Augustine House Resident Council Meeting NO MEETING THIS MONTH RESIDENT FORUM MINUTES NO MEETING THIS MONTH Q, Who is this good looking gal, taken in 1967. DID YOU KNOW THAT………… We have a website – check it out at www.augustinehouse.ca We have a Facebook Page – just go to www.facebook.com and search Augustine House Society and “Like” us or Google Facebook Augustine House Society We even have a Twitter page! Our name is @AugustineHouse We also have areas in the building that have wireless access, so if grandkids are visiting and they want to play on their electronic devices, they can connect to the internet for free! Get the passwords from Reception. Passover Passover or Pesach, is an important, biblically derived Jewish holiday. The Jewish people celebrate Passover as a commemoration of their liberation by God from slavery in Egypt and their freedom as a nation under the leadership of Moses. It commemorates the story of the Exodus as described in the Hebrew Bible especially in the Book of Exodus, in which the Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt. According to standard biblical chronology, this event would have taken place at about 1300 BCE (AM 2450). Passover is a spring festival which during the existence of the Jerusalem Temple was connected to the offering of the "first-fruits of the barley", barley being the first grain to ripen and to be harvested in the Land of Israel. Passover commences on the 15th of the Hebrew month of Nisan and lasts for either seven days (in Israel and for Reform Jews and other progressive Jews around the world who adhere to the Biblical commandment) or eight days for Orthodox, Hasidic, and most Conservative Jews (in the diaspora). In Judaism, a day commences at dusk and lasts until the following dusk, thus the first day of Passover only begins after dusk of the 14th of Nisan and ends at dusk of the 15th day of the month of Nisan. The rituals unique to the Passover celebrations commence with the Passover Seder when the 15th of Nisan has begun. In the Northern Hemisphere Passover takes place in spring as the Torah prescribes it: "in the month of [the] spring" . It is one of the most widely observed Jewish holidays. In the narrative of the Exodus, the Bible tells that God helped the Children of Israel escape from their slavery in Egypt by inflicting ten plagues upon the ancient Egyptians before the Pharaoh would release his Israelite slaves; the tenth and worst of the plagues was the death of the Egyptian first- born. The Israelites were instructed to mark the doorposts of their homes with the blood of a slaughtered spring lamb and, upon seeing this, the spirit of the Lord knew to pass over the first-born in these homes, hence the English name of the holiday. When the Pharaoh freed the Israelites, it is said that they left in such a hurry that they could not wait for bread dough to rise (leaven). In commemoration, for the duration of Passover no leavened bread is eaten, for which reason Passover was called the feast of unleavened bread in the Torah or Old Testament. Thus matzo (flat unleavened bread) is eaten during Passover and it is a tradition of the holiday. Historically, together with Shavuot ("Pentecost") and Sukkot ("Tabernacles"), Passover is one of the three pilgrimage festivals during which the entire population of the kingdom of Judah made a pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem. Samaritans still make this pilgrimage to Mount Gerizim, but only men participate in public worship. WHO’S NEW IN THE HOUSE Gregg Gregg was born in Hamilton, Ontario. He had one sister and two brothers. The family moved to Toronto when Gregg was a child. Gregg went to Queens University for a Bachelor of Arts degree and a bachelor degree in education, Physical Education. He also attended the University of Toronto and Illinois University for his PhD and Master’s degree in Science. He did a professorship at McMasters University and worked at the University of Ottawa for 15 years as a professor of social science before retiring. Gregg met his wife Jimmy at church. They have 2 sons and 5 grandchildren. Gregg spent 25 years living in Australia before moving back to Canada. Gregg enjoyed golfing and skiing, in fact he was a ski instructor during university. One of his granddaughters plays for Canada’s water polo team. Norma Norma was born in the lovely town of Nelson BC. When she was a girl, her dad joined the army and their family moved to Esquimalt. Norma graduated high school from Victoria High and shortly after that was set up on a blind date. She fell in love with, and then married Dave Martin 10 months later. Dave was in the Navy & he and Norma moved to Edmonton, where their 4 kids were born. They eventually made their way to the west coast of Canada, & settled in Tsawwassen, where Dave built a business in electronics. When Norma was 40 she discovered that she was pregnant, so the family was blessed with a new daughter. Dave now lives at Deltaview while Norma is happy to be here at Augustine House. Norma is a long time member of Sacred Heard Parish & still enjoys attending their quilting and crafting groups. Dave & Norma have12 grandchildren and just recently received the news that their 8th great grandchild has been born. A big warm welcome to Norma Father Norm Father Norm was born in Sydney, Australia in 1930. After his father died while fighting in the war, his mother moved the family, which consisted of Norman and his three brothers to their new home in North Vancouver. Norman received awards for Ice Dancing in his teenage years. He completed his Bachelor of Education at UBC, and then obtained his Master’s Degree from Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington. Working for the Vancouver School Board, Father Norman taught at many schools in Vancouver, he was also asked to head a special program for gifted students at Lord Kitchener School. He then decided to enter the priesthood, studied in Rome for 4 years and was ordained a Priest in 1971 at St. Paul’s in Rome. Following that, he worked for the Archdiocese of Vancouver for many years and was the Director of Religious Education. In addition, he worked for various parishes in the Lower Mainland, his last Parish was St. Paul’s in Richmond where he worked for 12 years. After retiring, he spent some time filling in for the Parish Priest at St. Louis Parish in Palm Springs where he met the ‘Hollywood’ crowd, including stars such as Jane Wyman, Carol Channing and Loretta Young. Recently, he worked as a Priest on Cruise Ships for Holland America. Amazingly, he has been on 38 ships with his longest cruise a total of 66 days at sea. Welcome to Augustine House Father Norm! Joan Joan was born In Southeast London, England to Willie and Eleanor Carter. She grew up with 4 brothers and 2 sisters. Joan came to Vancouver in 1956. She was visiting a cousin and had a 1 year work visa. Joan went to a dance and met Horace Murley. They got married in 1957. Joan worked as a stenographer for Crawley and McCracken. Joan has 2 daughters, Phyllis and Cynthia, 3 grandchildren and 5 great grandchildren. Joan enjoys; watching tennis, reading and travelling. Before moving to Augustine House, Joan lived in Vancouver, Richmond and Langley. Welcome to Augustine House Joan Barbara Barbara was born in Coronation Alberta. Her father was a wheat farmer; her mother a homemaker & she had two step brothers and two step sisters. When she was 17 years old, her father sold the farm and the family relocated to Ladner. Barbara soon got a job as a telephone operator for BC tel. One day, while checking the mail in the local post office, she saw Percy Holloway who gave her a smile. A few days later, she met him again and he asked her out to see a show, and she happily accepted. Shortly after, they were married at Ladner United Church. Percy was an excellent barber with a shop in Ladner. The couple had 2 daughters and a son. Barbara is a lifelong volunteer who worked for 24 years at the Ladner thrift store, and also had a home business selling her plants and flowers from home. Barbara also has enjoyed spending time at McKee house & has 2 grandaughters. We are so happy to have you here Barbara. Welcome. Celebrate the Value of Volunteering - Building confidence, competence, connections and community - On behalf of Augustine House, we would like to express our sincere thanks for your time, commitment and dedication in making a difference to the quality of daily life of all the Residents who have chosen to make Augustine House their home. Did you know that collectively our more than 50 volunteers have contributed over 1500 hours of their time? And that is only what we record; it is equivalent to one full time employee working all day, every day! As the 2019 National Volunteer Week theme notes, we would not be as successful in building our community without your selfless contribution of your time and presence here with us. We hope that you feel connected to us and see yourself as part of our big family as we do of you. Not only do you go above and beyond, share your giving spirit, believe in our mission, and leave an impression on the lives of those you are in contact with, your contributions to Augustine House strengthen our organization for everyone who lives and works here.