The EagleThe Eagle Pentecost 2011

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Dear Friends, Associates and Oblates,

“Living God, you have created all that is. Send forth your Spirit to renew and restore us, that we may proclaim your good news in ways and words that all will understand and believe. Amen.” Collect for Pentecost1

At the beginning of 2011, Sr. Constance Joanna led a retreat called “In the Fullness of Time: Celebrating the Past, Envisioning the New.” We had a full house for that retreat and a long waiting list of people who would have liked to have come. This came about as a result of an article which appeared in the Toronto Star on December 28th about the Sisterhood and interviewing Sr. Constance Joanna about the retreat. People were asked if they were tired of New Year’s Eve parties and were invited instead to come to the Convent to celebrate the New Year through liturgy, the enjoyment of festive food, and fellowship with Sisters of SSJD who would guide participants in their reflections. Many came for the first time and discovered a more reflective way of being. The monastic way of life—our balance of prayer, work and rest—is answering a need in people to connect with a deeper purpose in their lives. Our life is continually renewed and refreshed by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit whom we experience sometimes as a gentle breeze, at other times as a rush.

That wonderful response to the newspaper article has continued to attract new people to the various retreats and quiet days during the first half of this year. A Christian Yoga retreat also carried a waiting list and was so popular that we will run it again this fall. A quiet day on discernment at the end of January, led by Sr. Elizabeth, entitled “Choose Life”, attracted almost 50 people, more than half of whom were at the Convent for the first time. Friends brought friends, and all who came were refreshed by the day. Many of our As soc i a t e s and Oblates also brought friends to an Open House in February to introduce them to the Sisterhood. It is wonderful to see how the Spirit is moving people to come to the Convent and experience those deep places within. There will be another Open House on September 10 so mark it on your calendars!

Early in January the Sisterhood admitted Debra Johnston as a Postulant. She is a Lutheran Pastor with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada with whom the Anglican Church has been in full communion for these past 10 years. She is finding her way in the midst of this Anglican monastic community. We will receive her as a Novice in June as she further explores her call from God in SSJD.

Sr. Amy flew to Thunder Bay, ON, to guide a “knitting-as-prayer” workshop which was well received and led people to new ways of finding prayer in their lives. In April Sr. Sue and Br. David Bryan, OHC, went to Montreal to be chaplains at the Montreal Clergy Retreat. I went to Niagara Falls in April to do a presentation on the Religious Life to the House of Bishops along with representatives from the Sisters of the Church in Burlington, ON, and from the Order of the Holy Cross in Toronto, and a special guest, Br. Jude, SSF, from the Franciscan Community in San Francisco, CA. I also recorded a series of 9 podcasts for the Anglican Journal for Lent and Easter in a series called “From Creation’s Dust to Resurrection’s Glory”. Srs. Helen Claire and Amy went to the Diocese of Huron to present on the Religious Life at the end of April. In June, Sr. Elizabeth will be flying to Timmins, ON to be chaplain at the Diocese of Moosonee Synod. These are just some of the places and ways that the Sisters are being a visible presence of their life and ministry throughout the church and in the world.

St. Margaret’s Chapel, the chapel in the Guest House, was dedicated and blessed by Bishop Linda Nicholls on February 27th with a service of Evensong and Compline. Then on Maundy Thursday we processed to St. Margaret’s Chapel when it became the Altar of Repose. The chapel was also a focus for the meditation on the cross on Good Friday. We give thanks for the generosity of the DeBoer family for the furnishings in the chapel and for all those who have contributed to help us in the redecorating of the chapel and installation of the stained glass window.

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We have had a number of celebrations this year. Sr. Constance celebrated her 107th Birthday on February 2nd. She came to join the Sisterhood over 70 years ago from Baltimore, Maryland, in response to God’s call to her. In March we hosted four Xavier Sisters to talk about how we live the religious life. We have since been invited to attend the Life Profession of one of the Sisters at the end of May.

We celebrated with Srs. Jean and Beryl who were pilgrims to the Holy Land in April by kindness of a generous donor.

Sr. Merle celebrated her 40th Profession Anniversary on April 19th noting that 40 is a propitious number in the Holy Scriptures. She is seen here with Sr. Doreen.

Sr. Helena died quite suddenly in our infirmary on Saturday April 9th. Her quiet contemplative presence and thoughtful intelligence will be greatly missed. We had hoped that she would be able to teach Centering Prayer at this year’s Women at a Crossroads program in July.

We had planned to celebrate Sr. Thelma-Anne’s 50th Profession Anniversary on May 6th, St. John’s Day, but Sr. Thelma-Anne died very unexpectedly on April 30th; so St. John’s Day became a celebration of her life.

By the time you receive this Eagle we will have enjoyed a visit from noted author Kathleen Norris in late May. We are so looking forward to her presence among us and hope that you were able to be with us for one or more of the events. Pentecost comes in June this year with Easter being about as late as it can be in the calendar year. May the winds of the Holy Spirit blow fresh breezes into your heart as you continue to listen to the leading of the Spirit in your lives. Pray that many more new people will hear about the Sisterhood and the spirituality resources we have to help deepen their lives in God. May God bless you all.

Sr. Elizabeth Ann, SSJD

1Taken from Prayers, Revised Common Lectionary

Sr. Constance Joanna’s Easter Homily (An Excerpt)

The resurrection story in Matthew is the most dramatic of all the gospels—cosmic in its presentation. Mary Magdalene and the “other Mary” go to see the tomb. So far so good. Then there is an earthquake. An angel descends from heaven—like a literary deus ex machina, come to save the day by rolling back the stone. He sits on it! His clothing is brilliant, white lightning. The guards shake and become like dead men.

And then the angel says what angels always say when they make an earthly visitation. “Don’t be afraid.” O yeah? Then why all this drama, this rolling of drums and thunder and lightning and earthquakes? Who wouldn’t be afraid?

The angel persists: “Calm down, it’s OK. I know you’re looking for Jesus, but he’s been raised—look, you can see where he was buried—he’s not here. And he’s given me a message for you—he said to tell you that he’s going ahead of you to Galilee and you’ll see him there.” So they leave the tomb with both fear and great joy—we all know that mixture of emotions when something seems too good to be true—and they obediently run to tell the other disciples.

Then follows another dramatic moment though this one a little quieter—Jesus himself suddenly meets them and says “Greetings!” Greetings, of all things—this seems a bit of an understatement after the earthquake and lightning. There is such a strong contrast to the angel’s appearance that the two women fall down, take his feet and worship him. And what does Jesus say? The same thing the angel said—don’t be afraid. Go tell my brothers to go to Galilee; they will see me there. Why did Jesus send the angel with the message and then decided to show up himself? Didn’t he trust the angel? Or was he just so excited that he wanted to tell them in person—show them that he was alive? I suspect it’s the latter.

But what exactly is the message here—the good news? What is all the thunder and lightning and earthquaking and people-quaking about? It is no less than the rebirth of the world, even the cosmos. Imagine all the fireworks and noise that happened at the time of the big bang. On Good Friday, when Jesus died, there was an earthquake and thunder and lightning and the veil of the temple was torn in two, signalling that everything had changed—everything! And on Easter morning Matthew wants to be sure that no one misses the point. Jesus has defied death and offers all of us new life —not just after our own earthly lives but now, at this moment, when we stand at the junction of God’s time and human time, the meeting of kairos and chronos, “when heaven is wedded to earth” as it’s expressed so beautifully in the Exultet. May we have the courage to accept the invitation to cross the threshold and to know the love and reconciliation which the risen Christ offers to us, and to share it with others.

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There may come a time in your life which is rightly called ‘contentment’. You feel satisfied with where you are and what you are doing. Challenges and rewards are close by; what more could you want? Thomas Browne said it well in the 17th century: “We carry with us the wonders we seek without us: there is all Africa and her prodigies within us.” However, this may be just the period of your life when there is going to be a big surprise.

This was how it was for Sister Jean and me. Out of the wild blue yonder, the two of us were invited to join a group of pilgrims to the Holy Land, departing March 20th and returning March 31st. Suddenly our inner search-lights began sweeping in wider circles, and my own grain of restlessness awoke.

How good it is to know where you are even though you are aloft at 39,000 feet! We passed over Gander, then Salzburg and a piece of Slovenia. Then we flew over the Mediterranean and many other untold beauties until we arrived at Tel Aviv. Almost immediately we were in the tour-bus travelling north over the ‘Via Maris’.

Our pilgrimage was not only to sites mentioned in the Bible, but also to some of the great archaeological digs and reconstructions whose names I knew: Caesarea Maritima, Acre, Beth Shean, Megiddo, Qumran. The name Masada gave me shivers. I was living again with my old fear of cable-

cars, hoping to be absent from the tour at Masada.

However, I did not realize that we were already tuning up for Masada. We were ascending a number of famous mounts: Carmel, Hermon, the Beatitudes, Tabor, and the Mount of Olives. The hills around the Sea of Galilee were high. The final ascent of Mount Tabor had 16 hair-pin

bends! So at Masada, I quietly joined the cable-car crowd, and felt grateful for its ‘made in Switzerland’ label.

I experienced times of great interest, of enlightenment, and of deep feeling. The whole group stood in silence on the very steps leading to the Judgment Hall which Jesus is said to have ascended in chains. The Via Dolorosa, teeming with life and energy, offered me a commentary on the barren wastes of our own shopping-centres. The lovely Sea of Galilee flows into the brown waters of the Jordan River. At the site of Jesus’ Baptism, the Jordan is alive with muskrats and what I took to be cat-fish. The lush valleys and the rocky hillsides spoke of the triumphs of Israeli agriculture in covered greenhouses and vigorous date palms and olive trees. It was painful to visit Bethlehem—to see the hideous wall, and to glimpse despair in the figures of men lounging around Manger Square. “Why are you standing here all day idle?”

Now is the time to read, to remember and to pray for the peace which is yet to be fulfilled for those who are our neighbours in the Middle East.

Sr. Beryl, SSJD (text)Sr. Jean, SSJD (photos)

(In the order of the text) Sr. Beryl at Caesarea Maritima; Sr. Beryl, the Rev. Canon Susan Sheen & Sr. Jean at Masada; The Mount of Beatitudes; Jerusalem; a Statue of Jesus blessing Peter.

PILGRIMAGE TO ISRAEL — THE TRIP OF A LIFETIME

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Our Lives ofSt. Hilda’s Church played a prominent role in the early years of Sr. Jocelyn and her younger brother and St. Hilda of Whitby is still an lifelong interest. Jocelyn took commercial courses in high school, majoring in accounting, along with developing interests in Brownies, Guides, Cadets and enjoyment in walking. She worked for the Toronto Board of Education while leading Brownies and was a volunteer at the Anglican Congress in Toronto in 1963. She also helped set up the book room at St. Thomas’ Church. Three trips to England and an awareness of wanting “more than a 9 -5 job, I felt called to community, so I approached SSJD but was asked to wait”. Jocelyn then moved to Port Hope to be with the mentally retarded children from the Aurora and Ottawa houses, working alongside Srs. Anna and Eileen who had been SSJD. In 1969 she entered Community at the age of 26. “I first visited the Convent after Sr. Teresa made me promise on a flight from England that I would visit her, and that was the summer of 1965. . . . I have spent more than half my Community time at branch houses including three times at the Priory in Edmonton, and now in Victoria.” She took on the Altar Linen department in 1978 and it still goes with her wherever she goes. Jocelyn was involved with the Toronto

Diocesan Healing Committee, the Miriam Dobell Centre Committee. She was inducted into the Order of St. Luke in 1978 and was the first lay chaplain in Canada. An early “highlight” for Sr. Jocelyn in Community was “having cancer in 1970 and being given three months to live ; after making my Profession, the cancer signs disappeared”. She is enthusiastic about her stewarding experiences and contacts at the cathedral where she also “belongs to the Healing Committee, along with attending local clericus, clergy days and doing the House finances and the white work.”

Sr. Sarah Jean was born in Toronto, an only child to parents from Nova Scotia. In 1950 the family moved to Marathon, Ontario a pulp and paper town for six years where she developed her strong love of nature and sewing. She was involved with Brownies, Guides, Sunday School and, later on, church choir and teaching Sunday School in St. Patrick’s when the family returned to Toronto, and where she met Sr. Christine and Sr. Wilhelmina of SSJD. Trained as a nurse, Sarah Jean worked at Women’s College Hospital in Toronto, Victoria Hospital in London and Kitchener-Waterloo Hospital. Increasing church involvement, sewing, crochet and embroidery added to her skills. “I find it contemplative to sew —and especially ripping out! It frees my mind for other things.” She has also been making Anglican Rosaries and leading workshops to teach others. Sarah Jean entered Community at age 30 and recalls “one of my happiest times was living in Edmonton for 11 years, longer than I ever lived anywhere. We had poodles and cats which I loved even though allergic to them . . . . I also got to know the people over time and it was enriching to be with them. . . . We had a great sense of being part of the Diocese, something I also experienced in Montreal and now here in Victoria.” While in Montreal as Head of House, she sat on the Diocesan Committee for following up on candidates for ordination and was able

to take courses in prayer companioning. Another highlight for Sr. Sarah Jean was her first directed retreat at Loyola House, “a time of spiritual renewal for me and giving a new look at what ministry means. When something affects one that much, one wants to share it.” In Victoria she is the Director of Western Associates and speaks excitedly about her new opportunities of experiencing the wild beauty of the BC landscape while travelling to various communities.

The eldest of six children, Sr. Brenda was born in Windsor, Ontario,. Her father a cabinet maker, her mother a woman of strong faith, Brenda was a cradle Anglican growing up in a rural church. She enjoyed Sunday School, Guiding, youth groups, participating on school teams, attending the YM-YWCA and, later on, taught swimming, gymnastics and judo. “Guiding had a tremendous impact on my life by opening doors for me to explore new things and learn about God, our environment and myself.” An RN, Brenda combined her interests of nursing, physical geography, social geography and culture, and adventure by nursing in Canada’s Arctic and abroad. She ventured deeper into the spiritual dimension of her life, her relationship with God and who she was as a Christian. Home on furlough from India, her minister suggested she go on a retreat at the Convent. “It was on this retreat that I heard God’s call for me to enter the religious life. With fear and trepidation but a desire to be obedient, I entered SSJD in June 1991 at age 40.” A highlight for Sr. Brenda was being on exchange with the Order of the Holy Paraclete Sisters in Johannesburg, South Africa. “It was the moment my past life as a nurse who liked to work overseas and my new life as a Sister met, and I found marvel, peace and joy with what

was, for what is now, and for what is to come.” Another highlight was the first Christmas at the new, unfinished Convent. “We went to the Chapel and sang among the chaos of building material. As I sat on a pile of wood and soaked in the beauty of the candlelight, the huge snowflakes gently falling on the windows, the singing of Silent Night and thinking of Jesus’ birth in a stable, beauty, peace, hope, joy and good old nostalgia danced within and around me. Gratefulness for God’s presence that Christmas in the messes and dreams of life, and for the gift of community, still flows forth when I think about that night.”

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Love and ServiceSr. Doreen was born in Verdun, Quebec, the eldest child of four. As her father worked for the CPR, the family moved frequently, so her schooling was experienced in Winnipeg, Calgary, Medicine Hat and Vancouver. She was strongly influenced by her time in Brownies, Guides, Rangers and then as a leader with Guides, along with AYPA and teaching Sunday School. Involvement in Rangers was a time of travel, fellowship and outreach projects to the disadvantaged and handicapped. Holidays with family, friends and relatives travelling in Canada brought enjoyment of camping and the outdoors. “Since the age of eight when an SSJD Sister spoke to our Sunday School class, I had a longing to give my life to God in some way.” Teen years in Medicine Hat surrounded by SSJD Associates and teaching Sunday School, continued to nourish the spark. “I became an Associate in the early ‘60s in Vancouver and, after finishing my BA at UBC in May 1965, I came for a month’s holiday to the Convent, hoping that would either confirm my call to the religious life or free me to ‘get on with other plans’—marriage, lots of children, teaching, postgraduate studies. . . . My call was confirmed, so I entered in October ‘65 at age 22.” Highlights for Sr. Doreen “have always centred around our life together, doing whatever was needed to make our Community strong and authentic in its outreach to others and the world.” From retreats, missions, spiritual direction, cooking in the Convent kitchen to times in Regina and Edmonton houses, and “our Home for the Elderly and Cana Place, VP at SJRH, starting a branch house in BC—and now a return to the Convent and Community life here—have all added their own highlights to the underlying foundation of prayer, hospitality and service”.

Along with her brother, Sr. Constance Joanna was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. Her parents shared Swedish roots but met in Chicago at the 1933 World’s Fair. She learned to play the piano early on but gave it up at age 10 “because I wanted to be outside playing not inside practising”, then picked it up later along with the organ. “Music was a huge part of my life. I don’t think I was ever away from a choir.” Constance Joanna got her undergraduate degree in English, and then her MA followed by a PhD in American Literature and Linguistics. Five years teaching in Detroit and a year as a Fulbright Professor in Germany were followed by a tenured position at Virginia Tech. “I grew up in the Methodist Church and, although I was later confirmed in the Episcopal Church, I always loved John Wesley, especially the way he talked in his journal about how his heart was ‘strangely warmed’. I aspired to be that myself but it was many years before I discovered that God was around me all the time. This gave me the courage to accept that God could call me out of teaching into the Sisterhood. . . . I thought I was giving up teaching, but it was my first true ‘vocation’ in the sense that I felt God truly called me and gave me gifts for that. I had become an Associate through my friends at the Cathedral in Detroit and was a regular visitor at the Convent from 1972.” In 1984 at age 43, Constance Joanna came to the Sisterhood “not sure whether I was called to be a Sister or a priest. Eventually I had the great blessing of fulfilling both. . . . I’ve worked in several areas in the Convent and in many roles at St. John’s Rehab. I also had both the joys and the heartaches of being Reverend Mother for 11 years.”

Sr. Anne was born in Ashbury Park, New Jersey, although her parents were from Montreal. Her father was an English Protestant organist and her mother a French-Canadian Catholic opera singer. The family moved to Allentown, Pennsylvania, and later, with her sister, to Baltimore, where “I experienced school integration of blacks and whites in the ‘60s. Moving to New Glasgow, NS, however, racism was still apparent”. Her parents began teaching children most of whom were black, sowing the seeds of Anne’s desire to teach music to disadvantaged children. Having taken up the violin at age nine, Anne studied at Dalhousie in Halifax and, at various times since, has played with the Atlantic Symphony, the Canadian Chamber Orchestra in Banff and several Ontario symphonies. She started choir involvement at age six in her father’s choir and, along with Sunday School, “the two golden threads of music and theology began weaving through my life”, yet not quite taking hold at the times when she was ready to grasp them firmly. Anne was raised a Lutheran as it was considered a compromise between her parents’ traditions. “I experienced a call but I didn’t know what it was” after graduating in music. Waterloo Lutheran Seminary was followed by chaplaincy experiences, and then a priest said, “maybe you should enter a religious community”. Her initial contact with the Convent prompted an inner voice, “I don’t think so, Lord”, and later on “maybe, it might be possible”. Although Anglican-Lutheran dialogues were occurring then, Anne took steps to become an Anglican, as “I sensed something’s going on. Then it became clear, so I entered on Holy Cross Day 1994 at age 42 “. She has been involved in every department of the Sisterhood, including the branch houses. “A real highlight was having my Lutheran Bishop participate in my Life Profession as it occurred the same year as the signing of the Waterloo Declaration”. Another highlight for her was the OHP exchange and being able to visit Iona.

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Sister Helena Ward, SSJDSeptember 1, 1917 - April 9, 2011

Sister Helena was unique and special—one of a kind. In the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator she was an INTP, a rare combination.

Born in 1917 in Fort William (now part of Thunder Bay) she and her brother, Harry, were brought up by their parents, Percy Ward, a hardware merchant and Clara Ward, who sold lace and fine embroidery in her tiny store at the front of their home. Of

recent years her only nephew, Bob, kept in touch by telephone from Thunder Bay which gave her great joy.

In her typically modest, ethereal way Sister described her further education as “two year courses: Grade 11 Commercial Course and Practical Arts: household science and dietetics”. In actual fact she also served in the CWAC, (Canadian Women’s Army Corps) during World War II until her discharge in 1946. She began her army career as a stenographer in the medical office, taking notes for medical examinations of new recruits, and finally as a Recruiting Officer travelling around the country. Eventually she was posted to the Australian Military Mission in Washington.

After her discharge she took advantage of a DVA education grant to study theology at St. John’s College, Winnipeg, which equipped her to work with Miss Eva Hazell in the Sunday School by Post. She was assigned as a van worker in the Diocese of Athabasca where she met another van worker, Florence McKinnon, from whom she learned about SSJD and felt compelled to learn more; so she wrote to Mother Aquila who urged her to come and see. She came, she saw and her life-long dedication to God in the Religious Life began.

It seems to me that Sr. Helena’s greatest gifts to SSJD were her presence among us and her undivided commitment to God. Her assignments included Sunday School by Post, the Altar Bread Department, sewing Sisters’ habits, and time spent in most of our Branch Houses. But we will remember her best as Sacristan which she accomplished and taught par excellence.

One recollection of Sr. Helena relates to when she had forgotten to put water in the pitcher for our Saturday evening Vigil of the Resurrection. She realized her omission

when the time came to pour the water. Serenely she rose from her place, picked up the pitcher, moved quietly to the sacristy, filled it with water and returned to the Chapel as though this were a usual part of the ceremony and returned to her choir stall. We all marvelled at her seeming calmness but she later said that her heart was a-flutter, feeling anything but calm and composed.

Sr. Helena was among those of us who taught Sunday School at St. Philip’s Church in Toronto in the 1950s and ‘60s. For several years she and I were responsible for the class of lively six-year-olds. She was innovative in her ideas which were full of life, excitement and often included play-acting, sometimes complete with costumes! One of our songs was “We are climbing Jacob’s Ladder”.

Many years later she and I served together at Cana Place. My mother was a resident during that time and I remember walking past her room one day, near the end of her life, to hear beautiful music. On investigation I found the small record player from the Chapel placed near my mother’s bedside and a smile on her face. I knew this to be Sr. Helena’s handiwork. So much could be written: Tai Chi meditation; singing in Chapel; daily intercessions for the Bible Society; diligent attendance at recreation, meetings, special events and party suppers, even when she could see nothing or hear little of what was happening. The evening she died, I sang her the song we sang at St. Philip’s, “We are climbing Jacob’s Ladder, Soldiers of the Cross”. This soldier, in her lifetime, truly reached for the top! Sr. Wilma, SSJD

An excerpt from Sr. Constance Joanna’s homily at Sr. Helena’s funeral:

“Walk slowly, look holy.”This was the maxim that Sr. Helena taught all of us to live by – especially those of us who were trained by her in work of the sacristy and chapel. She herself was calm, contemplative, serene and gentle in her approach to chapel work, and she taught us, too, not to take ourselves too seriously—to remember that everything we did was for God. And because God’s love is unconditional, our worship would not be spoiled in any way if we made a mistake.

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Sister Thelma-Anne McLeod, SSJDOctober 3, 1928 – April 30, 2011

Sister Thelma-Anne was a gifted musician, who in the words of an Associate, ”lived with spark, pizzazz and surprise”. She was born in 1928 in Estevan, Saskatchewan, to Thelma Audrey (née Kinnear) and James Archibald McLeod. She was the sister of Jean Brunsell (dec.) of Yorkton, SK, and Squadron Leader Henry McLeod, a spitfire pilot killed in action over

Germany in 1945. She attended Queen’s University; obtained her MA at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania, and did a further year of graduate work at Radcliffe College. She entered the Community in 1957 and made her Profession as a Sister of St. John the Divine on May 12, 1961.

Sr. Thelma-Anne worked with the Associates and Oblates of the Sisterhood; led many missions and retreats; was a gifted organist and sang for a time with the Gallery Choir at St. Mary Magdalene’s Church under the direction of Healey Willan. She was a composer, poet, and author, as well as a sought-after retreat leader. She worked in various ministries of the Sisterhood at St. John’s Rehab Hospital, St John’s Priory in Edmonton, and St. John’s House in Montreal and served as the Assistant to the Reverend Mother for a period. She was a member of the Anglican-Roman Catholic Dialogue, the National Doctrine and Worship Committee and the Hymn Book Task Force of the Anglican Church in Canada. Sr. Thelma-Anne also served on the Toronto Diocesan Doctrine and Worship Committee. She has been a proud member of Integrity Toronto and served as their chaplain for many years. She made a major contribution to the Sisterhood’s liturgical music and in the renewal of our corporate daily prayer. The Sisters still sing many of her hymns and chants on a regular basis.

After being diagnosed in 2001 with Parkinson’s, she founded a Parkinson’s Support Group in St. Lambert, QC. Sr. Thelma-Anne’s journey with Parkinson’s, in her words— “with this stranger who came to stay”—is movingly recorded in her book In Age Reborn, By Grace Sustained: One Woman’s Journey through Aging and Chronic Illness. She lived faithfully with her condition to the end.

As Bishop Barry Jenks wrote, “Sister Thelma-Anne’s death will be mourned throughout the Church which has been so blessed by her ministry and, particularly, by her gifts of music for liturgy and hymnody.”

Fr. Andrew Marr, OSB, Abbot of St. Gregory’s Abbey in Three Rivers, MI, wrote this about her: “I was impressed with her musical talents, as I’m sure everybody was. But there was something even more important that defines my remembrance of her. I have met very few people whose face had settled into a permanent smile as Sister Thelma Anne’s had done by the time I got to know her. When I read the book she wrote about living with Parkinson’s, which included some reflections from earlier in life, it was made clear that her perpetual smile came after many struggles. She was the kind of person who radiated peace and joy when she was in the room.

Bp. Linda Nicholls wrote: “her life and ministry have been such an inspiration to so many people—through her music, through her theological reflections, through her spiritual direction, and latterly through her journey with Parkinson’s .” Someone else said: I am sure there’s a special place for her in Heaven!” Sr. Doreen, SSJD

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Flickering Life

I am a flickering candle Yearning to burn for You Sometimes my flame is steady and bright More often I’m wobbly and faint But still there’s a flicker from You

Oft times when I fal ter My light fades and nearly goes ou t, You breathe intome to re-flame my soul My trying spark quickensandstrengthens r e a c h ing into light, To growthrough times that seemed dark as night.

You are always there in my flickering flame Coaxing, enabling, growing me That I may yearn and burn for You.

M.L. Stewart, Oblate, SSJD

The Houses of the Sisterhoodwww.ssjd.ca

St. John’s Convent 233 Cummer Avenue, Toronto, ON M2M 2E8

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The Chapel all dressed for Easter

Sr. Elizabeth Ann visiting our Sisters(?) in VictoriaSisters Elizabeth and Thelma-Anne at our infirmary tea party