A BIG Concert and a BIG Social Justice Symposium happened last weekend in Charlottetown celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Cooper Institute and honouring one of their deceased founding members, Father Andrew MacDonald. The concert was a delightful range of local talent, from a beautiful Creation dance by a young Aboriginal man to a toe-tapping selection of Acadian fiddling, dancing and singing by three Acadian women including Sister Marie L. Arsenault’s niece. The Symposium included a presentation by Pasma Chandra, a policy analyst from Ottawa who outlined how BIG (Basic Income Guarantee) affects democracy and work. A panel including a representative from Cooper Institute, PEI council of People with Disabilities and the Advisory Council on the Status of Women shared their perspectives on the benefits of BIG.
It took Everyone and we were there! Maura McGrath, CND, Apraham Nizibliam (CND Social Justice Network) and Monica Lambton (JPIC) are back home in Montreal after an exhilarating weekend in New York for the People's Climate March. We grouped with a dozen Blessed Sacrament CNDs and a JPIC colleague from the Sisters of Providence in Kingston to join with the thousands gathered for the Inter-Faith contingency of the March. Hundreds of thousands surrounded us on the streets and we truly felt immersed in hope and joy. We are at a KAIROS moment, we could feel it in New York, and we can see it in our work at the CND. See this link for a very short video on what happened in New York and around the world http://peoplesclimate.org/wrap-up/ Check out First Class for pictures and details on what happened at the March in New York and at the United Nations. And don't forget to send me news and pictures from the Climate March events that you participated in!
Maritimes-Guatemala
Breaking the Silence (BTS) is a voluntary network of people in the Maritimes who in 1988 began to organize to support the efforts of Guatemalans struggling for political, social and economic justice.
On Wednesday, September 10th our administration team welcomed Kathryn Anderson, founding member, and Sister Mary Corbett, CND, long-time member and supporter, to give us an overview of the very important work of this network. Through their informative presentation we heard how closely connected the Congregation of Notre Dame Sisters have been with the work of BTS since its beginning days. Mary has been involved in Project Accompaniment and has led many delegations to Guatemala since the 1990’s. We have supported many of the young interns in participating in this leadership and solidarity program through our CND bursaries. They continue to share their gifts here in Canada. Kathryn reminds us: “As you in the Congregation of Notre Dame well know, the work of solidarity is not finished.”