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The EagleThe Eagle Epiphanytide 2015

Dear Friends of the Sisterhood of Saint John the Divine,

Greetings for the new year. As I come to the end of two terms of office as the Reverend Mother for the Sisterhood of St. John the Divine, the Sisterhood looks

forward to the installation of Sr. Elizabeth as the seventh Reverend Mother in May. Sr. Elizabeth has been Prioress for the past several years and is ideally suited for her new role.

The coming of a new year seems to inspire us to look back over the year past to see what has been accomplished. For me this year it is to look back and reflect on the past 10 years.

I began my term of office as Reverend Mother just after we moved into the Cummer Avenue Convent

in 2005. That first year we were finding new ways of doing things in a totally new space. In the first couple of years we worked hard to finish off the building project, both materially and financially. As with any building project, there are usually some deficiencies or things which need to be finished even after moving in. Most of these were completed in those first two years; however, it took another seven years and the expert help of the Rev. Steve Shaw (Hon. Associate at St. Paul’s Bloor Street), to get our Occupancy Permit!

One of the most privileged aspects of the role of Reverend Mother is the pastoral role one has with the Sisters. I walked with several Sisters during their last days as they journeyed through death and into that place beyond all knowing. This helped me personally as I helped my own parents through their life transitions with declining health and my mother’s death four years ago.

I loved the visits I made to the houses of the Sisterhood during my time in office: to Maison St. Jean in St. Lambert, QC (until we closed the house in 2008), and to St. John’s House in Victoria, BC. The work in the Branch Houses is varied and different from the work at the Convent. The Sisters in the Branch Houses often work more closely with parishes and with folk throughout their diocese and in the inner city, while still being a praying presence and resource of spirituality. Through these visits to the houses, often coinciding with the time of Diocesan Synods, I met many of our Associates, Oblates, and other good friends in both the Diocese of Montréal and the Diocese of British Columbia.

Another aspect of the role of the Reverend Mother is to be the Sisterhood’s main contact with the wider church. I attended several General Synods of the Anglican Church of Canada, the triennial gathering of the national governing body of the church, as a delegate for the religious orders. I have also been a delegate of the Toronto Diocesan Synod and latterly, was elected to and served on the York Scarborough Area Council, the Toronto Diocesan Council, and the Toronto Executive Board. These are great connections with our church governing bodies and help to keep the Anglican Religious Life in the minds of people making decisions.

Another committee on which I serve is the Bishops’ Committee on the Religious Life, one of the committees appointed by the Primate, Archbishop Fred Hiltz. Last year this committee

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held a consultation on the traditional and new monastic communities coming into being in Canada. There is a burgeoning interest in the Religious or Monastic life especially among people who do not attend regular denominational churches. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, in an address to a Conference at Lambeth in March, 2014, said, “It is—or it should be—impossible to imagine a church that flourishes without the flourishing of Religious communities as an integral part of the body of Christ.” The Holy Spirit does keep moving people to commit themselves radically to the Gospel.

Phyllis Tickle, noted author and editor, led a fall retreat, “Being and Believing in the Age of the Spirit”, to a full house. Her public lecture on the Sunday evening was called, “Who

Stole My Church!” She suggested both in her retreat and in the lecture that we are moving into the Age of the Spirit. Further she said that we need a new language and radically new ways of engaging this age so that we can begin to meet the spiritual hunger often expressed by people as being “spiritual but not religious”. The monastic orders are well poised to meet this spiritual hunger. The contemplative morning prayer we began a few years ago is a way that the Sisters make silent waiting on God accessible for others to find their way to God without words. We need to radically reinterpret the good news for this generation so that we can take the gospel to the ends of the earth.

I have been involved for the last 10 years in the Conference of Anglican Religious Orders of the Americas both as a member and for several years as Secretary and Treasurer. This is a gathering of Anglican Religious from across North America. For the past three or four years I’ve been attending the annual general chapter meetings of the Society of St. Francis as an observer and support to the brothers. All the religious orders are going through changes and transitions so it is good to share with and support each other.

Our community family is expanding. Last fall Ebbe Wieck became a regular volunteer helper with the guest wing ministry, in the gardens, and in the kitchen most weekends. Our Associate, Martha Bartlett came to the convent for two extended periods to help in our Archives and to help with our history book project. At the same time, our core family grew smaller when Rhonda Cross asked to be released from her First Vows in the fall.

I spent a week visiting the Sisters in Victoria at the end of November and into the first week of December. I was able to attend the reception of Kathryn Tulip as an Oblate of SSJD. I returned to the convent just in time to take part in the Advent Great O Antiphon service of lessons

and carols. Although we’d held this service in the past, this was the first time we’d advertised the service for others to come and it was much appreciated. We had a full house for the Christmas retreat and were almost 100 people sitting down together for Christmas dinner.

By the time you read this we will have had the launch of our SSJD history book A Journey Just Begun, edited by Jane Christmas and Sr. Constance Joanna, SSJD. The centrefold of this Eagle has excerpts from Chapter One.

All in all, it has been a very blessed 10 years. Thanks and glory to God for all the many blessings of this life. I ask your prayers for Sr. Elizabeth, Reverend Mother Elect, as she prepares to take on this wonderful ministry for the Sisterhood and for the glory of God. Sr. Elizabeth Ann, SSJD Reverend Mother

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Joy in The Rain “Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit to sustain me.” (Psalm 51:12)

I have just finished my retreat in Tofino. It has been raining and raining and raining. I found myself singing “Joy is Like the Rain” by the Medical Mission Sisters. As I reflect over the last year here in the Diocese of British Columbia, joy seems to be the word that summarizes life at the moment. It is the joy that comes through sorrow and struggle that the Psalmist speaks about when we choose to see Christ in wind and thunder, trusting in God and allowing the healing of our pains and anxieties. Joy is knowing that God’s love prevails no matter what has happened for the sun is not far away. The heart is lighter, hope is alive and a unity in working together is becoming a reality. Gratitude for what we have and who we are is evidence of the new-found joy. As the rain continues to fall, the river begins to overflow and so does joy. Excitement about the future of the diocese dances like the Northern Lights.

In March 2014, the Rt. Rev. Logan McMenamie was elected 13th bishop of the diocese. One of his first hopes was to develop a vision for the diocese. In the spring we all, laity and clergy, worked on the visioning for the diocese. A team of people representing laity and clergy, mainly the younger generation from various parts of the Islands, wrote the vision from what they heard. As sisters, we were invited to be a praying presence and listeners at each of the regional sessions. It was a privilege and a joy for us to listen and hear the conversations and see the hope and joy rising like a new dawn. We then reported what we heard and our own findings to the visioning team.

The theme of the vision is Renewed Hearts, Renewed Spirits and Renewed People. The four priorities are: resonant worship; re-shaping ordained and lay leadership; resourcing toward healthier parishes and ministries; and right relationship and reconciliation building. As sisters we will continue to be a praying presence in the diocese as well as involving ourselves in helping the vision become a reality in the life of the diocese.

Some of the items in each of the priorities have begun to be discussed and the Sisters are a part of the implementation which brings further joy to us and to others. One item under re-shaping lay and ordained ministry is to develop a support structure and strategy for leaders of Emerging Communities. We are providing leadership for the emerging Emmaus (New Monastic) Community. A Benedictine dispersed

community—St. Aidan’s—is also emerging here in Victoria. The joy of unity occurred as all three communities came together to get to know each other and support one another as we live out God’s call as monastics in today’s world. Together we can undergird the diocese in prayer and bring a contemplative perspective to worship.

For the right relationship and reconciliation building, the priority items are promoting right relations with First Nation People, being conscious of abandoned places and those hurt by injustice from the church, practising social justice and creation caring. St. John’s House is involved in promoting right relations with First Nation People and we look forward to further ministry with restoring relationship. If able the Sisters can further their support of the diocese in social justice issues.

At the Diocesan synod in October, the hope of joy was pervasive as we listened, chatted with each other and discussed issues. At the synod a new West Coast liturgy was used. Once it

(Cont’d on pg 7)

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To begin at the beginning:Most religious communities begin with an

individual’s resolute belief that they have been singularly called by God to establish one. Such was not the case with the Sisterhood of St. John the Divine: Canada’s first Anglican community of sisters sprang to life when a church committee cornered a reluctant widow who was trying to leave the country.

Of course, there was much more to it than that. The Sisterhood’s beginning is the story of a great need being answered by a woman whose experience and circumstances ultimately led her to respond unselfishly. It is a story that illustrates how the mission of the community was shaped, and it is a story that mirrors the experience of many of the community’s members, who were as reticent and as surprised as their foundress to be called to the convent...

The reluctant widow was Hannah Grier Coome. A Canadian, she had enjoyed a happy married life in the U.K. where she became well acquainted with the community of St. Mary the Virgin, Wantage. She was about to return to England to join that order when she visited Toronto.

“By the late nineteenth century, the Oxford Movement had reached Canada, where the idea of reviving some of the ancient church practices and traditions began to percolate in the minds of Canadian Anglicans. Many saw the spiritual and practical benefits that religious communities could provide in a growing country like Canada.

By the 1880s, a committee of Toronto Anglicans had spent the better part of the previous decade in search of a British or American professed sister who could establish an order of Anglican sisters in Canada. Unfortunately, they could not find a suitable candidate.

This was the environment into which Hannah arrived when she returned to Toronto in September of 1881. She was looking forward to spending a bit of time with her sister Rose Grier, who was headmistress of Bishop Strachan School, a girls’ boarding school established for the daughters of Anglican clergy. Rose Grier also happened to be a member of the committee working to establish a sisterhood in Canada. When she knew Hannah was going to be in Toronto, she organized a garden party. It is not

known whether Rose had an ulterior motive in mind or whether it was all sheer coincidence, but when the committee members were introduced to Hannah at the garden party they immediately saw in her the answer to their prayers.

Hannah, however, wasn’t so sure. She was preparing to enter an established community with built-in companionship, ready-made buildings and chapel, music, routines, traditions, mission, and Rule of Life. Furthermore, she wasn’t even a sister; and yet here she was being courted to start a religious order. From scratch!

Hannah consulted her friends and spiritual advisors on both sides of the Atlantic. All agreed that this was a distinct calling—a vocation within a vocation—that she should not pass up. They also urged her to undertake her religious training in the United States rather than in England because the religious and social conventions in the United States were more like those in Canada.

So, the unlikely widow with plans to slip quietly into religious life in England with the community of St. Mary the Virgin, found herself the following June in Peekskill, New York, with a different community of Saint Mary, accepted into its novitiate for two years of training in the spiritual and practical life of a religious.

Two years later, on September 8, 1884, Hannah made her profession vows at Peekskill in the presence of the Bishop of Toronto. She

Excerpts from Chapter 1 of A Journey Just Begun

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Excerpts from Chapter 1 of A Journey Just Begunearned the distinction of being one of the few women in history to be professed as a sister and simultaneously become the Mother Superior of a community...

From the earliest days, the Sisterhood received practical, financial and prayer support from Anglican women in Toronto, and especially from Georgina Broughall, the first convenor of Associates:

Georgina Broughall was a powerhouse of energy and enthusiasm, and without associates like her the Sisterhood would never have gotten off the ground. The first reception of associates took place in a little chapel on Robinson Street in June 1885, with five women admitted, including the mover and shaker Georgina Broughall, Hannah’s mother, and her sister Rose. By the 1890s the associates had grown to seventy five; by 1930 to five hundred; and today there are more than eight hundred.

Mother Hannah understood the valuable role the associates would play in the Sisterhood’s existence and sustainability. During those times when the workload and the expenses kept her awake at night, she knew that it was the associates—the tireless and dedicated group outside the convent walls—that she could count on. They were a fount of ideas for the community, and it was the associates who suggested the sisters produce a newsletter that would publicize both their work and their needs. This publication, known as St. John’s Messenger (later superseded by The Eagle), began in 1891.

Within three years of opening St. John’s Hospital, more than 450 patients had been cared for, and larger facilities were urgently required. Again, the associates sprang into fundraising mode and on June 1, 1888, the foundation stone was laid for the new and considerably expanded St. John’s Hospital on Major Street, a few blocks north of the first hospital...

The following year, in March, the new hospital was ready for its first patients. It was an imposing, handsome brick building on a large lot with 140 feet of frontage, with peaked rooflines, tall, rounded windows, and slim chimneys. Sprawling verandahs on the upper and lower storeys overlooked lush gardens and mature trees. Before the first patients were admitted, the

sisters moved in and fashioned a bright interior with gauzy curtains and homey furnishings such as hooked rugs and rag rugs on the floor, comfortable chairs covered in cheerful chintz, and crocheted doilies on side tables. Behind the new convent and hospital building they designed and planted gardens, harvested crops to feed the patients, and collected fruit from the garden to make preserves. It was most likely the first “healing garden” established in Canada...

Many hands were needed to keep the Sisterhood’s various ministries in operation. The production of altar bread was initially for in-house use only, but it did not take long for production to expand. Like the guest facilities, the making of altar bread provided a modest stream of income for the sisters, and soon communion wafers were being produced for a number of churches in Toronto and around the province, and eventually across the country.

Sewing and embroidery, particular passions of Mother Hannah, were important creative activities for the Sisterhood, and when her convent was set up she made certain it contained adequate space for a workroom to make habits, stoles and chasubles...

If the impression conveyed here is of a little convent in Toronto turning into a powerhouse, then that impression is correct. The Sisterhood was a veritable hive of activity, groaning under the weight of diverse and necessary ministries, all of them requiring a great sacrifice of time. As nursing became one of the Sisterhood’s chief ministries, the sisters often were pressed to set aside the religious duties they were committed to in their Rule of Life to attend to the responsibility of handling the surgical, medical and rehabilitation needs of those in their care. The increased work made it necessary to hire outside help, so the sisters opened a School of Nursing, which graduated its first nurses in 1903.

See back page for order form for book.

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In the Victorian era, every woman was expected to be able to produce fine embroidery. Our Mother Foundress, Hannah Grier Coome, was an exceptionally skilled needlewoman. She taught some sisters how to make beautiful, coloured stoles and vestments to be worn by clergy, as well as white linen altar cloths and other church finery.

During the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, Sr. Joanna was in charge of our Coloured Embroidery Department and the Sisterhood produced many ecclesiastical vestments still worn in Canada today. The demand for these vestments was great as many churches were opening in the post-war years. Sr. Joanna’s standards were high—only the best would do honour to our Lord. In 1976 she closed the department when she felt she could no longer produce or oversee the calibre of work required. Sr. Jocelyn used to do white work embroidery and made many altar cloths, corporals and purificators of pure Irish linen, but she is now retiring from this ministry as her sight is getting poor.

The tradition of needlework in the Sisterhood seemed to be dying. Then Sr. Anne, who had been doing embroidery as a hobby for a long time, became interested in doing church embroidery. She got some good advice and a gift of embroidery frames from an Associate, Dee Ford, who had been instructed by Sr. Joanna. Sr. Anne was also encouraged to join the Ecclesiastical Needleworkers’ Guild of the ACW of the Toronto Diocese. This group of women meets every week at the diocesan offices; they were glad to take her under their wings, to tutor her in the art of church embroidery.

Since February 2013, Sr. Anne has spent many Mondays with the needleworkers’ group, practising and expanding her repertoire of stitches. In her role as sacristan she also became aware of the need to do some restoration to keep our vestments and burses in good shape. Some of the group are involved in restoration work, which requires a very comprehensive knowledge

of fabric and threads; since many of these are no longer available, one has to be creative in finding replacement materials. One of the treasures of the convent is a St. John chasuble, which had become unusable. None of the guild members

felt they had the knowledge or experience to repair the garment.

When Sr. Anne wanted some instruction on shading and colour, she contacted the Community of St. John Baptist in Mendham, New Jersey. The convent of St. John Baptist had a tradition of ecclesiastical needlework going back many years, and used to offer courses on fine church embroidery. Though they no longer schedule courses, they were willing to provide instruction for Sr. Anne on shading and colour, as well as restoration

advice on the St. John chasuble.

Peggy Perkins and Ruth Briffitt from the needleworkers’ group were intrigued by the idea of seeing St. John Baptist’s magnificent vestments. They were also particularly interested in expanding their knowledge of working in gold thread so they drove down to Mendham and joined Sr. Anne at the convent of St. John Baptist, in late March last year. They were amazed at the collection of ecclesiastical vestments and learned more about the general care of church vestments which they could share back in Toronto.

Ecclesiastical Embroidery

St. John chasuble

Sr. Anne, SSJD, Sr. Suzanne Elizabeth, CSJB, Ruth Briffitt, Mary Wagner, Carol Homer and Peggy Perkins

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Joy in The Rain (Cont’d from pg 3)

Ecclesiastical Embroidery (Cont’d from pg 6)

Thank You!Do you really understand just how grateful we are and how much we rely on your support:

your friendship, your prayers and your financial support?

Developing a strong, ongoing base of donations that support our operating expenses and ministry has been an ongoing goal. With your help and support this is becoming not only a goal but also an achievement!

While from time to time we have particular needs or projects, what is most important is the steady ongoing support that so many of you already give to us.

One tangible way of participating in our life and ministry is through regular donations. In this way you become more fully involved in our vision and mission, and play a role in the future of the Community.

To those of you for whom this may be a new idea – we urge you, as you are able, to consider becoming a regular donor to the Sisterhood.

For more information, contact Fundraising Director at 416-226-2201, ext 303 or Fundraisingdir@ssjd.ca

Two lay women, Carol Homer and Mary Wagner were the expert needlewomen at St. John Baptist. Carol is the specialist in gold work and was happy to share her knowledge with Peggy and Ruth. Mary knows a great deal about restoration, preservation and colour shading. Mary studied the St. John chasuble and suggested it would be best to put a fine netting over part of the damaged area to preserve the embroidery.

She had different colours on hand and after trying several, she decided a light blue netting would be the best. Back in Toronto, Mary Lunney attached this very fine netting, did some other restoration work, and the St. John chasuble is almost as good as new. Archbishop Fred Hiltz wore it at our 130th anniversary celebration last September.

On the advice of Mary Wagner, Sr. Anne has begun a sampler to practise what she learned about shading and blending of colours and is gaining confidence in experimenting with colours. She is also discovering the many stages of preparing a piece—from tracing a pattern on to fabric, then anchoring the fabric to a frame with ribbing before outlining the pattern. Although Sr. Anne knows she is at the beginning of a long learning process, she is pleased with the encouragement of Sisters and the members of the group. As she says, “It’s all to the greater glory of God.” Sr. Helen Claire, SSJD

is reviewed again, we look forward to using it at our eucharists in the house. It was a joy to introduce and share compline at the synod at the end of the day.

It is our prayer now for the diocese that this “Joy be a net of love by which you can catch souls” (Mother Teresa).

It is our prayer for all that we grasp the prophet Nehemiah’s words to us “the joy of the Lord is our strength” in the ordinary living of our lives and in sharing the Good News. Joy is like the rain.

Sr. Brenda, SSJD December 2014

Chasuble from Community of St. John Baptist

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Are you at a Crossroads in your life? Are you considering a career change?

Are you looking for “something more” in your life? Do you have a thirst for God?

A hunger for prayer? Do you desire to serve God in a new way? Would you like to

experience life in community?

Then you may be interested in attending a free three-week program (July 3 - 26, 2015)

to discern where God is calling you.

Please contact:Kelly Clark, The Sisterhood of St. John the Divine, St. John’s Convent, 233 Cummer

Avenue, Toronto, ON M2M 2E8Phone: 416-226-2201, ext 301

Email: convent@ssjd.caWebsite: www.ssjd.ca

Applications for Women at a Crossroads, 2015, must be received by April 3, 2015.

Order Form

A Journey Just Begun:The Story of an Anglican Sisterhood

272 pages, 130 colour illustrationsPublished by Dundurn Press, February 2015

List Price $27.00SSJD Price after Feb 9. $22.00Plus Shipping via SSJD $16.00

Send your order to: A Journey Just Begun St. John’s Convent 233 Cummer Avenue Toronto, ON M2M 2E8

Enclose cheque or money order only for$38.00 ($22 Book + $16 shipping)

The Houses of the Sisterhoodwww.ssjd.ca

St. John’s Convent 233 Cummer Avenue,

Toronto, ON M2M 2E8 416-226-2201; Fax: 416-226-2131

email: convent@ssjd.ca

St. John’s House, BC3937 St. Peters Road, Victoria, BC V8P 2J9

250-920-7787; Fax: 250-920-7709email: bchouse@ssjd.ca

The Eagle is published several times a year by the Sisterhood of St. John the Divine, St. John’s Convent, Toronto, ON M2M 2E8.

An annual donation of $10 to help cover the cost would be greatly appreciated. Please let us know promptly of any changes of address.

The Sisterhood of St. John the Divine is a registered charity. Our charitable donation number is BN 11925 4266 RR0001.

The former chapel of the Sisterhood on Major Street, which has been renovated and is now the Kensington Hospice.