We are half through our programming year and we are off to a good start. Our main focus being action as follow-up to our Corporate Stance commitment for climate action around the Paris talks, we have been participating as a Province in the CRC Post-Paris Conference cross Canada event. Sessions have already been held in Ottawa and Toronto and dates for Montreal, Kingston, Halifax and Vancouver are soon to be announced. We are also continuing to work on dates for Charlottetown, Kamloops and other Congregation of Notre Dame connected locations. We are waiting for the video version to be ready, so that it can be distributed to those who were not able to attend the ‘live’ version and then planning can begin for the Congregation of Notre Dame reflection day connected to the conference. In addition, we have been engaging in advocacy with the federal government as they consult on the content for the national plan on climate action that will be released at the end of this year. Many of us used the on line form to contribute our opinions electronically and requested, attended and spoke at Town Halls hosted by MP’s and community groups.
Finding Dory, with Ellen DeGeneres speaking for Dory, is fun. I was not fortunate enough to have a child to take with me to enjoy the story but I went with two adults who allowed their inner child to join mine. Dory suffers from short-term memory loss – every 10 seconds or so – but she never forgets home and what she learned there. Some catchy one-liners along the way. Brilliant color photography and 3D glasses provided! Imagination required!
Over the last twenty (20) to forty (40) years we have become acutely aware of our growing diminishment. Downsizing our infrastructure in recent years is one visible sign of diminishment. The average age of our sisters continues to rise. There has been a major decline in the number of Sisters in active ministry. We see an increase in the number of Sisters moving into assisted living and long term care, not to mention the number that die each year. During these years, we have witnessed a huge decline in new vocations. This familiar landscape, common to all Religious Congregations, is explored by Sister Amy Hereford, CSJ in an article entitled “Vocation Ministry on the Precipice”.
