A rematriation ceremony was the culmination of 20 years of the Sisters’ commitment to saving heirloom seed varieties. This is not the end of the story of the seeds, only a new beginning in new homes as it once had been when the seeds moved in with the Sisters. Planting the First Seeds The Sisters of Providence of St. Vincent…
November 21, 2018, Sister Gayle Desarmia and Providence Associate Mary Olenick left Kingston for Peru. They spent two weeks visiting the Sisters of Providence and the Providence Associates in Carabayllo, Peru. This trip was memorable because Mary was the first Canadian Associate to visit the Sisters of Providence of St. Vincent de Paul mission in Peru. Each day unfolded with…
PeaceQuest wound up its formal events on November 11 with our third sold-out Remembrance Day concert at The Isabel. It was an afternoon of song and celebration. (PeaceQuest was a ministry of the Sisters of Providence of St. Vincent De Paul in Kingston, Ontario, Canada). The previous day we assembled 150 people at City Hall’s Memorial Room for a conference…
In the late 1970’s, after Vatican Council II, religious orders were asked to identify their founding charism, their special gift in the Church. After a long process and many workshops, we articulated our special charism as “Serving with Compassion, Trusting in Providence, We Walk in Hope”. Notice this is not a mission or a vision or a values statement but…
Sisters of Providence of St. Vincent de Paul, Kingston, Ontario – In our solidarity with the poor, the victims of unjust distribution of wealth which exists in the world, we oppose inhuman conditions, seek justice and respect human dignity. We spare no efforts to awaken consciences to the demands of social justice in the light of the Gospel and the…
On June 2, 2018, the Healing Violence Committee commemorated 20 years of work guided by their mandate. We gathered in McKinley Hall at Providence Motherhouse with invited guests to mark the occasion. Sister Sandra Shannon set the tone of the celebration with her welcome to all. Providence Associate Barbara Baker led a prayer ritual in which we welcomed the four…
“It was truly a wonderful experience to hear the energy and heart in each of the people present who have the life of the seed and its future held gently in their heart and hands.” These are the words of Sister Jeannette Filthaut to describe her experience of a gathering to mark the passing along of a valuable and rare…
Sister of Providence Kay Morrell attended Kingston Seedy Saturday for the first time this year, bringing along Sister Elise Nikiema who is a Sister of the Immaculate Conception of Ouagadougou visiting from Burkina Faso, in Africa. She wanted to share with Sister Elise an original Canadian phenomenon, Seedy Saturday, which began in Canada in the 1990s and has since spread…
Today is December 10, 2017 and the temperature is 24°C, hot and sunny. How can this be? It is possible as I am in Peru. Today has been a long-anticipated day by the Sisters, Associates, people of El Progresso, Carabayllo and yes by Sisters Gayle Desarmia, Joey Doiron and myself, Sister Sandra. We are here to celebrate with everyone the…
In March 2000, the Sisters of Providence of St. Vincent de Paul transferred sponsorship of Holy Family Hospital in Vancouver, BC, to Providence Health Care. Even though the Sisters haven’t been involved with the governance of Holy Family Hospital for 18 years, and the last Sister to live in British Columbia returned to Kingston five years ago, it is lovely…