taught them all
Sr. Mary Mercedes and the St. Michael’s Junior Band, Belleville, Ontario in 1938.BY VERONICA STIENBURG Music has a long history as an important ministry of the Sisters of Providence of St. Vincent de Paul. From the 1880s until today, Sisters of Providence have shared and continue to share their musical talents with the communities they serve. When the Congregation opened its teaching mission in Perth in 1892, St. John’s Convent was staffed...
Sr. Jeannette’s class are Changing Together
BY SISTER JEANNETTE FILTHAUT Since 2006 I have been involved with Changing Together Centre for Immigrant Women in Edmonton, working in research and teaching levels 3 and 4 of English as a Second Language. This year I had upwards of 12 - 16 women in my classes every Wednesday morning. These are women of all ages, some married, some single, who come from a variety of countries seeking assistance in learning English and other life skills to help...
Renewed life for old instruments
As music teachers retired and local convents closed, many instruments made their way to the Motherhouse in Kingston. After a while, quite a collection accumulated made up of tambourines, drums, many recorders and more. There were a fair number of pitch pipes and metronomes as well. This winter, many of those instruments were donated to the Joe Chithalen Memorial Musical Instrument Lending Library (Joe’s M.I.L.L.), a first-of-its-kind charity...
A global call for just solutions on every level
The Kingston climate change town hall. Photo: Kim Sutherland MillsBY BRIDGET DOHERTY Climate change is a global problem that hurts vulnerable people most. In Canada, it disproportionately affects seniors and those with pre-existing health problems, remote and First Nations communities, low-income individuals, and the marginalized. That’s why it’s necessary to talk about climate change not just as an environmental issue, but also as an issue of...
Marking milestones of 50, 60, 70 years
Providence General Superior Sister Sandra Shannon offered these remarks to the Jubilarians: At the International Union of Superiors General meeting I attended in Rome in May, we heard from Sister Mary Sujita, SND from India. Her question to us was, “Who has benefited from your vows?” On reflection I would say both “the others out there” and “community in here.” Let us see how this message relates to our Jubilarians: Sister Josephine...
Following the example of Jesus
At the Jubilee mass, Friar Ed at the altar with Archbishop O'Brien and eucharistic ministers.From the Jubilee homily of Friar Ed Debono OFM Conv. Your eyes have been fixed on Jesus even before you consecrated your life to him. You accepted his invitation to join him in building the Kingdom of God. Over the years you have read the scriptures, searched the scriptures and examined his life. Over the years you have turned to Jesus for guidance in...
Sr. Marie’s meditations for peace/fulness
From February to April this winter, Sister Marie Dundon transformed the auditorium of the Motherhouse into an oasis of stillness and peace. Her Wednesday evening series, Kingston Meditates for Peace, was held in partnership with PeaceQuest. PeaceQuest is a movement that started in Kingston to bring peace to the anniversaries of war, especially the years marking the centenary of the Great War. Its focus is largely outward – public events, school...
Through the eyes of children
Self portrait, child soldier, northern Uganda. Courtesy: Children/Youth as PeacebuildersBY JAMIE SWIFT A fascinating new web-based PeaceQuest project will soon be providing teachers with an innovative tool to help students learn about war and peace - through the eyes of children. Unlike many Remembrance Day lessons and conventional history teaching, War and Children has no patriotic message. There are no stories about heroism. No soldiers...
Clergy sexual abuse and bursary follow-up
From left: Keynote speaker Sister Nuala Kenny MD, Sister Frances O'Brien SP, Barbara Baker, Sister Marie Dundon SP, Christine DiZazzo, Carol Groten, Friar Ed Debono OFM Conv., Sister Catherine Casey SP, Sister Margo Shafer SP.As a follow-up to our conference last September 11 and 12, 2015, entitled “Healing the Church: Diagnosing and Treating the Clergy Sexual Abuse Crisis” the Healing Violence Committee of the Sisters of Providence wishes to...
Students give witness to social teaching in an homage to 20 years of social justice vigils
BY ANN BONIFERRO Throughout the month of April, students in each of the 39 schools of the Algonquin and Lakeshore Catholic District School Board were asked to show mercy by standing in solidarity with those who experience injustice. They did that by holding vigils and pilgrimages that honoured the legacy of the Sisters of Providence and vigil-keepers who held a Friday vigil in front of Kingston City Hall for 20 years. These events allowed...
Suggestions on further steps for healing the church
These suggestions came out of two day-long conferences held in September 2015 on the them of Healing the Church: Addressing the Clergy Sexual Abuse Crisis." They were presented to Archbishop Brendan O'Brien in the spring of 2016,. as promised. And they are made available for your consideration, presented according to theme. Priests Our priests are hurting. They do not come together to share their pain. They need encouragement...
Sister Una Byrne’s first two months
BY SISTER UNA BYRNE Sitting here on a rainy Sunday evening in Norway House, I can look back on the last two months and say I am settled now. I live in a trailer between the old and the new church. It took a while to get things set up but now I have t.v. and internet (though I am out of water due to a mix up in the delivery on Friday), but then one can’t expect everything in life! Today, we had a Liturgy of the Word, then First Communion...
Summer at the Villa
BY VERONICA STIENBURG, ARCHIVIST The congregation purchased the cottage “Marillac Villa” in the fall of 1955 and enlarged it so it could accommodate 30 sisters at one time. Here is a reprint of an article from the September 1956 issue of the Guardian. The Guardian was a magazine created and printed by the Sisters of Providence at the Printing Room at the House of Providence from 1916 to the late 1950s. Proceeds from the sale of the magazine...
Retreat centers as touchstones of mercy
May 29-June 1, the North American Conference of Oblate Retreat and Renewal Centers (NACORRC) held its 39th annual meeting, hosted this year at King’s House, Belleville, IL. Twenty-three members gathered, representing eight Oblate Retreat/Renewal Centers. Providence Sister Jeannette Filthaut was there as chair of the Star of the North board (you’ll see her in the middle of the back row). The theme of this year’s gathering was “Leave No Stone...
BBQing Associates? That can’t be right!
Well, a barbeque with and for Associates is a better guess. Last Friday eve, guitars came out, food was tucked in, and the annual gathering made for a pleasant evening.
The Road to Emmaus: Associates Retreat in Kingston
The retreat, directed by Sister Irene Wilson and assisted by Sister Marilyn Kearns and Associate Sheila LaRush, was a time to reflect on mutual collaboration using the Emmaus story as a backdrop. We were invited, through story, to reflect on how we collaborate with others in our decision-making and how that collaboration brings about healing. It was a very peaceful time of reflection and integration. --Barbara Baker, Co-Director Providence...
Embraced by a merciful God: Camrose Associates
Back row, from left: Sr. Jeannette, Jan Kehoe, Debbie Muise, Bernice Schlaut-Macfarlane. Front row: Kathy Leibel, Audrey Heck, Archbishop Sylvain Lavoie OMI, Connie Prost.Sr. Jeannette Filthaut organized the Camrose Associates’ meeting at the Star of the North Retreat Centre in St. Albert for the annual retreat on June 6, 2016. Facilitated by the centre’s chaplain, retired archbishop Sylvain Lavoie, the theme of the retreat was “Mercy”,...
Ideas in the barn
In June, Heirloom Seed Sanctuary staff Cate Henderson and Annie Richard were interviewed for a CBC Radio Ideas segment, likely to be broadcast in November. Interviewing them was University of Calgary English scholar Maria Zytaruk, who is producing a radio documentary on the subject of seed banks, and seed collections and exchange. Profession Zytaruk commented during the interviews that many seed banks approach their work from a vision of...