UK and Ireland Province Newsletter, April 2018 #3

To journey united in our living of contemplation, communion, mission.

We have just experienced a long, cold winter with snow, sleet and severe winds; for many of us there has been a yearning for the beautiful daffodils, crocuses, primroses and bluebells, as well as the singing of the birds, the sight of young animals playing with each other in the fields and the wonderful buds on the trees bursting into colours of white, pink, yellow and various shades of green. Pope Francis in his Easter message reminded the people gathered in St. Peter’s square, that we are all called to bring peace where there is pain and suffering. He said, “It bears fruits of hope and dignity where there are deprivations and exclusion, hunger and unemployment; where there are migrants and refugees, so often rejected by today’s culture of waste and victims of the drug trade, human trafficking and contemporary forms of slavery.”

Let us continue to open our hearts in our prayer for peace, justice and the alleviation of pain and suffering.

Spring has arrived at last with its sunshine and splendour, so we have reason to thank God and sing, Alleluia!

Spring and the new life of the Risen Christ is wonderfully described by the poet Jay Adams,

“A snowdrop bursts so prettily through the dampened earth, nestling sedately between the grassy shoots, sunlit rays softly enfold each fragile flower- a vision of hope, an end to darkness- a pointer to safe, warm, productive times; Creation is beautiful – ALLELUIA!”

“Journey to the Millennium and Beyond” Reflections, Prayers and Poems by Christian Women. Collated by the Ecumenical Committee of NBCW.

GDPR - General Data Protection Regulation

This has been mentioned in our previous newsletter and comes into effect in Europe in May 2018, next month. It is a set of tough Data Protection rules that the EU has come up with in order to protect the personal data of individuals. The rule applies to all businesses, clubs, societies and charities. We, being a Registered Charity, must comply with the regulation. It refers to any data that can identify a living individual, for example, name, address, IP address (email addresses), date of birth, photograph, gender, and fingerprint. Penalties will be imposed on those organisations who do not comply with the regulation. In considering all this we need to be very careful what kind of information we pass on about people. We are recommended to ask the permission of an individual if we disclose any information about them.

Copyright: It is always advisable when we use another person’s work: poems, hymns or quotes to always give the full name and the sources where it was taken from, plus the date, even if from the website, to cover any copyright and privacy requirements. Check always to see if it can be copied, especially for the RNDM Website which is in a public domain.

When using photos for any of our publications we need always to get permission for use on a public domain – when it can be seen by many people in Newsletters, and Websites. We have protected our RNDM province website with a Privacy Policy that protects all material used.

Power of Attorney:

Most of you will have heard of the Power of Attorney by now! Kate Burke, the Safeguarding Lead for England and Scotland has been to various parts of the Province explaining the need for this, when it will be used and the importance of signing this document. We recognise it may need time to assimilate what is being asked but with a little help, it is not impossible! You will require two signatures and this may be:

 A family member and a member of the Congregation.  Two family members.  Two members of the Congregation. It is for you to choose which option you prefer but we would ask you to keep in mind that, in a case of emergency, it would be good for the Sisters to be able to be involved.

We ask that these papers are completed and here in Wealdstone by December 1, 2018.

Dates to remember:

Retreats A Retreat led by Sister Margaret McInerney will be held in Beech Court from the evening of Wednesday 5th September – Wednesday 12th September.

The second retreat will be conducted in Churchtown, Dublin from the evening of Saturday 15th September - Sunday 23rd September. If you are intending to follow either of these, please contact the communities who will host them.

Renewal Group – St Rambert, April 25-June 7; London, Deal and Sturry- June 7-13th; Rome - June 13-30.

The date is drawing near for the Renewal Group to begin their course “A Pilgrimage to Our Roots” in St Rambert. We wish Brigid Mary Kennedy a wonderful experience and of course our best wishes go to Sr Lucy for her preparation and for the running of the six weeks of Renewal beginning April 26. We feel sure that you will keep the group as they gather from many parts of the Congregation in your prayers. The group arrives in Wealdstone: June 7th and will follow in the footsteps of Euphrasie Friday June 8. On Saturday, June 9 they travel to be with the communities in Euphrasie Barbier and Beech Court. They leave for Rome June 13th. Province News:

192 High Street, Wealdstone The sisters in this community are sharing responsibility and the contact person for this community is Carmel Looby.

Bon Voyage Sr. Brigid Mary Kennedy Brigid Mary will attend the renewal course at St. Rambert-en-Bugey later this month. We know she is busy preparing and looking forward to the experience. May it be a time of much grace and blessing for you, Brigid Mary, and we hope you relax and enjoy all that the experience has to offer. Attending a Spiritual Course: Margaret Doherty, will be attending a mini sabbatical for about six weeks from the beginning of May until June, at the Genesis Spiritual Life and Conference Centre in the United States. We wish Margaret a very fruitful, enjoyable and prayerful experience during her course.

Helen O’Sullivan

Wishing you, Helen a good holiday with the Sisters in New Zealand and family. Safe travel.

Thank you!

Sr Helen Currie:

On April 20, Sr Helen Currie will leave us to return to St Rambert. We are so grateful for Helen’s presence with us over these past few months and the invaluable gift she has been in St Anne’s. You will be well missed, Helen when you leave us and we hope you will carry some special memories of your time here as we do. We owe a real debt of gratitude to Sr Patricia Boyd and the Sisters in St Rambert for allowing Helen to come to us. Blessings on your return journey and on all that awaits you! Au revoir et bon voyage!

''Sincere thanks to all those who have sent Mass cards, sympathy cards, and prayers for my Brother Michael, and my Sister-in law Margaret R.I.P. Your thoughtfulness is very much appreciated. You will be remembered in prayer. Yours Sincerely, Sister Mary Francis Joyce.'

The Province we have “adopted”

We continue to receive from communities the names of the province that has been adopted.

Churchtown has decided to adopt Vietnam. Presently there are Vietnamese Sisters in Ireland who are involved in mission and learning English. They share stories about their province and have cultural afternoons which the sisters enjoy. L to R: Hai, Linh, Mai, Tuyen, Thuy, Hieu

Ministry News from around the Province:

News from Sr Vui re Norway Trip

Fr. Simon of the Vietnamese chaplaincy planned for the Catechists to go to Norway from April 5 to 8. The purpose of this trip was to help the catechists to get more experience from the sharing by the priests and nuns who successfully helped the children in Norway to respond to the call of God by becoming priests and nuns also, developing their knowledge of Vietnamese culture and language and helping the young people of our communities. We also had an outing day and visited some places such as the Palace, Parliament, and especially the Viking Ship Museum which is very famous in Norwegian history.

Catechists from London and Norway sharing Vietnamese Culture.

Sr Kathleen McGuire writes from Beechcourt

St Mary’s Easter Bonnet Parade When I was asked by the Head Teacher to judge the Easter Bonnets in the school, you can imagine what a task that was! Sr Marian and I went up to the school for the parade and to see the great effort that had been put in by the children. It was very hard to find the winner of each class. One little boy had put kisses on his for Jesus, so how could you not give him a prize? The children and staff love coming here to Beechcourt and as the church closed they come class by class to visit the chapel and to learn about the history of their school. It is wonderful to find so many past pupils around Deal and to hear about the love they had for the school and the sisters who taught there. Euphrasie’s spirit is living on in that lovely school and the beautiful mosaics along the wall telling the history of that school and our past and present RNDM input will live on forever.

Sr Kathleen’s little helpers (permission given for photo) Our Past Pupils In February, we has a visit from two or our old pupils from St Ethelburgas’s, Deal, who asked us if a “few” of the past pupils could come and visit Beechcourt. Much to our surprise, on the 8th, we had 20 ladies and one man arrive. It was a lovely visit and they all recalled old memories of the sisters and how grateful they were for their wonderful education. They shared old photographs and one even had her school hat and badge. Later, after a high tea of scones and cakes, we went into the chapel and I told them about our beginnings here in Deal and gave them a prayer card with Euphrasie’s Prayer and they all said that they would join us in praying for her Beatification. Srs Yvonne Pepper and Eileen Keyes came from Euphrasie Barbier Community and it was lovely to see that some of the ladies remembered Yvonne from their school days. I taught the four year olds many years ago, but sad to say they did not remember me! I wonder why? Perhaps I have aged a little! They are having another gathering in September but as it is in the middle of the retreat we will not be able to go. No doubt we will see them again as we had so any lovely thank you cards telling us how much they enjoyed their visit to Beechcourt.

News for Manchester – Sr Edith Le Riche The Manchester Mission- Prayer Covers All has begun and covering so many aspects of community life in Levenshulme: The Cundiff and Local Charity – transporting the elderly assisting the sick, activities, “Repairs”- voice of the voiceless, housing officers and wardens/security, etc. Housing: Advice and support networking, Manchester Move- Health and Safety, interpreters, Furnishing – Voice of the Voiceless, Counselling etc. Refugee/ Asylum Seekers: MP Drop in, interpreters, Counselling, Muslin Charity, Syrian Relief etc. Edith is involved in various aspects of the Manchester Mission especially in the school and parish plus involved in so many of the above, as well as sharing Euphrasie’s story. We await some more updates Edith Prayers for the Sick:

Please keep Cathie Cairns very specially in your prayers. Pray also for Philomena Washington, Marie Therese Callaghan, Mary Toner’s mother Cassie and her sister Bernadette We pray for those who have asked us for prayers.

Prayers for the Deceased:

Let us continue to remember Srs. Marie Carrick and Teresa Ryan in our prayers. Prayers are also requested for: Susan Kennedy, the sister of Sr. Mary Gerarda who died recently. Margaret Joyce, Sister in law of Mary Frances Joyce. Michael Joyce brother of Sister Mary Frances Joyce. The Brother-in-law of Corona , Mr Charles McDonald. Patsy Harbinson, cousin of Sr Rose Mary.

Prayer for Victims of Human Trafficking

We pray for the victims of human trafficking that they may be helped to rebuild their lives after the traumatic experience they have gone through. We pray that we, as the Church, will continue to defend victims of human trafficking. We pray for our governments that they may make and implement laws that will protect victims of modern day slavery. We pray for those organizations dedicated to eradicating modern day slavery that they will be courageous in the face of challenges. We pray for those caring for the victims of human trafficking, that their efforts to help the vulnerable and traumatized may not go unrewarded. St Josephine Bakhita, Pray for Us. santamartagroup.com

If you see anything that looks suspicious call the Modern Slavery Helpline on 0800012700