In June 2015, Scarboro Missions hired Paige Souter to begin a new ministry in the coming months. She shares some of her story with us:
I am delighted to have joined the Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation Office as the Education Program Coordinator. I am excited with our mission to build an educational ministry that teaches and shares the interrelatedness of Catholic social teaching, ecological justice, climate change and an option for the poor. Pope Francis’ recent encyclical, Laudato Si provides a wonderful opportunity to begin this important ministry. Beginning this fall 2015, we will be facilitating workshops and retreats and reflections for both youth and adults.
Working with Scarboro Missions is an exciting integration of my volunteer and professional work. For many years I have been facilitating workshops on peace and non-violence, social justice, leadership, and Holy Scripture. I am an active catechist in my local parish. My professional career has been focused on serving the “least of these,” whether as a community builder, director, communications strategist, fundraiser, or executive director. I have been blessed to work in prison ministry, with people living with mental health challenges, and with men and women living in poverty.
Since I was a young child, I have been passionate about ensuring that communities are inclusive and compassionate. My early sense of justice came from my parents who held a different perspective about justice than what most people did in the 1960s. My parents were a mixed couple. My father was a farmer from Saskatchewan and my mother was a mixed black, Micmac woman from Nova Scotia. Every night while sitting around the dinner table we talked for hours about how to make things better in the world. These were always passionate conversations that were formational for me.
I have always been a voracious learner. I have a BA in urban planning from Ryerson Polytechnical Institute and an MA in political science from the University of Western Ontario. For the past several years I have been pursuing on a part-time basis an MA in theology at St. Michael’s College. My areas of focus are peace theology and eco-theology.
I am blessed with a beautiful family. My husband and I live with our three children in Scarborough.
Pax, Peace, Paix