News from Visitation Province (Canada)
School Days
The great teaching charism of the CND community began with a young teacher called Marguerite surrounded by a group of children. Many others were inspired to follow her. This COVID-19 summer inspired me to gather twelve children ages 4 to 12 to Miss Fran’s Summer Schoolhouse. Over four weeks we studied art, poetry, story-telling, manners, correct printing and cursive writing, as well as other important things. Often parents and grandparents came to sit in on classes. Each day began with the singing of O Canada, where pines and maples grow. And Thank you God for the world so sweet. Thank You God for everything. Recess (a long one) was a most important part of each day. One mother told me her little boy woke her in the middle of the night asking, “How many hours until we go to Miss Fran’s Schoolhouse?” It was an unforgettable summer for me and for them. I highly recommend teaching children as the most beautiful and worthwhile way to spend a summer.
Fran Connell, Associate, Miramichi, NB
Orange Shirt Day is about changing the legacy
In 1973 a six-year old girl, Phyllis Jack from the Dog Creek reserve, BC, was preparing to go to school. Her Kyeye “granny” took her into Williams Lake, BC, where she picked-out a bright orange shirt. Phyllis was taken to St. Joseph Residential School outside of Williams Lake where she, like all the other children, was stripped of all her clothing and never saw the orange shirt again. As an adult, Phyllis (Jack) Webstad wrote a children’s book, “The Orange Shirt” story which became very popular. In 2013, Orange Shirt Day was declared a National Day of Remembrance for the child/survivors of the residential school system in Canada. Please remember to wear orange next Wednesday. See video of Phyllis’ story at http://www.orangeshirtday.org/phyllis-story.html
Marianne Reid, CND
Season of Creation Prayer and Action
The Season of Creation began on September 1st, the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation and will conclude on October 4th, the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi. We invite all Sisters and Associates to recognize and celebrate this special season with prayer and action. A celebration guide with prayers, liturgies and other resources can be downloaded here: https://seasonofcreation.org/celebration-guide/.
We have a special opportunity for Action with a Petition that is being coordinated by the new initiative For The Love of Creation. The deadline for signing the petition coincides with the end of the Season of Creation on October 6. The group “For the Love of Creation” was launched on Earth Day (April 22) 2020, as an interfaith collaboration working on the climate emergency. Visitation Province and the Congregation de Notre-Dame Social Justice Network were early supporters and collaborators, along with almost a dozen Catholic religious congregations, Development and Peace and the Canadian Religious Conference.
The Parliamentary Petition calls on the Government of Canada to:
- commit to reducing Canadian greenhouse gas emissions to 60% below 2005 levels by 2030, and invest in a just transition;
- honour the rights of Indigenous Peoples;
- commit equal support for climate change adaptation and mitigation measures in the Global South; and
- respond to the COVID-19 pandemic in the Global South.
This is very much in line with the Canadian commitment at the Paris Conference and our continued encouragement for the Government to act on those commitments is what we promised to do in our Corporate Stance. To sign the petition, go to:
https://petitions.ourcommons.ca/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-2712
JPIC Core Committee
PEI Cycling with Sisters bicycle ride
Join us on October 3, 2020 for a PEI Cycling with Sisters bicycle ride from St. Peter’s to Morell and back (24 km). This is an organized, recreational group ride at a pace for all ages with meaningful prayer stops. Its mission is to create a shared spiritual adventure for sisters and local communities through bike rides. This ride is designed to be COVID compliant.
Sisters from the Congregation of Notre-Dame of Montreal and the Sisters of Saint Martha will take part in the event, supported by the prayers of the Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus of Ragusa. The journey will begin with prayer to ask God’s blessing with a spirit of hope. Throughout the ride, we will pray using themes of poverty as manifest in lack of suitable housing and employment; mental health; and care for creation. On our final prayer stop we will be praying for our mission, our baptism call, as we go forward from the ride.
You can join us virtually on the day of the event: Use the link which will be posted on www.pei.cyclingwithsisters.org. We will be live streaming our prayer times and rider visits.
Sue Kidd, CND