Full Stories - January 2007
Interested in becoming a Scarboro Missioner? Info Day - March 3, 2007
An "Information Day" will be held at Scarboro Missions on Saturday March 4th, 9:15 - 2:30, $10 for lunch. Click here to download the colour poster – we would appreciate if you would post it on your church or school bulletin board.
2007 Magazine Calendars - Make Poverty History, now available
Photos from Scarboro Mass of Thanksgiving (November 5)
A very moving Mass of Thanksgiving was held on November 5th in the main chapel for all our deceased Scarboro missioners. Fr. John Carten presided warmly and 87-year old Fr. Linus Wall gave a stirring homily, some of it based on his 57 years of mission work in the Dominican Republic and Guyana. A number from the Scarboro community and many relatives and friends of the deceased were present, about 150 people in all. The seminarian and priests studying English here from Guadalupe and Yarumal mission societies assisted with the liturgy, along with the Missionary Sisters of St. Theresa from Columbia adding liturgical songs in Spanish. See Pictures in Photo Gallery
Story and Photos from Scarboro Lay Gathering (July 30 - Aug 11) and Scarboro Reunion (August 6)
For two weeks in August, some 21 lay missioners assembled at Scarboro's central-house. See the pictures.
In 1974, the Scarboro Foreign Mission Society began to accept laity to serve with its priest members in cross-cultural mission. At present we are 23 lay missioners – five serving here in Canada and 18 serving overseas in Africa, Brazil, China, Ecuador, Guyana and Thailand. During these more than 30 years, Scarboro laity have served together with Scarboro priests in various ministries such as adult education, teaching, health care, prison ministry, pastoral ministry, community organization/education, construction and most significantly presence. The work we are engaged in varies with our talents, yet it is in the simple act of relationship with the people that our journey is most profound. Through our openness to the other we encounter God in new ways.
For two weeks this past August, 21 lay missioners assembled here at Scarboro.s central-house in Toronto. For some, this was an opportunity to meet other missioners for the first time. The gathering was a time to share our stories of the joys, the sorrows and the challenges of mission; it was a time for community and a time for consensus decision-making.
From this gathering, the Scarboro lay missioners chose Kate O'Donnell and Mary Olenick as the new coordinating team for the Lay Mission Office. This challenging task will include promoting Scarboro Missions throughout Canada, developing and implementing Scarboro.s overseas lay preparation program for candidates discerning a missionary vocation, and being the contact persons responding to the needs of Scarboro lay missioners overseas. Kate is originally from St. Catharine's Diocese and has been in mission in New Amsterdam, Guyana. Mary, originally from the Archdiocese of Winnipeg, has been working in the Diocese of Mzuzu in Rumphi, Malawi. Kate and Mary are enthusiastic, organized, compassionate and very capable. We congratulate both women for this vote of confidence from the Scarboro lay community. As the present coordinators, we look forward to passing along this important responsibility to Kate and Mary at the end of our term in the spring of 2007.
And so, we continue this wonderful journey in faith, trust and thanksgiving to God for our Scarboro community, for our families, and for you, our friends and benefactors, who make this journey possible.
LAY MISSION OFFICE NEWS
Where are We? Find out with Pictures and Stories (including Canada)
Missioners in Brazil:
Fr. Omar Dixon has been working for over 40 years as a Scarboro Missioner on the Amazon in the Diocese of Itacoatiara, Brazil. Fr. Omar is pastor of the riverside community of Itapiranga. Fr. Ron MacDonell works among the Makuxi Indigenous peoples in Brazil as they struggle to protect their culture and homelands. Lay missioner Beverly Trach is present in Fortaleza, Brazil along with Our Lady's Missionaries. Beverly is a member of the pastoral team working with street children, other young people, women.s groups and homeless adults.
Missioners in Ecuador:
Fr. Charlie Gervais and lay missioner, Michael Hiebert, live and work in the diocese of Riobamba in the interior of the country. They are involved in parish work, health care, women's issues and the support the aboriginal groups.
Missioners in Guyana:
The first Scarboro missioners went to Guyana in 1953 and many have worked in the towns and villages along the Atlantic coast in this South American county.
Today, Fr. Russ Sampson, Maxine Bell, Estrela De Sousa, Kate O'Donnell and Miriam Wheeler work in Guyana. They are actively involved in parish ministries, health care, education and growth incentives for women.
Missioners in Malawi:
Scarboro Missions first sent missioners to Malawi in January 1996, fulfilling a long held dream of sharing in the faith journey of the people of Africa. Our seven missioners work in the diocese of Mzuzu in the northern part of the country.
Barbara Michie, Mary Olenick, Gwen and Michael Westwell are actively involved in education. Ray Vantomme supervises construction projects and Beverley Vantomme is a psychiatric nurse/tutor developing community-based psychiatric services, a program initiated by the St. John of God brothers. Fr. Jim McGuire is actively involved in the diocese of Mzuzu.
Missioners in Thailand:
Thailand is the newest area of mission for Scarboro Missions. Susan Keays, Glenn and Anne Harty live in Chiang Mai. Glenn and Anne, our newest missioners are presently attending language school. Susan is working with MEDP (Micro Economic Development Project). It is a Christian non-profit organization that attempts to relieve the poverty and powerlessness that plagues the Indigenous in northern Thailand. Paddy and Georgina Phelan live and work at the Camilian Social Centre in Rayong. They are part of an integrated approach to the relief of people living with HIV/AIDS.
Missioners in Canada:
Louise Malnachuk (May 1982) celebrated 24 years as a Lay Missioner. Walking with the people of China since 1982, she returned to Canada in 1987 and was the first lay missioner to work in Formation, Education Department. In 1997-1998 Louise was the Lay Co-Ordinator of the Lay Mission Office. She returned to Canada in 2002 and is presently Co-Ordinator of the House Committee, a member of the Partnership Committee, as well as co-ordinating the "Greening Sacred Spaces Project". The project involves making Scarboro Missions energy efficient thus preserves God's creation.
Karen Van Loon (Dec. 1994) served in a health promotion ministry in Itacoatiara, Brazil before returning to Canada in 1999 to work in Scarboro's Justice & Peace Office. She is currently promoting the "Make Poverty History" campaign as well as continuing with Partnership Committee work and lay missioner policy development.
Julia Duarte-Walsh after missioning in Riobamba Ecuador since 1993 has returned to work in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, participating in Scarboro promotion, Development & Peace workshops and involved in a formation program with six young Canadian women. Julia teaches Spanish, two hours a week, as well as working as a visitor volunteer for the elderly and lonely people at St. Martha Hospital.
Jean & John MacInnis joined Scarboro in April 1998. They returned from Guyana in 2002 serving in the lay office as Co-ordinators and will remain until the spring of 2007. John is currently recuperating from a successful hip replacement.
Scarboro's Mission Preparation Program
What makes a person leave family, friends, home and all things familiar to walk with God into the unknown? Program Associate, Sharon Willan, unravels Scarboro Mission's preparation program.
The 2006 Lay Missioners – from left, Gwen and Michael Westwell, Sr. Sylvia Obrigewitach, Miriam Wheeler, Anne and Glenn Harty.
So, how does this transformation occur? Each January, new candidates take part in Scarboro Missions' four-month lay preparation program in the hope of going overseas for a three-year term. The six candidates, Anne and Glenn Harty, Gwen and Michael Westwell, Miriam Wheeler and Sr. Sylvia Obrigewitsch have participated in all components of the preparation program. During the opening prayer our six women and men were reminded that that they carried blessing seeds from God and how they lived determined the fruits of each seed. They were told that they would continue to walk the four paths of wonder, emptiness, making and coming home. On the path of wonder we marvel at the many gifts of creation which God has given our cosmos. The gift of caring is born in each of us. On the path of emptiness, the pain and suffering of individuals and all creatures, even the earth itself is imprinted on our hearts. The gift of learning is born. On the path of making, all good ideas, thoughts, kindnesses, and loving actions create a better world. And on the path of coming home, being the voice of the voiceless is most important. The gifts of caring and learning grow and blossom. Our Candidates brought each of these gifts with them and the program helped to hone and enhance their caring and learning.
Spirituality is a component that runs through the program like a multi-coloured thread. A variety of spiritual reading are offered to the candidates to assist deepening their spirituality. Each week prayerful discussion of aspects of spirituality and how this affects our lives occurs. The program associate, coordinator and Scarboro priests participate offering their deep insights and significance for overseas mission. Candidates take turns preparing morning prayer for a week at a time. This year we were privileged to have a variety of prayer forms including community silent meditation, chants, walking prayer, and a taste of Jewish symbolism and prayer.
As well a day is spent looking at the Scarboro spiritual charism. Near the end of the four months, Denis Dancause provides a two day retreat-like quiet time deepening insights around living simply and prayer. Three one day retreats and an eight day Franciscan retreat round off this important aspect of our lives.
The program opens with a week of self expression and learning. Alex Campbell who has come to the preparation program for at least the last ten years offered his expertise explaining the intricacies of the Myers Briggs. During this week, our Candidates learned how to make use of this knowledge in team building and of course in conflict situations.
Social Justice is one component of the program and is offered by a number of guests at various times throughout the four months. We are privileged to have Michel Coté present the cycle of social analysis during a four day intensive workshop. Scarboro's Karen Van Loon offers her expertise during a two day workshop to present the effects of globalization, world band and the Intermonetary Fund on the poor of the world. She focuses on the countries in which each of our Candidates will mission. This year Joy Kennedy from Kairos offered two days of the ecological effects of progress on our planet. Two days were spent looking at social documents of the Church with a focus on water. The path of emptiness is walked during this time as the all the pain and suffering of our planet comes to the fore. However, each presenter offered lights of hope and ways to be voices of the voiceless and thus helped our people to find ways to walk the path of coming home.
Traveling across cultures brings it joys as well as its pain and frustrations. Duncan Westwood, Psychologist and Spiritual Director at the International Missionary Health Institute provided great insights into cultural adaptability, personal resiliency, trauma on mission and the all important spiritual, emotional and physical wellness on mission. Duncan counsels missioners from a variety of sending organizations offering pre and post departure sessions.
Father Daveid Warren, sfm offered his expertise during several days on Missiology and culture. Our Candidates also had the opportunity to visit several places of worship: Buddhist, Sikh, and Hindu Temples, and a Moslem Mosque.
As you can see the program is intensive and encompassing. We ended with a closing prayer in which the new missioners thanked each other and the team for the gifts they had received during the program. These gifts, a blessing, and commitment to pray for each other overseas had been prepared in written form during their retreat.
Are you interested in becoming a Scarboro Missioner?
Lay Mission work in October 2006 Magazine Issue
To read about the current Lay Mission work in the latest magazine issue, click here
INTERFAITH DESK NEWS
The Golden Rule and Business Ethics
By exploring this collection of 50 websites, you can investigate, in the spirit of the Golden Rule, the many moral issues associated with the practice of business in today's world. Read the document
Scarboro Missions and Paul McKenna receive International Peace Medal
The International Peace Medal was jointly awarded to Scarboro Missions and Paul McKenna by the Interfaith Peace-building Initiative of Ethiopia, a nation-wide interfaith organization spearheaded by the Honourable Mussie Hailu.
Also honoured with the Interfaith Peace Medal was Dr. Leslie Mezei, a Toronto multi-faith educator.
Mussie Hailu has taken on the role of becoming a Golden Rule Ambassador for all of Africa. He has access to all heads of state to whom he plans to present the Golden Rule Poster. Some 10,000 Golden Rule Posters have been printed in the main local language of Ethiopia, which they have redesigned to adapt to the cultural context there.
Golden Rule Curriculum for Schools
This comprehensive and well-organized curriculum can be used in public, religious and private schools as well as by Sunday school teachers, home-schooling parents, scout leaders and other youth educators. Read more
"Greening Sacred Spaces" Workshop
Produced by Faith and the Common Good, these six, 2-hour, do-it-yourself workshops enable people of all faith groups to "green" their homes, gardens, food habits, places of worship and other aspects of their lives. Read more at http://www.faith-commongood.net/docs/gssworkshopguide.pdf
Learn more about Interfaith Resources
There is a wealth of information about Interfaith Dialogue (e.g., Golden Rule, Teaching Models, Guidelines for Dialogue) on this web site. Read more...
JUSTICE AND PEACE OFFICE NEWS
Draft UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples at the General Assembly
The Declaration is under consideration in a committee of the UN General Assembly and is expected to come to vote at the General Assembly before the end of the year. Canadian officials have said they will vote against the Declaration despite its being widely supported by other States and by Indigenous peoples from around the world. Since the election of the Conservative government, Canada has joined with the United States, Australia and New Zealand in denouncing provisions that Canada had previously supported. Various non-governmental organizations working in human rights, such as Rights & Democracy and Amnesty International are calling for UN member States to seize this historic opportunity and adopt the Declaration without delay.
For more information read the Amnesty International News Release and the Rights and Democracy News Release.
Canadian Religious Conference President calls on Federal Government to Improve Clean Air Act
The President of the Canadian Religious Conference, Sister Donna Geernaert, SC, in a letter to the Federal Minister of the Environment, Rona Ambrose, called for improvements to the proposed Clean Air Act in three areas that would have an immediate effect on the environment: an increase in the funding and development of public transportation; subsidies for ordinary Canadians in order to participate in energy efficiency programs; and increased encouragement for Canadians to individually make a difference by changes to their daily routines.
"We are writing to you as Religious Congregations across Canada representing 22,000 members... Care for the earth is an integral aspect of our justice work which is at the heart of who we are. Cutting green house gas emissions is for us a spiritual as well as a moral and ethical issue... At present we know that there are thousands of environmental refugees in our world and that the effects of climate change have their most profound and devastating effects on those who live in poverty. A visionary plan that demands change of us as Canadians is needed."
Read the letter here.
Holy See Appeals for an "Ecological Conversion" at the United Nations
The Holy See stated at the United Nations that an "ecological conversion" is needed for sustainable development to take place in a statement delivered on October 25th by Archbishop Celestino Migliore, the Holy See's permanent observer to the United Nations, to the General Assembly's committee discussing sustainable development and ecology.
"Even in the context of its fast transition and mutation, our economy continues to rest basically upon its relation to nature. Its indispensable substratum is soil, water and climate; and it is becoming rapidly ever clearer that if these, the world's life-support systems, are spoiled or destroyed irreparably, there will be no viable economy for any of us. Therefore, rather than being external or marginal to the economy, environmental concerns have to be understood by policy-makers as the basis upon which all economic -- and even human -- activity rests."
The statement addressed such topics as the governance of water resources, growing desertification, rural development, clean energy and action needed on climate change.
"...my delegation also welcomes the momentum gained. making the Kyoto Protocol fully operational. It is the Holy See's hope that opportunities like these may favor the application of an energy strategy which is both global and shared in the long term, capable of satisfying short- and long-term global energy needs, protect human health and the environment, and establish precise commitments that will effectively confront the problem of climate change."
The full statement may be read at www.zenit.org under "Holy See Address on Development and Ecology" for the date 2006-10-26.
KAIROS states Canadian government's Clean Air Act is "a giant step backward"
Canadian churches have long made care for the earth an integral aspect of their justice work and were actively involved in campaigning for Canada's participation in the Kyoto Accord. KAIROS has responded to the Canadian government's Clean Air Act announced on October 19 as the centerpiece of its "Made in Canada" Green Plan for Canada by denouncing its lack of "vision and courage to seriously tackle climate change".
"Reduction in harmful air pollutants is welcome, but diverts attention from the far greater threat to Canadians' long-term health posed by the dramatic climate changes resulting from dangerous levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The fact that the Kyoto Accord is not even mentioned in the government's Clean Air Act is further evidence of our government's intention to abandon Canada's targets in this critical international agreement."
"KAIROS believes that Kyoto is the minimum commitment Canada should contribute to the global effort to avert catastrophic climate change. Kyoto requires Canada to make a 6% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2012 from 1990 levels. The overall global reduction target of Kyoto within the same time period is 5%. Scientists state that to avoid an overall global warming increase of 2 degrees Celsius – considered the threshold for dramatic climate change – greenhouses gases must be reduced by 70% from 1990 levels by 2050. Seen in that light, Kyoto is a small but significant step in addressing climate change."
"The Clean Air Act represents a failure to tackle our ecological crisis and a giant step backward from Canada's commitments as a signatory to the Kyoto Accord. Future generations of Canadians will find it much more difficult, if not impossible, to reverse climate change."
KAIROS announced a new four-year program to engage supporters in "making a transformation away from fossil fuels towards a sustainable and just energy economy".
KAIROS second year of Water Campaign focuses on Corporate Responsibility
We believe water is a sacred gift connecting all life. But it's a gift under threat throughout the world, and so is free and equal access to it. Last year, thousands of people across Canada called on all levels of government to keep water access public here and around the world, and to safeguard watersheds here at home. Many people made personal changes to their use of household water or quit buying bottled water. While some of this work will continue in the second year, the new focus for 2006-2007 is corporate responsibility.
Corporations, especially those involved in mining and energy production, count on water to make a profit. People and the environment count of water as a source of life. When corporations use massive amounts of water to extract oil and minerals, leaving behind a devastating legacy of pollution, people and the environment lose.
A 2005 report by the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade recommended that Canada create legislation holding Canadian corporations accountable for human rights and environmental abuses which take place as a result of their activities overseas. So far, our government has not taken action to implement this all-party recommendation.
This year's campaign action, "Counting on Water," is a call to the Canadian government to make corporations pay their water bill. It's not a bill that can be paid in dollars and cents but instead with the creation of and adherence to binding legislation.
KAIROS has great water campaign education and action resources suitable for classrooms, student groups, faith communities and others available through its website including:
- a "Counting on Water" action sheet which includes a map of the global water struggle and a photocopiable "water bill" action,
- a 16 page action booklet called "WaterWorks," which includes case studies, a workshop outline, and a script to help present the campaign,
- last year's full Education Book, "Water: A Sacred Gift."
For a summary of water action ideas go here.
For KAIROS water campaign resources ordering information and free PDF downloads go here.
For more information on the campaign contact Sara Stratton, Network and Campaign Coordinator at 1 877 403 8933 x214 or sstratton@kairoscanada.org