Sisters Anita Best and Mona Rumboldt manifest their creativity in needlework (Anita) and card-making (Mona).
Las hermanas Anita Best y Mona Rumboldt manifiestan su creatividad en la costura (Anita) y la tarjetería (Mona).
Examples of their work are on display in the gallery below. En la siguiente galería se exponen ejemplos de su trabajo.
Abstract of Masters Thesis by Augusta Bonita Ford, Memorial University of Newfoundland
The purpose of this study was to trace the work of the sisters of Mercy in Newfoundland in the field of business education. The Sisters began their work in the late 1800’s, when they first introduced business education courses into the curriculum of their convent schools. Their work continued until the mid-1900’s, when they began phasing out the formal business education programs which they had developed over the years in their schools. Their activities in this area constitute an important and lasting contribution to the field of business education. There has been no previous in-depth scholarly investigation into this aspect of the Sisters’ work. Therefore, a study of the Sisters’ contribution to this field is long overdue.
The first part of this study provides historical background of the Sisters of Mercy, the establishment of the early convent schools in Newfoundland, and the introduction of business education subjects into the curriculum of these schools. — The second part of the study deals with the opening of Commercial Departments at several of the Sisters’ schools and colleges around the Island, the development of comprehensive business education programs in these departments, and the introduction and development of business education programs at convent schools where Commercial Departments were not established.
The Sisters of Mercy in Newfoundland started their business training at a time when business education was in its infancy and when the field of employment for women. The foresight, energy, and determination of the early Sisters won the respect of educators and business people across Newfoundland. An, the outstanding achievements of so many of their students won for the institutions they represented a recognized place not only in the educational and business circles of the Island but also in international business education competitions. — In the late 1950’s and early 1960’s, many schools and colleges in Newfoundland began closing down their Commercial Departments or phasing out their business education classes. The convent schools and colleges operated by the Sisters of Mercy were among this group. New educational institutions such as Holy Heart of Mary Regional High School for girls and The College of Trades and Technology in St. John’s, along with the District Vocational Schools across the Island, now took up the task of preparing the youth of Newfoundland for the world of business.
By the time the Sisters were ready to concede the responsibility for business training to the new institutions, they had already helped to raise business education from a small cluster of basic skills courses to a highly sophisticated field of learning for young men and women. In addition, the Sisters had trained for the business communities of the Island thousands of qualified typists, stenographers, and bookkeepers. In so doing, they had given well over half a century of dedicated service to the field of business education in Newfoundland.
Read the thesis here
I recently attended a ceremony that truly marked the end of an era – the closing of St. Clare’s Mercy Convent. Its history began 102 years ago, as St. Clare’s Home for Working Girls and was the first location of St. Clare’s Mercy Hospital.
Over the years, 92 Sisters of Mercy called it home.
In her emotional remarks during the recent closing ceremony, one of its former residents, Sister Elizabeth Davis, reminisced: “It is a holy space which has seen and heard joy and laughter, music and dancing, pain and tears, anger and gentleness, fear and hope, dreams and promise.”
But the Sisters have left their mark on face of health care delivery in this province.
Sister Elizabeth believes it’s a lasting legacy. “While the physical convent may be gone, we have far more than the memories of the place and of the women who once called it home.”
“We have the energy that flows from the spirit of mercy that lived in the convent and now lives forever in this hospital and in our world.”
Read the complete article here
Legacy was enshrined by the care and compassion of the pioneering order ‘walking nuns’ who became the heart of N.L. health care for decades
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. — Sister Diane Smyth remembers the family dinner her mother cooked the night before Smyth joined the Mercy Convent in St. John’s in 1964.
“My uncle said to me, ‘It’s just like you’re dying,’” she said.
“He said, ‘No daughter of mine is going to join the convent,’ as if to say, now that they’re taking you away, you’re going to be locked up for the rest of your life. That was the image of the cloister.”
In fact, the Sisters of Mercy was never an order to shy away from engagement with the community. Quite the opposite.
“In Ireland, we were called the walking nuns,” says Sister Charlotte Fitzpatrick — who recently wrote a book about the local order called “Standing on Their Shoulders” — “because most of the congregations of women in religions at the time were enclosed, they didn’t go out among the people as much…
Read the rest of the article here
“In this respectful tribute to St. Clare’s, The Mustard Seed, Sr. Kathrine Bellamy chronicles the hospital’s development from its opening in 1922 with 20 beds, its growth to an institution of 375 beds and its national recognition in 1992 by Chatelainemagazine as one of Canada’s 12 “great” hospitals.
Since 1842, the Sisters of Mercy had been ministering to the sick, poor and needy of St. John’s, thus when this established tradition of care was redirected toward hospital patients it was not difficult for St. Clare’s to live up to the motto “Mercy Above All.” Accordingly, St. Clare’s became home to Newfoundland’s first alcohol and detoxification centre and its first palliative care unit, and absorbed the chronic care of tuberculosis patients following closure of the city’s sanatorium; from 1922 until the obstetrics unit closed 70 years later, 83 000 babies were delivered…”
From the book review by J.T.H. Connor PhD, John Clinch professor of medical humanities and history of medicine, Faculty of Medicine Memorial University St. John’s, NL
Read the rest of the review here
For many year the Association of New Canadians ( English School) has been planting and tending the garden at the Mercy Centre for Ecology and Justice (MCEJ) on Mount Scio Road. During covid all of the programs came to a stop except for the planting of the garden which was tended during those years by Amhed and his family. Sister Mary Tee and Marcella Grant also retired just before covid.
Last year a new Board of Directors the Centre hired Jeff Ronan who has been working on the various programs. The New Canadians have again planted the garden and this year have a new project of training involving carpentry, concrete work, building.
The video (below) shows how the restoration of a greenhouse that was once on the property is taking shape thanks to this project. The group of students and instructors came at 8:00 am yesterday and after they had lunch were gone by 2:30. The video shows the great work they did in those few hours – the power of many, many hands and feet and strong backs!. Next week they will return to build the greenhouse! Lot’s of excitement!
Durante muchos años la Asociación de Nuevos Canadienses (Escuela Inglesa) ha estado plantando y cuidando el jardín del Mercy Centre for Ecology and Justice (MCEJ) en Mount Scio Road. Durante la crisis, todos los programas se interrumpieron excepto la plantación del jardín, que durante esos años estuvo a cargo de Amhed y su familia. La hermana Mary Tee y Marcella Grant tambien se jubilaron justo antes del covid.
El año pasado un nuevo Consejo de Administración el Centro contrató a Jeff Ronan que ha estado trabajando en los diversos programas. Los Nuevos Canadienses han vuelto a plantar el huerto y este año tienen un nuevo proyecto de formación que incluye carpintería, trabajos en hormigón y construcción.
El video (abajo) muestra cómo la restauración de un invernadero que una vez estuvo en la propiedad está tomando forma gracias a este proyecto. El grupo de estudiantes e instructores llegó ayer a las 8:00 am y después de almorzar se habían ido a las 2:30. El vídeo muestra el gran trabajo que hicieron en esas pocas horas: ¡el poder de muchas, muchas manos y pies y espaldas fuertes! La semana que viene volverán para construir el invernadero. ¡Mucha ilusión!
The Kiwanis Music Festival is an annual event that began with a two-day event in 1952 with 193 entries and two adjudicators; in 2010 it spans 12 days, with well over 6,000 participants and nine adjudicators. It is the largest festival in eastern Canada.
Musicians young and old have come to appreciate the “Festival” and enjoy this competitive opportunity to showcase their musical talent and their love and commitment to voice, instrumental and choral music. Every performer or group has the opportunity hear and learn from the instant evaluation of their performance by the expert and professional adjudicators. The adjudicators speak to them in order to teach and encourage. Marks are given, even though sometimes an adjudicator admits difficulty in giving marks to one group over the other.
Sisters of Mercy and their students in St. John’s and area schools have been part of the Kiwanis Music Festival since its foundation. Thousands of the sisters’ students – solists, duos and trios and combinations of the same, choirs, choral speech groups, instrumentalists, orchestras and bands from St. John’s, Bell Island, Goulds, Bay Bulls, Brigus, Conception Harbour and from as far as Marystown have entered the festival and have excelled.
Much is owed to the music teachers of our Congregation and of the Presentation Congregation for their commitment to music and culture and for nurturing the innate talent of the youth of our province. They are the true and consistent pioneers of our musical heritage. Some of them have rightly been inducted as members of the Hall of Fame of the Music Festival Association. There are no sisters taking groups to the Festival these days but their many students are doing that now. The baton has been passed and is calling forth the best of music in the next generations!
The Family Life Bureau, established in the Archdiocese of St. John’s in 1976, offers counseling in a whole range of areas including individual, marriage, and family counseling. Clients of the staff of the Bureau are either self-referred, referred from the courts, from physicians, various community agencies, and from priests throughout the Archdiocese.
Discovering and using your strengths to deal with personal and family life issues . . . Support to see you through . . .
Pastoral counseling is healing the mind, spirit, and relationships through the wisdom of behavioural sciences and spiritual values.
The goal of the Family Life Bureau is to foster positive changes in the lives of persons. Every person has within him/her the energy for growth. Troubled people seek out help when external circumstances lead to distressing separation from others, internal conflicts that cause pain and inner division, and when the life force within them is blocked from healing and growth.
Sister Loretta Walsh, rsm, Executive Director of the Family Life Bureau, is a facilitator and counselor. She and two other certified counselors provide individual, couple, group and family counseling. They also organize and facilitate workshops and marriage preparation seminars. The workshops deal with issues related to family life, parenting, interpersonal relationships, separation and divorce, personal growth, youth, dealing with drugs, assertiveness and self-esteem.
One interesting program brings married couples together for a candlelight dessert and facilitated conversation about their relationship. This marriage enrichment component is facilitated collaboration with the West End Baptist Church and some Anglican parishes in St. John’s.
SoulWinds is a small piece of land – about three acres – located on the Little Kennisis River in the Algonquin Highlands of Haliburton County in Ontario’s near north in Canada.
SoulWinds is the home of Brenda Peddigrew, RSM, Ph.D. and Joan Weir, N.D., who tend the land in all its seasons and offer consultations, teaching and guidance in their respective fields and in many ways to be in nature’s presence.
Joint courses are offered on the SoulWinds property, though other accomodations are used for personal guided retreats with Brenda, and other consultations.
Visit their website to learn more about this Mercy ministry
In 2007 two Sisters of Mercy from Newfoundland took a bold and courageous step to join Sisters of Mercy from Ireland in their ministries in Africa.
One sister cared for people in Kenya, men, women and children, suffering from HIV and AIDS. She served as a unit coordinator in an AIDS center for the poor. During 2007 a second Sister ministered among others suffering from HIV/AIDS in Zambia. These two Newfoundland sisters were the first to have taken on the adventure and challenge of ministering on the African continent.