In 1994 the United Nations decided that the International Day of Indigenous Peoples be celebrated each year on August 9.
On this day people around the world are encouraged to spread the UN’s message on the protection and preservation of the rights of indigenous peoples. This year’s theme is The Role of Indigenous Women in the Preservation and Transmission of Traditional Knowledge.
Indigenous women are the backbone of their communities and play a crucial role in preserving and passing on traditional ancestral knowledge. However, they face many major issues in their everyday life, some of which are high levels of poverty, low levels of education, limitations in access to health, basic sanitation and employment, and the prevalence of domestic and sexual violence.
To learn more about this special observance, go to the following link:
https://www.un.org/development/desa/indigenouspeoples/international-day-of-the-worlds-indigenous-peoples.html
The Season of Creation is an ecumenical time, inviting Christian communities around the world to unite in prayer and action for creation. Patriarch Dimitrios 1 proclaimed September 1 as a special day of prayer for creation for his Orthodox community in 1989. The World Council of Churches was instrumental in expanding this day of prayer to a full season, and in 2015 Pope Francis made the season official for the Catholic Church.
The Congregation of the Sisters of Mercy had received word from Mary (Tarrant) Hodge early in August that the people of St. Lawrence, little St. Lawrence, Lawn and surrounding areas wanted to have a celebration to recognize the ministry of the Sisters of Mercy in those areas and to officially thank them. Three Sisters, Sister M. Rose Murphy, M. Xavier Tarahan, and M. Stanislaus Taylor, had arrived in St. Lawrence in 1871 and the last Sister to minister there was Sr. Lucia Walsh who left in 2009. Would the Sisters who had ministered, or who had come from there be able to attend the festivities planned on the weekend of October 20th and 21st, 2012, asked Mary? She insisted that the Congregational Leader HAD to be there! The Planning Committee would not entertain her absence but were willing to change the date of the event to suit her agenda. Elizabeth Davis was free to go on the 20th and 21st.
Saturday, October 20th was the most beautiful day, weather-wise, that we had had all year! Sisters from St. John’s left very early in the morning when traffic was light and the moose had not yet ventured out from their night’s haunts. The sun shone its mightiest, the sky was cloudless, the environment was ecologically correct and when we drove off the Trans-Canada and travelled down the Peninsula highway the splendor of the gold, yellows, browns and sometimes reds of the autumn leaves was absolutely breathtaking. Those of us with digital cameras were kept busy trying to capture the beauty before us. This was particularly difficult especially if our driver had no intention of letting us out of the car to shoot the scenery!
Upon arrival at Sandy Point, the sisters received an enthusiastic welcome from the people of Sandy point. The Evening Telegram of August 12, 1893 reported as follows:
She died at the age of 44, having been professed as a Sister of Mercy for fourteen years. A woman of great fortitude, zeal for mission and commitment to the ideals of Mercy instilled in her by Catherine McAuley, Francis gave her all to the Newfoundland mission.
Persistent efforts by Burin’s zealous pastor, Father Michael Berney, for whom the education of the children of his parish was of prime importance, finally convinced Mother Xavier Bernard to make a positive response to his entreaties. St. Anne’s Convent (pictured at right) opened on July 12, 1863. The founding sisters were: Irish-born Sister M. Liguori Carmody; Sister M. Xavier Tarrahan, a Newfoundlander; Sister M. Charles McKenna, also Irish; Mary McAuliffe, a postulant.
Sr. Mary Tee is Director of the Mercy Centre for Ecology and Justice located in St. John’s, Newfoundland.
The centre works to engage the sisters, associates and others, especially youth, in its many projects and activities. The centre serves as facilitator, advocate, educator and prophet in the many aspects of ecology and justice.