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CELEBRATING OUR CHARISM – Retreat and Chapter: July 2-11

An Invitation to our Friends to the Opening Eucharistic Celebration of our Chapter on Saturday, July 5, 2008 at 7:00 pm

"Celebrating Our Charism"

St. Francis Center
208501 Highway #9
Caledon, ON
(on the north side of Hwy #)
(519) 941-1747
Please Join us in spirit, prayer and presence!

Winds of Change

All around us we see CHANGE whether in nature, relationships, business, politics or religious life. Change is growth; change is life. Sometimes we have to help change happen; other times it arrives unannounced. Ray Diagos in his article, "Leading through a Time of Change", he says: "We have to allow the experience of change to rattle around inside of us and pay attention to what they are doing to us as individual human being sand as a group of human beings."

Our Province has just completed a year of renewal and some of the changes we have seen now and over time are:

• More laity have served on our committees and boards, and have attended study days and even our Chapter
• Our numbers have decreased to about 450 from around 2000 in the 1960's and yet we are in 21 countries
• We presently are studying reconfiguration from 8 provinces to three regions worldwide
• We are centralizing some aspects of our life such as formation teams, vocation ministry, and finances
• We are being enriched by others in charism circles of laity, associates and partnerships

And there are many more changes on the horizon.

Charism Story

Parish Ministry: "In other words, I'm into everything"

Sr. Dianna Lieffers has worked for 33 years at St. Gabriel's, an inner city parish in downtown Montreal. This area was first settled by the Irish near where the ships docked and where 6000 died of ship fever and typhoid. Every year there is a special Mass at the parish, after which the people march to the big black stone monument to the early settlers who died there.

"My work consists mostly at looking after the needs of the less fortunate. We have many! I run a food bank, furniture depot, clothing and household items and much more and all the donations are from the community at large. I visit the families of the sick and the elderly and bring them Communion. I prepare Sunday Liturgy, train lectors and ministers of Communion, have evening prayer groups and Communion Services. In other words, I'm into everything. Of the two priests, one has a full time job elsewhere and the other is retired. We have a whole army of generous volunteers who are worth their weight in gold and always ready to help."

Celebrations

The Biblical Program in Jerusalem has had its first year in Spanish, added to the French and English Programs that we have had for over 20 years.
www.biblicalformation.com

Brothers of Sion, Edenildo and Reinaldo, both from Brazil, pronounced their final vows at a gathering of Sisters and Brothers of Sion on January 20 in Ein Karem, Israel. Also attending was Brother Jose Maris who was ordained a deacon a few days later.

There are nine Sion Sister novices worldwide. Recently, Sister Piar pronounced her first vows in the Philippines and Sister Vaneide, her final vows in Brazil. Sister Anne Cecile, of the Contmeplatives, began an experience of living the charism of Sion in an eremitical life.

Lucy Thorson completed the Hesburgh Sabbatical Program at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago on May 16. She returned to Toronto where she has spent some renewal time after thirty-three years in Israel and Rome.

In the Tent of Abraham

Chicago Coalition for InterReligous Learning:Catholic/Jews/Muslims Working Together
www.ccirl.org

After 9/11, a group of Catholic, Jewish, Muslim educators decided to pursue interreligious learning. Among the founding group was Sion's Mary Ellen Coombe. The educators said:

"We share one city and one world. We live in a multi-religious, multi-ethnic, pluralistic society in a country where individual and community freedoms are honored and protected. Muslims, Jewish and Christian are each other's colleagues, classmates, neighbors, friends and sometimes relatives. We trace our spiritual roots to Abraham.

We share common religious roots. We grow in our own faith by learning about others. There are teachings in each of our religious traditions that encourage us to learn about and respect others."

The four dynamics to interreligious learning are: to learn to respect and understand 1) one's own religion and 2) one another's religion; to encourage members of our own religion to better respect and understand 3) another's religion and 4) our own religion.

There are gatherings of teachers around the city with presentation by each religious tradition sharing one another's texts on such topics as: Creation, Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham. There is time for questions and sharing. Multi media resource guides are being developed. This summer a graduate course is being offered at Dominican University for Catholic, Jewish, Muslim teachers: "Tent of Abraham: Home of Three Faith Traditions"

Sacred Seeds

Churches, Universities, Schools have been deeply moved by this approach of the different faith traditions sharing their texts on the same topic such as: Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Abraham, violence and more. The process has spread like wildfire. St. Gertrude's Parish in Chicago is having a series of the Children of Abraham Reading Texts together, called Sacred Seeds. Representatives of the faith traditions in their community share their texts. There is time for questioning and sometimes small group sharing and always followed by a reception. The parish hall was overflowing.

Sister Margaret Hughes Shares her Photography

Margaret has a wealth of her photos of nature on cards which she sells for the Wabigooni School, an alternate School , for First Nation children, at Rossbrook House, Winnipeg. The proceeds go for the breakfast and lunch program. We thank her very much for sharing her photos: "Reaching" and "Sunflower". Her students help her name her photos. Cost for her cards: $3.00 each or 2 for $5.00. margarethu@aol.com

Memorials

"But the angel said to the women, 'Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here, for He is risen as He said.'" (Matt. 28:5)

Sr. Gabrielle (Henrietta Rodier) originally from Zenon Park, Saskatchewan died in Saskatoon on April 30. She was a beloved teacher in Saskatoon, Montreal and Kansas City. In retirement she was a welcomer with her beautiful smile as she opened the doors to many in Jerusalem and Rome at Sion. Her life.s hobby was gardening and there were flowers everywhere always.

Sr. Benjamin Berger died in Saskatoon at the age of 94 years on May 2. She was born in Hungary and served in Budapest and Paris until 1949 when she came to Canada. Most of her life was spent in Montreal and Saskatoon. She never lost sight of her country, Hungary. Even though she spoke little English, her friends were many, for there was such a sparkle in her eyes.

UNANIMA

Stop the Demand for Trafficking in Women and Children

Sr. Maria Vigna, Winnipeg, our Congregational Leader of UNANIMA, attended the annual board meeting in New York where the international campaign to STOP THE DEMAND FOR TRAFFICKING IN WOMEN AND CHILDREN was launched, March 13. Sixty women and men from the United Nations community including government representatives and NGOs and UNANIMA board members attended. Campaign materials are available at:
http://www.unanima-international.org/english/index.htm

Sion Sr. Carina Minkarios from the Mediterranean Province in Cairo has accepted being a "point person" to receive information from the NGO for Western Asia with headquarters in Beirut.

Siding with Kids to End Cruelty in Haiti

A recent article in the National Catholic Reporter, May 2, 2008, entitled "Siding with Kids to End Cruelty" outlines how 300,000 children in small Haiti get caught in the trap of Trafficking. Children, as young as four, come from the rural areas to the city to stay with families for education and a better life. However, often it is the road to abuse, beatings with no opportunity to get out. Immaculate Heart of Mary, Sr. Martha Vanrompay has organized and trained young people to recognize these youngsters, become mentors and keep track of 1200 children to find ways to get them out of this vicious circle.

And Kids in Winnipeg – And in Our Cities

Sr. Margaret Hughes wrote about 15 women who gathered in Winnipeg at Rossbrook House to learn about and discuss Human Trafficking for the purpose of Sexual Exploitation: the facts, the international reality as well as Winnipeg reality. After a video of women speaking about their lived experiences of such abuse, the group discussed what could be done in relation to trafficking of children in Winnipeg. There will be a fall meeting to learn more about the local situation which will involve a staff person from a residential program called, "Honouring Our Little Sisters". The group of women meeting know there are children in their neighborhood who are living this terrible reality.