IBVM Newsletter September 2013

IBVM CANADIAN PROVINCE
Newsletter
September—October 2013.
" elcome to the first edition
W
of our province newsletter,
which will be published approximately every two
months."
It will also go electronically
to all the other provinces /
regions and to Casa Loreto.
On September12 Loretto
Abbey Community hosted
a celebration to honour the 2013
Jubilarians: Sisters Consolata
Ellard, Marion Marr, Mary Julia
LaTour, Anne McCarty, Mary
Martin Raczynski, Monica
Spearin, Laura Gatien, all in the
Infirmary, as well as Caroline
Altpeter, Celima Lindsay, and
Sheila Zettel.
The Canadian Province held
its annual Missioning Day on
Sunday,
September
22nd.
Both the service itself and a
commemorative booklet about
Reunion were created by the
Community at Loretto College.
As well, our Archivists,
Michelle Pariag and Sr. Juliana
(emeritus) produced a display of
photos from those heady and
memorable days back in September, 2003. Caroline Dawson presided at the service, and
Pat Grant welcomed two new
IBVM associates, Tricia Rankin
and Zivile Anderson.
We also honoured our ten Jubilarians. The celebration was
followed by tea hosted by the
Abbey Community.
Maryholme
honoured our
Jubilarians by
planting their
annual Jubilarian Tree. This
year they
planted a
Cut Leaf
Silver
Maple on
September 25. The tree is planted in the Cathedral Grove near
the 2nd dock area.
The second Preparation Meeting
for GC14 was held at Lor etto
Abbey on October 5th. The discussions, lively and fruitful, produced a great many ideas which
were forwarded to the Central
Committee preparing for the
upcoming General Congregation
next September.
Some coworkers and associates were
present for these discussions.
Teresa Dease Lecture
that village with a sustainable and
marketable crop. While at La Bermuda Sr. Martha heard first hand
a broadcast over the Community
Youth Radio which Loretto Sisters funded. She also walked on
the finished road that the community has named “Calle Las Hermana de Loretto” in honour of the
sisters.
Updates and Upcomings
The Provincial Council met at
Loretto Abbey on September 17-18
and October 23-24. We will meet
again on November 6th and 7th.
Meetings are scheduled for December 5-6, January 22-23
****
A province-wide Meeting on Future
Housing will be held November 1415 at Loretto Abbey.
This year’s lecture, October 24th,
was
presented
by
Martha
Zechmeister, CJ, who is presently
Professor of Systematic Theology
at the Jesuit la Unversidad CentroAmericana in San Salvador. Martha spoke with passion and conviction about her arrival in El Salvador as a moment of personal
conversion to an awareness of
God's deep and real presence
among the poor and vulnerable of
that country.
Links to several of Martha's talks
are on the ibvm.ca website.
The 25th Anniversary La Bermuda Loretto/SalvAide Brunch,
which raises funds for our
twinned community of La Bermuda in El Salvador, was held on
October 24, and was a huge success, raising more money than
ever before. These monies will go
to provide continued support for
the Youth Leadership Program.
We owe a special thanks to Associate Maria Griffin for her tireless
work in organizing this event.
Before she left El Salvador for
Canada Sr. Martha visited our
“twin” village of La Bermuda,
and brought with her to Toronto
several kilos of cashew nuts, the
first fruits of our efforts to provide
Guelph Students
Ontario Schools at this time of year usually
organize food drives to help stock the Food
Banks near est them. In this photo some
Guelph Students from Bishop McDonnell
High School are organizing the food pantry
at the Guelph “Welcome In Drop In” Centre.
****
Loretto Maryholme Retreat ,“Making
Room,” evening of December 6 to 7.
Register by November 22. Go to their
website for details.
www.lorettomaryholme.ca.
****
Associate
Relationship
“Future
Visioning”, r esults of the AR questionnaire— December 8, 1:15 to 4:45
at Loretto Abbey.
****
Update on Sisters
Vivian Adams and Helen Kenefick
are recovering well after falls and
broken hips. Maria Lanthier is still
in the Infirmary but full of pep!
Pat and Jeanine were in Estevan last
week to visit Adelaide who has been
hospitalized.
News from Mary Ward Centre
Hosted by the Mary Ward Centre, a ministry of
the Loretto sisters, 39 students fr om TCDSB
recently travelled to the United Nations in New
York City for a course on justice and global citizenship. Highlights of the excursion included a
meeting at the Canadian embassy, with the Ambassador, a tour of the United Nations, sessions
on human trafficking, sustainability, Millennium
Development Goals and attending International
Day of the Girl Child at UNICEF. Bishop Allen, Mary Ward, Loretto Abbey and Loretto
College students and staff were deeply inspired and
motivated to continue to create a more just and sustainable world.
Toronto Students at United Nations in October

December 10th we are doing a follow-up day
for our UN group .

AGAPE is going very well. I have evaluations of the students responses mid-way
through the program and they are favourable.
Upcoming Events

An Advent series starting November 21st and
ending December 11th, each Thursday from
2:30-4:00. The focus is on cosmology. “The
Fireball to Christ Consciousness”
Unity, later called African Union (AU).
Members of the African Peer Review met
with members of the Africa Diaspora,
NGOs, women Youth and Academia for a
livery dialogue and information sharing
session. Among the members from the
diaspora was Dr. Delois Blakely, Community Mayor of Harlem, Ambassador of
Goodwill to Africa, pictured left with our
UN NGO representative, Cecilia
O’Dwyer, IBVM.
UN News
“Perspectives on Transformative Governance and
the African Agenda 2063” was the theme for a
session organized to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the establishment of the Organization of
African
Associate News
“So Apt for Friendship”
This is Mary Ward’s description of herself. Her companions
are no different. As well as a
relationship of prayer, the associate relationship is also one of
friendship. This is evident in
the photos taken by Gerry Graham at the reception following
Missioning on September 22nd.
“The Loretto Alumnae
Association hosted The Order of Mary Ward Tribute
Evening on November 1, 2013
at Loretto Abbey. Sincere congratulations is extended to the
2013 recipients.
Dr. Laurie Clune, PhD, Claire
Kennedy, and Dr. Maureen
Lovett, PhD. These three
women who have careers of
great accomplishment and distinction have definitely provided our world with "something
more than ordinary."
Dr, Clune is currently a tenured Professor of Nursing at
Ryerson University; Claire
Associate Goretti Nguyen and
her family are seen here with
Sisters Johanna, Columbiere
and Josepha whom they met in
Estevan.
and Chief Curator of the Tom
Thomson Art Gallery and
Owen Sound Museums. She
has worked in the visual arts
field for over twenty-five years
and is a member of the Aboriginal Curatorial Collective, the
International Association of Art
Museum Curators, the Canadian Art Museum Directors and
the Association of Art Museum
Curators. In 2009 Virginia received the Ontario crafts Council Award for Curatorial Excellence.
Associate Virginia Eichhorn
was recently named President
of the Board of the Ontario Association of Art Galleries.
Virginia is currently Director
Kennedy is a lawyer, expert in
tax law and recipient of the
Arbor award for outstanding
volunteer service at U. of T;
Dr. Lovett’s work in pediatrics
research at Sick Kids focuses
on treatment and intervention
for struggling learners.
Following the presentation,
guests had time for conversation and refreshments in the
Abbey Reception Room.
If you are interested in submitting the name of a nominee for
the Order Of Mary Ward in
2014, visit the Alumnae website at www.lorettoalumnae.ca.
Note: while these three outstanding women are graduates
of Loretto Abbey, nominees
from all Loretto schools are
welcome and have been honoured in the past.