Sister Cathy Stare

by Sister Cathy Stare

If we are to deepen our communion with and care for one another, participate in ongoing conversation, and enter into the woundedness and pain suffered by others, then courage, candor, compassion, and creativity are necessary tools. These are some of the tools used by the Violet Protest, a collaborative endeavor of people who weave, knit, crochet, quilt, or embroider squares of fabric, using, in equal measure, the colors blue and red.Red and blue stand for the Republican and Democratic political parties in America, which at this juncture are not working together for the common good. By making squares with equal measures of red and blue, participants employ their willing spirit and talents to contribute to healing divisions between parties, races, and all that divides us. When red and blue come together, they make violet. These squares will be forwarded, as a colossal visual gesture of friendly protest, to all members of the United States 117th Congress by late 2021. This project aims to let American congressmen and congresswomen know that so many people support the core values of compassion, compromise, and country over corporate influence.

For further details about the project and to see some beautiful samples of work already done, visit the Violet Protest website.

More Charity Alive – April 2021

Contemplating Our Chapter Statement

This month's theme encourages us to take a deeper look at our Chapter Statement and who inspires us.

From Violent to Violet – a Way to Protest

Sister Cathy sews squares for the Violet Protest -- a project that aims to let American congressmen and congresswomen know that so many people support the core values of compassion, compromise, and country over corporate influence.

Book Review: A Terrible Thing to Waste: Environmental Racism and Its Assault on the American Mind by Harriet A. Washington

In her 2019 book A Terrible Thing to Waste: Environmental Racism and Its Assault on the American Mind, medical ethicist and writer Harriet A. Washington sheds light on the higher rates of environmental poisoning in communities of colour in the United States that have led to a decrease in IQ and an increase of health concerns, behavioural issues, and even crime.

Reflections of Mary Catherine Ceriani

Excerpt from the memorial reading presented at the funeral recently of a dear friend of the Sisters of Charity, Mary Ceriani

Spring brings hope of water flowing to more families in El Salvador

One year later, we are pleased to report that our second El Salvador project is now underway.

From the Archives

Inspiring Sister -- Sister Mary Emmanuel Sullivan, whose decades of work have laid a valuable foundation for Sisters of Charity – Halifax Congregational Archives.

Charity Alive – February 2021

Reflections on our Chapter Statement

Sisters Anne Harvey, Mary Beth Moore, Judith Park and Margaret Coppenrath reflect on the Chapter Statement that shapes the vision of our Congregation for the next six years.

A Post-Pandemic Church: Prophetic Possibilities

The 2020 Chapter call to “…embrace our own vulnerability, trust the presence of the Spirit …and commit ourselves to …care for one another…” had special meaning for me because it came in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic as I was completing my third book on healing the Church from the wounds of the clergy sexual abuse crisis.