Good Neighbours Day

Who is my neighbour?  That is a question straight from the bible and in today’s confused society can have many interpretations.  Is the neighbour someone like me? Is my response coloured by moral judgement, feelings of pity, fear or indifference or by love, the right thing to do?

What is stirring in your heart as you look at the innumerable social needs demanding attention. Yes, the needs can be overwhelming and can shut you down but they can also stir you to action.  The choice is personal.

Image: Jon Tyson @jontyson/ Unsplash

I chose to get involved and started to volunteer one morning a week at St. Joe’s Café, our hospitality centre here in downtown London, where the guests who come each morning for breakfast became familiar and I could put names to faces.

Some of the guests come sick and struggling with addictions or homelessness, poverty, or loneliness, and some come for the social contact and the delicious food. The staff and volunteers welcome each person with dignity, kindness and words of understanding and support. As I sat thinking about my experience at the café, I received a call from a friend, a new Canadian, who was asking for advice on how to help two undocumented coworkers who were let go from their workplace. They contacted her in great need. She said to me,

I love Canada, and I want to pay forward the help I was given when I was lost and needed hope to face the future. 

The answer to ‘who is my neighbour’ is revealed each time I step out of my comfort zone to extend kindness, a listening ear, or comfort to a brother or sister in need.

-Sister Ann Marshall, csj

Dear Hearts and Gentle People

These days, I find myself humming a cheery popular tune of the ‘50s which can still be found on the internet.  It begins, “I love those dear hearts and gentle people who live and love in my hometown.”  It echoes how I feel about the special happenings around our residence during these difficult pandemic weeks.  We’ve had our share of rules and regulations, ups and downs, and even weeks of isolation in its various forms.  However, the outpouring acts of kindness that we’ve experienced, compliments of our friends and partners, have lifted our hearts and filled us with gratitude to live in this blessed city.

A host of rituals began several weeks ago when a sparkling red fire engine and three accompanying vehicles using low horns, circled our driveway to honour our healthcare workers as they stood with us waving and social distancing on the sidewalk. It was a beautiful gesture. The insistent honking and flapping of our six resident geese added to the cacophony.

A few days later, one of our dear friends rolled up her sleeves and baked 125 large, delicious chocolate chip cookies and brought them to the front door.  It was a surprise and treat to find them on the ledge outside our suites.  Another friend brought two large bags of candy that was added to our individual pandemic survival bags.  It too, sweetened our stay in isolation.

Visitors in London Ontario, May 24th

London Fire Department visit, May 23rd

Sunday evening, a group of about 50 women and men arrived to walk around our building waving and chatting to us on our balconies above the drumbeat and ringing bells.  They carried signs which read, “We love you” and various affirming statements.  Among those represented were Kings University College, My Sisters’ Place, Pillar Non-Profit, The Threshold Choir, Anova, St. Peter’s Seminary, and several others.

Most recently, a former staff member of many years at The Mount came with his wife and daughter to attach two beautiful hearts on two trees: one at the front and one at the back of our home.  We watched the process and chatted with this thoughtful family.  As they drove away, I mused on how each gesture of love and affirmation, as well as the continued dedication of our staff above and beyond the call of duty, fills our hearts with profound appreciation.  As Bing sang so many years ago, “Those dear hearts and gentle people will never ever let you down.”

-Sister Jean Moylan, csj