my hero forever 
Jean Vanier
Jean Vanier (Profile)
In a windowless conference room high in a Toronto office building, Jean Vanier is talking to a reporter about walls. "The whole pain of our world is the pain of walls," he says in a softly insistent voice.
Vanier, Jean
In a windowless conference room high in a Toronto office building, Jean Vanier is talking to a reporter about walls. "The whole pain of our world is the pain of walls," he says in a softly insistent voice. "I mean the kind of walls erected between rich and poor, between Israelis and Palestinians, between the Pentagon and its enemies, between the heart and its own feelings." It is a melancholy topic, but there is a sparkle in the grey-blue eyes. The 70-year-old Canadian founder of L'Arche - a French-based, international organization that looks after the needs of the intellectually handicapped - leans forward intently as he speaks. Suffering from a cold, he has not removed the flimsy nylon jacket and worn scarf that seem poor protection from the harsh November weather. But his craggy face shines with a quality at once contented and impassioned.
Vanier has spent more than three decades breaking down the walls that separate society from the mentally disabled. The son of former governor general Georges Vanier, he lives at L'Arche's headquarters north of Paris, in a village of handicapped people and their helpers that is the prototype for more than 100 communities around the world, 25 of them in Canada. A tireless publicist and fund-raiser for their cause, he was in Canada this month to deliver the Massey lectures, sponsored by CBC Radio's Ideas program to promote the thinking of prominent intellectuals. They were broadcast last week. In the past, the lectures have featured such figures as Canadian literary critic Northrop Frye and American linguist Noam Chomsky. Vanier is the first religious thinker to join that distinguished group, and although his lectures - published in book form under the title Becoming Human(Anansi, 163 pages, $16.95) - in many ways repeat standard Christian teaching, Vanier's passion and emphasis give them a radical edge.
Becoming Human traces a possible path of spiritual evolution from loneliness and alienation towards joy and fulfilment. This is the same route, of course, proferred by countless self-help books. But Vanier takes a view of human nature fundamentally different from many of those popular studies, which tend to treat people as relatively isolated and autonomous - thus reflecting the individualistic bias of the society around them. Vanier, on the other hand, stresses that the loneliness and pain experienced by so many is actually created and stimulated by individualism and the competition it implies. "In order to succeed and win, people have to make themselves hard," he comments, "which means they create defence mechanisms that cut them off from their own feelings and from others."
For Vanier, the resulting hard-heartedness goes a long way to explaining contemporary problems, from the widespread failure of marriages to the greed and lack of care that is destroying the environment. His analysis owes obvious debts to such psychological writers as Freud, Jung and Alice Miller. But Vanier is a devout Roman Catholic, and so it is not surprising that, when it comes to offering an antidote to a hard-hearted, wall-benighted world, he ultimately arrives at the Christian concept of brotherly (or sisterly) love.
Many readers, getting a first whiff of traditional Christian teaching inBecoming Human (there is, for example, a heavy emphasis on forgiveness) might well put the book aside. But while it often reads like an extended homily, there is something revolutionary and moving at its core. Like many religious and nonreligious writers, Vanier believes that successful and well-off people have a moral obligation to help the poor and the marginalized. But he is not referring primarily to the kind of charity that involves sending off a cheque. Rather, he means that people should make an effort to create a caring relationship with people whom, under normal circumstances, they might well ignore or even be repulsed by: the sick, the handicapped, the old, the culturally alien.
"I'm not saying you have to take a beggar into your house: of course you can't. He probably wouldn't want to go," Vanier says with a laugh, adding: "But you can visit the old lady down the street. You can visit people in the hospital. Don't try to do the impossible. Do the possible. And once you've entered into the reality of the possible, you'll find that you will be changed: your priority is no longer to be the best, or the richest or the most powerful, but to become more human."
This is the essence of Vanier's message: that in helping the so-called have-nots, the so-called haves will find that walls will fall, and their own lives will be transformed. In fact, he argues, they will become more human, by which he means more meaningfully integrated into the lives of others. Of course, this integration helps the have-nots as well, so that a kind of joyful communion is born between the two groups, and the division between them is dissolved. Insists Vanier: "To be human is to look after each other, to celebrate each other, to share a glass of wine or a good story."
A cynic might counter that it is also human to drop bombs and pollute the seas; after all, humans do those things, too. But if Vanier seems to be idealizing outrageously - at times he makes the solution to the world's problems sound almost naïvely simple - he can point to the experience of L'Arche to back him up. Vanier founded the organization in 1964 - though this became clear only in retrospect. At the time, he was simply looking for a better, more Christian way to live. He had already enjoyed successful careers as a naval officer and a teacher of philosophy at St. Michael's College at the University of Toronto. Then, under the influence of his friend and mentor, a French priest called Father Thomas, he moved to France and began to visit the mentally handicapped. In one institution he found two severely mentally and physically disabled men, Raphael and Philippe, in whom he sensed a deep, undeniable need for love and human contact. It was a transformative moment for Vanier. In the village of Trosly-Breuil, 70 km northeast of Paris, he bought an old stone house that he called L'Arche (the ark), and invited the two men to move in with him.
Gradually, the venture grew, and Vanier took in more of the disabled. More people arrived to help - called, as he had been, to look after the residents. Today, a typical L'Arche community contains roughly as many helpers as handicapped people. All household tasks are shared, according to abilities, and the handicapped also practise productive skills such as bookbinding or gardening. L'Arche is supported by governments and private donations, but is hardly a rich organization. Its staff of helpers receive food, board and a small stipend: the main reward seems to be the work itself.
In Becoming Human, Vanier attests that his experiences with Raphael, Philippe and others at L'Arche changed him from the hurried, goal-oriented person he was and "brought me into the world of simple relationships, of fun and laughter. It has brought me back into my body, because people with disabilities do not delight in intellectual or abstract conversation." Such relationships opened his heart, continues Vanier, who is unmarried and has no children of his own. With the disabled, he says, he discovered his own needs and weaknesses as well as theirs. "In this communion," he writes, "we discover the deepest part of our being: the need to be loved and to have someone who trusts and appreciates us, and who cares least of all about our capacity to work or to be clever and interesting."
Although Becoming Human sometimes strays into hazy generalizations and truism, some of its most compelling passages tell the specific stories of handicapped people at L'Arche whose loving responsiveness changed the lives of those who worked with them. Of course, such communion is not for everyone: Vanier does not tell any stories about people who came to work at L'Arche and went away disappointed, though he admits that such people exist. He is the sort of man who prefers to stress the positive, and he believes that in L'Arche - which welcomes people of all religions and beliefs - there is a model for the future. Vanier argues that the world will be changed for the better not primarily by politicians or massive social programs, but by a whole new kind of human community, springing up at a grassroots level: thousands of communities in which the needy and the marginalized have their fully human place.
Vanier's emphasis on community leads him to make some arresting observations about crises in contemporary life. When asked about Robert Latimer, the Saskatchewan farmer who in 1993 killed his severely handicapped daughter because he could not bear to see her in pain, he says he can understand it, though he does not condone it. Vanier says he, too, has been driven to desperation by the demands and agonies of the people in his care, but was kept from extreme solutions by knowing there was a community there to help him. In the Latimer case, he wonders: "What support did those people have? What did the parish do about it?" The central problem, he adds, "is not just killing or not killing. It's that we've broken down the network of community, of concern and love for each other. In a world of high individualism, it's too much for people to come to each other's aid."
Ultimately, the most persuasive proponent of Vanier's views is not his books (he has written several others) but himself. He is charismatic in the best sense, radiant with a warmth and happiness that seem an entirely genuine result of his experiences at l'Arche. "Coming out from behind our walls," Vanier says, warning gently of the difficulties involved, "means moving into insecurity. We have to walk in unchartered land, but gradually this land will become the centre of our common humanity."
Maclean's November 30, 1998
Desiderta- Children of the Universe- like each star in the sky- leaf on the trees - u each matter
Desiderata
Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and ignorant; they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and ignorant; they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs; for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Keep interested in your career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs; for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be critical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be critical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy.
and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy.
© Max Ehrmann 1927
AND....
Jean Vanier, spiritual leader, worker with the handicapped (b at Geneva, Switz 28 Sept 1928). The son of Georges VANIER, governor general of Canada, and Pauline Vanier (née Archer), he served in the British and Canadian navies 1945-50.
Vanier, Jean
Jean Vanier, spiritual leader, worker with the handicapped (b at Geneva, Switz 28 Sept 1928). The son of Georges VANIER, governor general of Canada, and Pauline Vanier (née Archer), he served in the British and Canadian navies 1945-50. He studied and taught philosophy and theology in France, and then in 1964 established a home for handicapped men living with him in Trosly-Breuil, France. Called L'Arche (the ark), it was the first of many; by 1999 there were 23 in Canada and over 100 around the world. Vanier is widely esteemed for his leadership of spiritual retreats and for several books, includingTears of Silence (1970), Eruption to Hope (1971), Followers of Jesus(1976), Community and Growth (1979), The Broken Body (1988) andBecoming Human (1998). His writings and way of life challenge people to share life with the disadvantaged, in the belief that each person has a unique value as a human being. He was named a Companion of the Order of Canada in 1987.
JEAN VANIER'S HEROIC FATHER...
This biography was written by George Cowley and is just one of the 50 biographies beautifully illustrated in the book Canada: Portraits of Faith, published and edited by Michael D. Clarke. It is a priceless treasure that I urge you to acquire. Copyright
Georges Vanier
1888-1967
1888-1967
“May almighty God in His infinite wisdom and mercy bless the sacred mission
which has been entrusted to me … and help me to fulfil it in all humility.”
which has been entrusted to me … and help me to fulfil it in all humility.”
Picture Information
Canada. Dept. of National Defence / National Archives of Canada / PA-002777
Canada. Dept. of National Defence / National Archives of Canada / PA-002777
George Cowley
The announcement that General Georges Vanier had been appointed the governor-general of Canada came at a meeting of the Canadian cabinet in Halifax at which Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II presided. Nation-wide, cheers erupted as the former soldier and statesman was appointed the personal representative of the sovereign in Canada. As he took the oath of office in 1959, Vanier said to Parliament, “My first words are a prayer. May almighty God in His infinite wisdom and mercy bless the sacred mission which has been entrusted to me by Her Majesty the Queen and help me to fulfill it in all humility. In exchange for His strength, I offer Him my weakness. May He give peace to this beloved land of ours and … the grace of mutual understanding, respect and love.”
Georges Phileas Vanier was born in Montreal in 1888, the son of a French Norman father and an Irish mother. He grew up bilingual, earning a degree in church devotional fellowship, and began a lifelong habit of daily communion. He contemplated entering the priesthood, but when the First World War broke out he felt that his immediate duty was to his country. He took a leading role in recruiting and organizing the first battalion to be raised by and of French Canadians: the Royal 22nd Regiment, or Van Doos.
Vanier was twice decorated for bravery. “I sleep as ever on the fresh earth,” he wrote to his parents, “one day we shall all go back to her.” Shortly after, he lost his right leg to a German shell. After convalescing, he refused evacuation. “I simply cannot go back to Canada,” he insisted, “while my comrades are still in the trenches in France.”
At war’s end, Vanier returned to Canada and was made the commanding officer and later the colonel of the Van Doos. He also met and married Pauline Archer (see PAULINE VANIER), a vivacious young woman who shared his religious faith. In 1927, Vanier held the rank of lieutenant colonel and was sent to Geneva as a Canadian military advisor to the League of Nations disarmament: “I ask you to open your eyes to human suffering, to direct your hearts to those who have not the strength to ask for help. Let us go to them. They have already been waiting too long.” His appeal fell on deaf, militarist ears, but his diplomatic skills won him a posting in 1931 to the Canadian High Commission in London, where he remained until 1938. In 1939, he was named minister at the Canadian Embassy in Paris.
Vanier’s warnings of imminent war soon came true. Only after arranging the evacuation of Canadian nationals, and of many other imperilled refugees, did he leave Paris in a dramatic escape by car. He reached Bordeaux just ahead of the Germans and from there hitched rides on Allied naval vessels to England.
With the fall of France, the Germans set up a puppet regime known was the Vichy government. The Allied governments initially supported this nominally independent regime, rejecting Vanier’s warnings of its inevitable treachery. Vanier called in vain for the recognition of French general Charles de Gaulle, who, from London, proposed to recruit a free French army to continue the war against the Germans.
Vanier’s warnings were resented, and he was banished to Canada to an insignificant job—until his forecasts of Vichy treachery proved accurate. He was then returned to London as the minister to the Allied governments in exile, rallying support for de Gaulle. In 1944, he became Canada’s ambassador to France, the first ambassador to enter the newly liberated country.
The war in Europe dragged on for another six months. The Vaniers were consumed by the many issues resulting from five years of war and dislocation. While Pauline helped settle the thousands of returning deportees, Georges worked with the French government on international agreements aimed at healing the wounds and the bitterness of war. He was particularly moved by the plight of Jewish survivors, orphaned children, and the elderly.
“It was on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho,” Vanier declared, “that robbers stripped and wounded and left for dead the poor traveller of the gospel. We seem hardly to have advanced since those days: today millions have been stripped, wounded and left for dead on the bloodstained roads of Europe. Is not each one of these our brother or our sister?”
The Vaniers attended mass every morning. In the bitterness of 1940’s and 1950’s Paris, they felt the need to add a daily half hour of prayer and meditation together. Inner prayer, Vanier believed, was a necessary wellspring for sensitivity to the needs of others. Indeed, he rarely made any major decision without first considering its implications in prayer. His biographer, Robert Speaight, noted that “he was a man who walked with God.”
Vanier retired from diplomatic service in 1954, hoping to continue serving Canada in “some modest capacity.” The capacity offered him in 1959—at age seventy-one—was to become Canada’s governor-general, the first Quebec native so honoured. His first initiative was to convert one of the state residence’s small upstairs bedrooms into a simple chapel.
Friends were concerned for Vanier’s health, but he thrived. He set out to rediscover his country and visited every corner of it. Wherever he spoke, he made stirring appeals to people’s hearts and consciences.
In early 1967, Vanier’s heart showed signs of weakening. His last official engagement was to address, form his wheelchair, a delegation of students from the University of Montreal on the favourite theme of his latter years: the importance of Canadian unity. Few figures in Canadian history have better demonstrated, by words and deeds, the urgency and sacredness of this cause. “The measure of Canadian unity has been the measure of our success ... If we imagine we can go our separate ways within our country, if we exaggerate our differences or revel in contentions … we will promote our own destruction. Canada owes it to the world to remain united, for no lesson is more badly needed than the one our unity can supply: the lesson that diversity need not be the cause for conflict, but, on the contrary, may lead to richer and nobler living. I pray to God that we may go forward hand in hand.”
Shortly afterwards, on March 4, 1967, George Vanier’s gallant heart, pressed to its limits for so long, quietly surrendered.
This biography was written by George Cowley and is just one of the 50 biographies beautifully illustrated in the book Canada: Portraits of Faith, published and edited by Michael D. Clarke. It is a priceless treasure that I urge you to acquire.
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CANADA
L'Arche Founder Honoured- Wolfville, Nova Scotia kings county register july 25 2013- homes where people with developmental disabilities
En août 1964 Jean Vanier pose un acte irréversible en invitant Philippe Seux et Raphaël Simi, deux personnes atteintes d’une déficience intellectuelle, à vivre dans une petite maison située dans l’Oise à Trosly. Raphaël et Philippe venaient d’un asile où comme le dit Philippe « ça n'était pas une vie : toute la journée dans une salle, assis. On pouvait rien faire...»
photo
Sur la fragilité
« Nous sommes nés dans une fragilité extrême,
nous mourons dans une fragilité extrême
et tout au long de notre vie,
nous demeurons vulnérables,
c'est-à-dire capables d’être blessés.
Chaque enfant est si vulnérable, si fragile
et sans aucun système de défense ! ».
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BRAVO- MARCH 2015
March 11, 2015. 7:44 am • Section: The Search
Canadian Jean Vanier, founder the L'Arche movement, today won the $1.7 U.S. Templeton Prize for his work with the disabled and his spiritual wisdom. Here's a profile I did of him in 2001. (Photo: Vanier, centre, with Stephen Posner, right)
Canadian Jean Vanier, founder of the L’Arche movement, today won the $1.7 U.S. Templeton Prize for his work with the disabled and his hard-won wisdom.
Here’s a profile I did of him in 2001. A great man, with much insight. The real spiritual deal.
I remember his words about how the young “desperately want to be loved” and how they won’t find peace in the rampant sexuality of recent decades.
He said he came to Vancouver “to tell people they’re beautiful.” And he meant it.
….
Jean Vanier, who some call a living saint, comes with a message of hope:
Young people can find spiritual liberation
Vancouver Sun ARCHIVES
Monday, March 5, 2001
By Douglas Todd
There are many things wrong, Jean Vanier says, with people calling for him to be made a saint. The first is that it ignores his deep flaws.
But the main one is it makes people feel they’re not as good as him.
“As soon as you say people are saintly, you’re putting them on a pedestal and saying you can’t do it. But we are all called to work together and love each other and we don’t have to be saints to do that,” Vanier said in Vancouver this weekend.
The 72-year-old Canadian founder of the L’Arche movement, which runs 117 communities for the intellectually disabled in 19 countries, has a message, especially for the young: We’re all the same, weak and wounded; and we’re all beautiful.
That’s one of the things Vanier told about 400 young adults — including more than 100 with disabilities — who squeezed into Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic school for an event with Vanier called Seeds of Hope. They all listened to his warm, eloquent words with rapt attention.
The young desperately want to be loved, Vanier said in an interview. And they want to be trusted by their parents. But he worries that TV is pushing young people to obsess about sex, which will inevitably lead to emptiness.
Secular media commentators in Quebec, where Vanier was raised, are among those who argue the Catholic visionary should be honoured as a saint for his devotion to those with disabilities — which, in his definition, includes everyone.
A crucial element of Vanier’s teaching is that we must stop madly striving for status.
Leaders in the Protestant United Church of Canada and the Anglican Church are also making appeals for his beatification. And so are many other leaders and ordinary people, Catholics and otherwise, around the world, where, in addition to founding L’Arche centres, Vanier has started 1,300 Faith and Light Christian communities in 73 countries.
The Catholic church doesn’t name anyone a saint until well after their death. But all the talk about sanctifying Vanier is not out of place. His parents, the late Governor-General Georges Vanier and his wife, Pauline, are already actively being considered for sainthood by the Vatican. Ultimately, however, the issue of sainthood is of no concern to Vanier.
The author of the recent bestselling book, Becoming Human, has devoted his life to flattening hierarchies. He has no title. He is not even a priest. He turns down universities that want to give him honorary degrees, saying he thinks they’re crazy ideas.
A crucial element of Vanier’s teaching — particularly to young people whom he urges to lead the planet and join the L’Arche movement — is that we must stop madly striving for status.
“People are so desperate to be part of an elite,” said Vanier, who joined the navy as a teen. So they push for victory in sports, business, school and the professions.
Or they hide themselves in closed groups and define themselves by their politics, race, religion — or even gender. “When women are angry at all men, or men are afraid of the intelligence of women,” he said, “they’re not open to differences. And they’re not in touch with their own anguish.”
Living as he does in a L’Arche community of 400 people that he founded in 1964 in Trosly-Breuil, north of Paris, Vanier talks about how people can learn from working with the mentally disabled that no one is better than anyone else.
“Everyone is basically the same,” he said, as he bent over to drink a cup of tea, his lanky body slightly stooped.
Everyone is suffering, he said. Everyone is wounded. “We don’t have to get into this world of conflict and rivalry. We don’t have to pretend we’re better than the next guy. We need to touch what is beautiful in us — what is broken in us.”
That way lies spiritual liberation. It’s something Vanier is convinced young people can find working with the disabled in L’Arche, which has 26 communities in Canada, including Shiloah in Burnaby and two more on Vancouver Island.
The biggest change Vanier has seen in society in the past four decades is the decline of traditional morality — the end of the code of shame and honour that basically forbade such things as divorce and disobedience to parents.
Vanier, a former philosophy teacher at the University of Toronto, laments how the loss of orthodox morality has allowed the mass media to promote rampant sexuality — “an unleashing of sex, pedophilia and pornography, with millions of Internet sites devoted to pornography.”
Vanier has been in tiny villages in Egypt where seven-year children turn on the TV and watch sex-filled American sitcoms after their traditional Muslim parents have left the home. They see sexual explicitness that was once unimaginable in their culture.
“Forty years ago in the movies a kiss was almost pornography,” Vanier said. “Now people in the movies always take their clothes off. In the past, people sought order and truth. Now they seek experience. They want kicks. And they always have to go further to get them.”
In Dead Man Walking, based on a real story, Vanier loves how the nun interacts with the convicted murderer. “Nobody had ever told him there was something beautiful in him.”
Vanier noted how even the great atheist philosopher, Andre Malraux, predicted that, in response to the sexually libertarian 20th century, the 21st century would become one of heightened spirituality. “Unbridled sex does not give you satisfaction,” Vanier said.
Asked to name movies that he found particularly dangerous from a moral or spiritual standpoint, Vanier instead opted to highlight one that exemplifies his approach to life: Dead Man Walking. That film is based on the true story of Catholic sister who ministered to American prisoners on death row.
It showed how the nun (played by Susan Sarandon) was slowly able to convince a prisoner (played by Sean Penn) that there was something of value in him. All his life the prisoner had been told he was a disgusting, worthless, violent man, Vanier said.
“Nobody had ever told him there was something beautiful in him.” But the sister convinced him he was loved. And before his execution, his last words to the sister were, `I love you.’ ”
Why, ultimately, did Vanier come to Vancouver, where he’ll stay and teach and learn for almost two weeks? “To tell people they’re beautiful.”
dtodd@vancouversun.com
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Jean Vanier, Founder of L’Arche
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For nearly four decades, Jean Vanier has travelled the world fashioning a network of homes where people with developmental disabilities, volunteers and a sprinkling of staff live together in community. Those we lock away and think worthless, he says, have the power to teach and even to heal us. We are all "broken" in some way, he believes. (…) "When you start living with people with disabilities", he says, "you begin to discover a whole lot of things about yourself." He learned that to "be human is to be bonded together, each with our own weaknesses and strengths, because we need each other." (…) Tall and stooped, Vanier radiates the strength of a man who has fought his own inner battles and surfaced with peace. (Maclean’s/September 4, 2000, p.33)
Jean Vanier was born on September 10, 1928, in Geneva, Switzerland, where his father, General Georges Vanier, was on a diplomatic mission. Most of his early schooling was in England where he lived until World War II when his parents send him and his four brothers and one sister back to Canada.
Two years later, the young Jean decided to enter the Royal Naval College in England. Too young to become a soldier, he assisted his mother in her Red Cross work in Paris after the liberation, helping with those returning from the concentration camps. In 1945, Jean received his officer’s commission and began his naval career.
Despite the promising career that lay in front of him, he was more and more drawn into prayer and reflection on what might be God’s call for him. In 1950, he resigned from the Navy to study philosophy and theology at the Institut Catholique in Paris. It was there where he met Father Thomas Philippe, a Dominican priest and professor who was to become Jean’s spiritual mentor and friend.
In 1963, having published his doctoral thesis on Aristotle, he returned to Canada to teach at the University of Toronto. Again, he decided against the security of a career and left job and homeland to join Father Thomas Philippe who had become chaplain to a small institution for men with developmental disabilities, the Val Fleury, in Trosly-Breuil. In 1964 Jean decided to settle in Trosly to live with people with an intellectual disability. He bought a small house and named it "L’Arche", the French word for Noah’s Ark.
Though heavily involved in the rapidly growing community, Jean began to give conferences and retreats around the world. In 1969, following a retreat he gave in Ontario, the first community of L’Arche in North America was founded. The next year, again after a visit by Jean, the first L’Arche community in India was founded. In 1968 Jean Vanier also co-founded Faith and Sharing. In these communities, families who have a member with a disability and their friends meet once a month for prayer and mutual support and celebration. Three years later, the organisation of a pilgrimage of 12.000 people with developmental disabilities, their friends and families to Lourdes led to the co-founding of Faith and Light with Marie-Hélène Mathieu. This sister pilgrimage movement unites people with an intellectual disability and their family members and friends for regular gatherings and periodic pilgrimages of friendship, prayer and celebration. In the early 1990s, Jean Vanier founded Intercordia, which provides university students with an accredited cross-cultural experience in social education and personal growth among poor or marginalized peoples in the developing world.
L’Arche was spreading rapidly, and aware that it was important to call forth others who could lead, Jean handed over the leadership of the International Federation of L’Arche communities to the first International Coordinator in 1981. Jean Vanier continued to sit as Founder on the International Council of L’Arche. He also continued to travel a great deal encouraging L’Arche communities and giving spiritual accompaniment and guidance to the many people who come to him from within and beyond L’Arche.
Jean Vanier has received numerous awards, amongst which are the French Legion of Honour, Companion of the Order of Canada, the Rabbi Gunther Plaut Humanitarian Award 2001 and the recent Chicago Catholic Theological Union "Blessed are the Peace-makers" award, 2006.
Up until today, Jean Vanier continues to travel the world to give retreats and conferences; the 1998 CBC Massey Lectures are just one prominent example. In 2006 he travelled, amongst other areas, to Africa, Indonesia and the USA. He also continues to write; his books have been translated into 29 languages. Jean continues to live in the first L’Arche community in Trosly-Breuil, France.
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L’Arche founder honoured
Recently, Canadian Jean Vanier, the founder of the L’Arche movement, an international federation of communities in which people with and without intellectual disabilities share life together, was presented with a Pacem in Terris Peace and Freedom Award.
For the first time in its history, the Davenport, USA-based award was taken overseas, to France, where Bishop Martin Amos presented the award to Vanier earlier this month in the village where he founded L’Arche in 1964.?The award honors Pope John XXIII and commemorates his 1963 encyclical letter Pacem in Terris (Peace on Earth). Previous award recipients include John F. Kennedy (posthumously), Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Teresa, Dorothy Day, Cardinal Joseph Bernardin, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Cesar Chavez, Sister Helen Prejean and Lech Walesa.
Vanier, the son of a Governor General, has visited this area twice. In 1986, L’Arche Homefires first welcomed this warm and unassuming man as a new community. During his second visit, Vanier gave a workshop at Camp Aldershot. A sense of celebration characterizes every L’Arche home he’s visited. Vanier always leaves a challenge behind to share with the world what living in community means. He talks about virtues often ignored in our busy world, like peace and charity, commitment and community.
"We are told from a very early age that we have to be first to succeed, we have to win. But we fine we are lonely because we have no wealth of commitment and community."
Vanier continues to inspire people the world over. He is part of the reason that people from 16 different countries are living and working as assistants at Homefires. The Wolfville-based community is busy fundraising these days for a repurposed office/workshop facility. Support comes with smiles because of the core members who make their permanent homes living Vanier’s dream.
http://www.kingscountynews.ca/Opinion/Editorials/2013-07-25/article-3326821/Editorial%3A-Hazardous-travel/1
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A Jubilee honour
Ingrid Blais, Wolfville, receives a Diamond Jubilee Medal from Senator Ogilvie July 8. Submitted
Published on July 15, 2012
Wendy Elliott
Senator distributes medals to extraordinary citizens
Topics : Acadia University , Irving Centre , Old Orchard Inn , Ireland , Port Williams , London
By Wendy Elliott
welliott@kingscountynews.ca
To receive an honour for doing the ordinary things she does and love doing, is a blessing, Ingrid Blais of L’Arche-Homefires said last week.
Blais, who received a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal from Senator Kelvin Ogilvie July 8, said she began working with people with disabilities when she was 17.
The native of Ireland recalls she "fell in love with the people and it is my amazing privilege 34 years later to still be involved in the lives of our folks."
Her community enjoyed her medal win and gave her a cardboard crown, bejeweled by staff at the Applewicks workshop, to wear afterward.
Blais says she truly believes we are our brothers and sisters keepers.
"I continue to see so many needs in terms of opportunities for persons with disabilities in our province, there is much work still to."
Blais was one of 15 recipients during the ceremony in Acadia University’s Garden Room.
Roger Tatlock, executive director of the Flowercart, said the medal made him feel "awkward and honoured at the same time – a curious mix.
"There are over 34 million Canadians," Tatlock noted. "To be singled out for your contribution to our society is quite simply, and more than a bit overwhelmingly, an honour."
The awkwardness arose in part because of being singled out, because, Tatlock said, he got a medal and his strong, stable supervisory group he has worked with for 20 years at Flowercart, which supports people with disabilities, did not.
Another medal recipient, Roger Prentice, the retired chaplain at Acadia University, said he felt "most unworthy but so pleased to be honoured in the name of the Queen."
Lana Churchill, Port Williams, and Michael Leiter, Wolfville, were two Kings County residents who received a Diamond Jubilee Medal from Senator Kelvin Ogilvie July 8.
"Happily, I was in London for some of the Jubilee, and see the immense respect, which the Queen receives from the people," Prentice added. "It was obvious by all the bunting, flags and street parties in evidence along with the more formal events. It is lovely, then, to be a part of the celebrations in Canada."
Ogilvie handed out 15 medals at the Irving Centre, but more locals are expected to receive honours when Premier Darrell Dexter holds a ceremony at the Old Orchard Inn, 2 p.m., July 16 and when Kings-Hants MP Scott Brison holds an event in late summer.
Queen's Jubilee Medal
The commemorative medal was created to mark the 60th anniversary of the Queen’s accession to the Throne as Queen of Canada. During the year of celebrations, which began in February, 60,000 deserving Canadians will be recognized. A complete list of recipients will be posted next February on the Governor-General’s website.
Medal recipients July 8
Lana Churchill, Port Williams
Ingrid Blais, Wolfville
Wilma Gibson, Canning
Neville Gilfoy, Dartmouth, HRM
Doris Hagmann, Summerville, Hants County
Bruce Law, Port Williams
Michael P. Leiter, Wolfville
Robert Mullan, Kentville
David M. McKeage, Halifax, HRM
Jim Meek, Halifax, HRM
William Parker, Wolfville
Dr. James R.C. Perkin, Wolfville
Terry Porter, Canning
Roger Prentice, Wolfville
Leonard Sarsfield, Canning
Roger Tatlock, Wolfville
Ian Thompson, Halifax, HRM
http://www.kingscountynews.ca/News/2012-07-15/article-3031619/A-Jubilee-honour/1
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MEN AND BOYS- standing up against abuse- One Billion rising- breaking the chains- changing the world folks- no more excuses-no more abuses
MacKay announces funding for Chrysalis House project
Peter MacKay Jennifer Hoegg
Published on July 26, 2013
Justice Minister Peter MacKay announced support for a new project that will engage men and boys in ending violence against women and girls on July 26.
Chrysalis House Association is receiving $185,000 in funding for a 24-month project that will engage men, boys, women and girls in the rural counties of West Hants, Kings and Annapolis in the western region of Nova Scotia. An advisory committee of community partners and stakeholders will help guide the project to engage men and boys in ensuring the safety and preventing violence against local women and girls, including those from First Nations, African Nova Scotian and Acadian communities.
"We are working with organizations across the country to end violence against women and girls and to offset its destructive impact on our communities," said MacKay. "This project will engage local men and boys to play an important leadership role in ending the violence."
"It is important to do all we can to prevent violence against women and girls," said Rhonda Fraser, Executive Director of Chrysalis House Association. "We are pleased to partner with the Government of Canada on this project to engage local men and boys in understanding the roots of gender-based violence and leading the way to safer communities for everyone."
This project is being supported under Status of Women Canada's call for proposals, Working Together: Engaging Communities to End Violence against Women and Girls. It aligns with the specific theme of "Engaging men and boys in ending violence against women and girls."
http://www.kingscountynews.ca/News/Local/2013-07-26/article-3329079/MacKay-announces-funding-for-Chrysalis-House-project/1
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MEN AND WOMEN OF CANADA SAYING- IT'S TIME- ONE BILLION RISING-BREAKING THE CHAINS no more excuses- no more abuses
Classified - 3 Foot Tall [Official Music Video]
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IN CANADA- NOVA SCOTIA -Nouvelle-Écosse -THE MAJORITY OF CANADIANS R COLOUR BLIND- GENDER PREFERENCE ILLITERATE AND EMBRACING A RELIGION IN R CANADA FOUNDED ON THE CHRISTIAN BIBLE - DEFINES US 36 Million strong... imho-
-i'll die Roman Catholic and adore my gay brothers and gay best friends over the years... especially those robbed of their beautiful life by AIDS..... and fight the good fight against paedophiles and predators of babies, children, teens and youth.... and abuses with 2 manys excuses- and 2day this is 4 my gay brothers and sisters- who watch my back like 4 over 45 years I have watched theirs... and many of us paid a dear price... but ya know what.... I'd rather live free and die standing than living in fear on my knees.... cause what we do in Canada 2 change our world- helps our children... and r kids matter.... :-)
many of us 'golden oldies' have walked the talk since the 60s fighting 4 equality, pay equity, safety, and anti-discrimination against all things in a good world where folks truly matter over the $$$$... and never waivered in our human dignity, rights;especially, 4 children who r powerless because of NO VOTES, and union that used to be about the trodden and squashed with no voices- until unions sold out honour, equality and dignity of the elders who built this union country- imho
FROM NOVA SCOTIA FOLKS
Pride Parade 2013 VIDEO
Published on July 27, 2013Oake
The streets of Halifax were lined with thousands taking in the 2013 Pride Parade July 27, 2013.
http://www.halifaxnewsnet.ca/Video/26582/Pride-Parade-2013
and Peace of Christ to our beloved Pope Francis who is waking the world 2 what really matters- the poor, disadvantaged, aged, disabled-visible and invisible and children - and homeless and helpless... let's git r done folks... all of us... and those of us who believe in our faith still march 4ward in love of each and all our brothers and sisters in our Canada... cause that's just how it is folks...
AND..
Halifax Pride Parade 2013 18 of 21
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iChLyD65Awk
AND..... CANNOT HELP BUT WORRY ABOUT WINTER OLYMPICS IN RUSSIA- 4 OUR CANADIANS OF COLOUR, GENDER AND RELIGIOUS DIFFERENCES...
RUSSICA WINTER GAMES- 2014 -Canadian eh?
PLEASE REMEMBER- THE INTERNATIONAL WINTER OLYMPICS IS 4 ALL ATHELETES.... ALL- don't ruin our winter olympics Russia- we love u so much... just don't ruin our Winter Olympics- the world's youth- aged, disabled and abled r counting on u...
Pride: The long journey
A Halifax mayor in drag would have been unimaginable in 1988
HILARY BEAUMONT
Freelance writer Hilar y Beaumont explores the origins of Pride Week in Halifax and how the annual event has evolved into a colour ful and inclusive citywide event.
As 75 or so people marched with signs, onlookers hurled slurs and pointed finger guns at the protesters.
The march occupied one street lane, and at one point the driver o f an oncoming car swerved across the yellow line. People scattered.
Anne Bishop, who was nearby, said the driver braked at the last second. She heard him laugh.
Her heart pounded for a while afterwards though no one was hurt.
According to handouts from the march, Bishop and other gay rights activists called for human rights protection and an end to homophobia .
It was 1988 and the "annual Halifax Pride march" was in its first year.
Early Pride marches were characterized by defiant chants and sets of demands. Now, 26 years later, parade participants celebrate their identities with rainbows.
Organizers now call the parade the fourth largest in Canada, though Halifax is the nation’s 13th largest city.
Last weekend, Mayor Mike Savage donned a dress and wig and threw the first pitch in the Dykes versus Divas softball game. Such a thing was unimaginable in the early years.
"We were regularly discriminated against and subjected to physical harassment," said Robin Metcalfe, an original member of local group, the Gay Alliance for Equality.
Founded in 1972, the gay liberation group was one of many across the U.S. and Canada that formed after the S tonewall riots in Greenwich Village in 1969 and decriminalization of homosexual acts in Canada the same year.
If you ask Metcalfe, a series of gay alliance protests in the ’70s made Halifax Pride marches possible. It began in 1973 with a 10-person picnic for the first national Pride Week, and the launch of a homosexual support line called the Gayline.
In 1976, however, CBC Radio Halifax refused to broadcast a Gayline public service announcement. In response to criticism from activists, the national broadcaster enacted a p olicy against ads from gay organizations because they were controversial.
On Feb. 17, 1977, a dozen people demonstrated on the freshly shovelled sidewalk in front o f the CBC building on Bell Road, carrying signs in gloved hands. That week, a national network of peers coordinated similar protests across the country.
Two notable protests followed: an April 1977 demonstration at a bar on Argyle Street that refused gays and lesbians service, and a march down Barrington Street during a national gay rights conference in 1978. About 200 people took part in the Barrington Street march to demand human rights protection .
"It poured rain," Metcalfe said. "People were completely soaking wet."
The march was transformative, he said.
"Walking, marching and calling out slogans in the street — it means you begin to occupy space in a way you’ve never done before. Once you’ve experienced the incredible freedom that comes from that, you cannot go back."
Some participants still refer to the 1978 event as Halifax’s first Pride march. However, according to Chris Aucoin, the word "pride" wasn’t attached to a local march until 1988.
Aucoin, who researched the parade’s history for its 25th anniversary last year, said organizers of the first few marches wondered if anyone would show up.
In those days, if non-straight people were refused an apartment or fired because of their sexuality, they had no legal recourse.
Three people covered their faces in the 1989 march, according to Aucoin’s research. Two people, a schoolteacher and his friend, wore brown paper bags on their heads. One man , who was kicked out of the Armed Forces, covered his face with a bandanna.
When he walked in the 1991 Pride march, Aucoin held hands with the love of his life. "That was us coming out as a couple." It was both thrilling and scary, he said.
A deadly new disease magnified that fear.
The HIV/AIDS epidemic was "hugely devastating" to Aucoin’s generation of gay men. Many of the friends he protested with in 1990 and 1991 are gone now.
Looking back, though, he and Metcalfe agree the illness increased gay visibility because it forced many people out of the closet.
In turn, that made straight people aware of the gays and lesbians in their lives, Metcalfe said.
"That personal connection, that emotional connection — that’s what starts to break down prejudice," Aucoin said.
By 1993, the march had transitioned into a parade. Beginning with unions and gay-owned local businesses, sponsors began funding the event .
In 1996, Canada added "sexual orientation" to the federal human rights act .
The rainbow first appeared on the Halifax Pride logo in 1997 and the theme of the 2003 march was "show your colours."
In 2005, Canada legalized gay marriage.
Today, Aucoin views the parade as bittersweet. He’s astounded by what the movement has accomplished, but is cons cious o f how many people aren’t here to see how far society has come.
And though it may be subtle, homophobia still exists, he cautions.
"Coming out has never been an event, it’s a process, and acceptance has never been an event, it’s a process."
Walking, marching and calling out slogans in the street — it means you begin to occupy space in a way you’ve never done before. Once you’ve experienced the incredible freedom that comes from that, you cannot go back.
Robin Metcalfe Writer, original member Gay Alliance for Equality
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Peace of Christ-God bless 4.5B Christians
Pope Francis in Brazil: Pilgrims pack Copacabana beach- 3 million strong
The BBC's Julia Carneiro says it was an "historic night" on Copacabana
28 July 2013 Last updated at 03:02 ET
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-23480707
Up to three million people have packed Brazil's Copacabana Beach to hear Pope Francis address their all-night vigil.
The pilgrims are remaining in place for a Mass to be celebrated there by Francis later on Sunday.
In his address, he urged the pilgrims not to be part-time Christians but to lead full, meaningful lives.
The Pope, who has been attending the biggest ever Catholic World Youth Day, leaves Brazil on Sunday after five days - his first overseas trip as pontiff.
'Overcome apathy'
Speaking on a huge stage at the beach where a mock church structure was built, Pope Francis referred to the street protests which have been taking place in Brazil for more than a month.
"The young people in the street are the ones who want to be actors of change. Please don't let others be actors of change," he told the crowd at the vigil.
"Keep overcoming apathy and offering a Christian response to the social and political concerns taking place in different parts of the world."
By the time the Pope's car had reached the stage, the back seat was filled with football shirts, flags and flowers thrown to him by adoring pilgrims lining the route.
Continue reading the main story Pope speaks at prayer vigil. 27 July 2013 The Pope has addressed an estimated two million pilgrims at the prayer vigil on Copacabana Beach World Youth Day cross fixed on the stage. 27 July 2013 The World Youth Day cross was fixed to the stage ahead of the Pope's arrival Prayer vigil on Copacabana Beach. 27 July 2013 The vigil will culminate in a huge Mass on Sunday Performance for prayer vigil. 27 July 2013 The Pope watched a performance during the vigil service Pope wears indigenous headdress. 27 June 2013 On Saturday, the Pope wore a headdress given to him by members of the indigenous Pataxo tribe Continue reading the main story
previous slide next slide 1/5
The BBC's Wyre Davies in Rio says almost every inch of the two-and-a-half mile long beach was occupied as most of the young people stayed on, pitching tents or sleeping in the open.
As the crowd grew, female activists held a demonstration nearby in support of abortion and women's rights.
But our correspondent says the Pope and the Church hierarchy will be delighted at the huge turnout and the way Francis has been received by pilgrims from across the globe.
The Mass will be celebrated at the beach in the early afternoon.
Earlier on Saturday, the Pope addressed civil leaders and government officials at Rio's Municipal Theatre.
"Between selfish indifference and violent protest, there is always another possible option: that of dialogue," he said, in a reference to demonstrations that have been rocking the country since June.
"A country grows when constructive dialogue occurs between its many rich cultural components: popular culture, university culture, youth culture, artistic and technological culture, economic culture, family culture and media culture."
In the past three decades, the Catholic church has lost millions of followers to smaller Christian denominations.
'Go to the favelas'
Also on Saturday, the Pope repeated his challenge to fellow Roman Catholic clerics to take to the streets.
In a speech to 1,000 bishops and clerics in Rio's cathedral, he said they should go to the favelas - Brazil's shanty towns.
"We cannot keep ourselves shut up in parishes, in our communities, when so many people are waiting for the Gospel," he told the audience.
Protests, sometimes violent, broke out in cities across Brazil last month against corruption, poor public services and the high cost of events like the 2014 World Cup.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-23480707
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Peace of Christ-God bless 4.5B Christians
Pope Francis in Brazil: Pilgrims pack Copacabana beach- 3 million strong
The BBC's Julia Carneiro says it was an "historic night" on Copacabana
28 July 2013 Last updated at 03:02 ET
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-23480707
Up to three million people have packed Brazil's Copacabana Beach to hear Pope Francis address their all-night vigil.
The pilgrims are remaining in place for a Mass to be celebrated there by Francis later on Sunday.
In his address, he urged the pilgrims not to be part-time Christians but to lead full, meaningful lives.
The Pope, who has been attending the biggest ever Catholic World Youth Day, leaves Brazil on Sunday after five days - his first overseas trip as pontiff.
'Overcome apathy'
Speaking on a huge stage at the beach where a mock church structure was built, Pope Francis referred to the street protests which have been taking place in Brazil for more than a month.
"The young people in the street are the ones who want to be actors of change. Please don't let others be actors of change," he told the crowd at the vigil.
"Keep overcoming apathy and offering a Christian response to the social and political concerns taking place in different parts of the world."
By the time the Pope's car had reached the stage, the back seat was filled with football shirts, flags and flowers thrown to him by adoring pilgrims lining the route.
Continue reading the main story Pope speaks at prayer vigil. 27 July 2013 The Pope has addressed an estimated two million pilgrims at the prayer vigil on Copacabana Beach World Youth Day cross fixed on the stage. 27 July 2013 The World Youth Day cross was fixed to the stage ahead of the Pope's arrival Prayer vigil on Copacabana Beach. 27 July 2013 The vigil will culminate in a huge Mass on Sunday Performance for prayer vigil. 27 July 2013 The Pope watched a performance during the vigil service Pope wears indigenous headdress. 27 June 2013 On Saturday, the Pope wore a headdress given to him by members of the indigenous Pataxo tribe Continue reading the main story
previous slide next slide 1/5
The BBC's Wyre Davies in Rio says almost every inch of the two-and-a-half mile long beach was occupied as most of the young people stayed on, pitching tents or sleeping in the open.
As the crowd grew, female activists held a demonstration nearby in support of abortion and women's rights.
But our correspondent says the Pope and the Church hierarchy will be delighted at the huge turnout and the way Francis has been received by pilgrims from across the globe.
The Mass will be celebrated at the beach in the early afternoon.
Earlier on Saturday, the Pope addressed civil leaders and government officials at Rio's Municipal Theatre.
"Between selfish indifference and violent protest, there is always another possible option: that of dialogue," he said, in a reference to demonstrations that have been rocking the country since June.
"A country grows when constructive dialogue occurs between its many rich cultural components: popular culture, university culture, youth culture, artistic and technological culture, economic culture, family culture and media culture."
In the past three decades, the Catholic church has lost millions of followers to smaller Christian denominations.
'Go to the favelas'
Also on Saturday, the Pope repeated his challenge to fellow Roman Catholic clerics to take to the streets.
In a speech to 1,000 bishops and clerics in Rio's cathedral, he said they should go to the favelas - Brazil's shanty towns.
"We cannot keep ourselves shut up in parishes, in our communities, when so many people are waiting for the Gospel," he told the audience.
Protests, sometimes violent, broke out in cities across Brazil last month against corruption, poor public services and the high cost of events like the 2014 World Cup.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-23480707
------------------
God bless our Vets-honouring Korean Vets Nova Scotia -Canada -globally
NOVA SCOTIA- Nouvelle-Écosse-
Sweet harmony in Lockeport
July 28, 2013 - 9:28am By STEPHEN COOKE Arts Reporter
Harmony Bazaar Festival of Women & Song a feast for the ears
Singer-songwriters Mo Kenney and Dana Beeler perform Saturday at the Harmony Bazaar Festival of Women & Song in Lockeport. (STEPHEN COOKE)
Just like its name suggests, Harmony Bazaar had all the elements working together in its favour Saturday.
There was the welcome sight of a clear blue sky over Lockeport, the salty smell of the ocean from nearby Crescent Beach and, of course, the sweet sounds coming from the stages of the annual Festival of Women and Song in the Shelburne County community.
From the headliner, B.C. rock queen Bif Naked, to the pre-teen talent on its open mic stage, the eighth edition of Harmony Bazaar lived up to its mandate to provide a venue for female performers of all stripes as well as an enjoyable event for music lovers from the South Shore and beyond.
The morning fog hadn’t yet burned off when the first notes rang out at Lockeport’s Lillian Benham Library for a session titled Check It Out, with singers from very different backgrounds. For example, Halifax-based Dana Beeler grew up in East Hants in a family of bluegrass and country musicians.
There was a down-home quality to Beeler’s Sailor’s Song — inspired by her Second World War and Korean War veteran grandfather — and One Horse Town, full of vivid memories about growing up in a small community, which likely apply equally to Lockeport as they do to her home in Lantz.
Breagh Mackinnon hails from Cape Breton, but once again there was a feeling of familiarity about her Harbour Town. The song was written on a cold grey morning at Gordie Sampson’s Songcamp in Ingonish, describing how the boats come and go as hearts rise and fall like the tide. But with Lockeport Harbour visible through the mist just down Cliff Street, she might as well have been describing her walk to the library a half-hour before.
As if on cue, the clouds began to part as the afternoon showcases got underway on the festival’s main stage in Seacaps Memorial Park. The open mic featured a strong showing from school-age singers, from eight-year-old Amy Verge’s spirited run through Miranda Lambert’s My Mama’s Broken Heart to 15-year-old Lockeporter Tiffany Latham, who had her own impassioned take on heartache, I’ll Never Be Yours.
"I think some of these girls think of the open mic as their audition for a future Harmony Bazaar," festival artistic director Errin Williams-Spidle said backstage, just a few minutes before we were both marvelling at a 14-year-old named Isabelle visiting from New York with her family. She’d only learned to play the ukulele three weeks before, and she already had her first original song ready for the crowd, a rather mature-sounding ditty called You.
Dinner break was spent admiring the diversity of work at the Harmony in Art exhibit at Beech Street Studio.
"We wanted to show how unique the artists in this region are," said event sponsor Helen Potgieter, pointing out Shelburne artist Joan Preston’s precise needlework and Bryanna Chapeskie’s colourful 3-D dioramas of musical animals.
Throw in watercolours of local scenes and vividly painted papier mache boats, and I’d consider the display a success.
After the artwork, evening in Seacaps Memorial Park began with an emotionally powerful collaboration between Harmony Bazaar veterans Doris Mason, Irish Mythen and Katey Day, paying tribute to Rita MacNeil, Cape Breton’s first lady of song and the festival’s 2009 headliner.
Mythen recalled hearing the Big Pond singer’s music while living in Ireland, and then being amazed at how she made sure she greeted all the musicians and her fans in Lockeport four years ago.
A longtime friend of MacNeil’s, Mason shared memories of joining her in the Cape Breton Summertime Revue in the 1980s, remembering her sense of humour and her ability to enjoy life.
"As I’ve been going back through Rita’s songs, it feels like every song is her own eulogy; the way she loved life, nature, and her relationships," said Mason, making sure she did justice to Home I’ll Be and Flying on Your Own.
Headliner Naked did double duty Saturday, giving an inspirational talk in the Anglican church across the street from the stage that she would later conquer with guitarist J.D. Ekstrom.
Looking more demure than her tough, rock chick image, Naked told the packed pews that she was no stranger to churches as the daughter of two missionaries, before discussing how music and a sense of humour have helped her through downtimes in music, like those nights where your band only gets paid $23, and in life, like her battle with breast cancer.
"When I was diagnosed, I thought, ‘I know a lot of skinhead guys, they’re pretty cool, I’ve got this one,’" said Naked, who continues to share her experience and advice with cancer patients in Vancouver.
"Remain positive, be supportive, laugh your ass off any way you can, and you’ll find a way through it."
Later Saturday night, after a powerful display of vocal and guitar chops from Halifax singer-songwriter Christine Campbell, Naked was able to back up her message with music.
She told tales of teenage rebellion between hits like Daddy’s Getting Married and Spaceman, and endeared herself to the crowd even further by inviting the clutch of kids dancing off to the side to come and join her and Ekstrom on stage.
"Just make sure you don’t mess with the equipment," she warned them with a mock sense of authority, shortly before letting the young fans chow down on a veggie platter from the green room.
Eventually, a few more fans found their way on stage, and Naked simply fed off their energy as she played I Love Myself Today, the hit the packed park had been clamouring for.
"If we tell ourselves we love ourselves enough times, it just might stick," she told the crowd. "It’s worth it to try and convince yourself."
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My Future Partner -Mi'kmaq by Warrior on the Hill
Mi’kmaq Language Program
"Language is a people – and to maintain and promote its use, is to preserve and enhance the society now and for future generations"
Our Goal:
To preserve, protect and encourage the use of the Mi’kmaq Language for both the Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Peoples.
Serving:
All Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Peoples interested in the Mi’kmaq language.
How We Help:
Maintain a "Language Resource Library" of printed and audio material about Native languages in general and the Mi’kmaq language.
Develops and publishes Mi’kmaq Second Language Learning materials: a ten part Mi’kmaq Language Learning Workbook Series, Mi’kmaq story books, Mi’kmaq Learning aids, Map of Mi’kma’ki and Mi’kmaq Language posters.
Planning and development of customized introduction to "Mi’kmaq Teaching Methodologies".
Mi’kmaq translation services.
Research of new language learning mediums and material.
For More Information Contact:
N.C.N.S. Mi’kmaq Language Program
Shirley Denny
P.O. Box 1320, Truro, N.S., B2N 5N2
Direct: 1-902-895-1738
Fax: 1-902-893-7680
email: ncnsprenatal@eastlink.ca
Website: www.ncns.ca
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AFRICVILLE- THE SPIRIT LIVES ON NOVA SCOTIA
Africville was your typical seaside village. Populated by one of Nova Scotia’s founding peoples. First came the Aboriginal settlements, later the French and British. Less widely highlighted in our history is a population that was integral to the creation of what Nova Scotia is today. The people of African descent — former slaves, escaped slaves and free people who came to Canada for promise of a better life.
Eventually some of these former slaves of American and British owners settled on the northern tip of the Halifax peninsula. There, they created a vibrant community by the shores of the Bedford Basin.
The community was known as Africville.
Though its buildings were eradicated in what was called 'urban renewal' in the 1960s, the community spirit continues to thrive today through annual gatherings and in the stories and photos of an aging generation.
In 2002, the former site of Africville was designated a National Historic Landmark, by the Government of Canada.
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Standing where they stood-VIMY RIDGE
Kaleb Perry, 16, is travelling to France next month as part of the Vimy Foundation’s Beaverbrook Scholarship program. - Submitted
Published on July 24, 2013 Nancy Kelly RSS Feed
Berwick teen going to Vimy to honour fallen soldiers
Topics : Royal Military College , Vimy Foundation , Vimy , France , Berwick
By Nancy Kelly
nkelly@kingscountynews.ca
KingsCountyNews.ca
Sixteen-year-old Berwick resident Kaleb Perry is heading to France in August as part of the Vimy Foundation’s Beaverbrook Scholarship program.
Currently working at CFB Gagetown, NB, as a cadet summer program instructor, he recently shared his interest in the project and details of this once-in-a-lifetime trip.
Tell me about yourself?
I am 16, going into Grade 11 at West Kings high school. I live in Berwick and like camping, being outdoors, reading mostly First World War and Second World War history, as well as collecting items from these conflicts.
When is your trip?
I go on my trip to France Aug. 7 to 21.
How did it come about?
I wrote an essay on Vimy last November and didn't think anymore about it until March, when I was told I a won a trip with the Encounters With Canada program for the Canada Remembers Vimy week in Ottawa.
What did you do while in Ottawa?
I went the war museum, took part in activities with 125 other students and ceremonies at the War Memorial on Vimy day, April 9. We were all asked to write a second essay on Vimy and Canada’s Coming of Age. I was one of four finalists to get an interview for the Vimy Foundation’s Beaverbrook Scholarship. There are only 12 given out each year in Canada. There will be also be two students from England and one from France on the trip.
What will you be doing in France?
We will be listening to lectures, visiting historic sites, going to museums and taking part in the last post ceremonies at Vimy. The most amazing thing we are doing is the "Bringing the Boys Home Project." For this, we had to research a fallen First World War Canadian Solider and will deliver a biography or letter to them graveside in front of all the people in our program. Then we do two headstone rubbings. One goes to the foundation and I get to keep one.
What have you learned writing your essays and preparing for your trip?
I felt like I knew a lot about Canada’s military history, but researching for this trip has given me more. The trip itself will be a once in a lifetime chance to see everything firsthand. I will be most honoured to stand where our soldiers stood and fought for our freedom.
What are you looking forward to the most about your trip?
Going to Europe is a dream come true and a chance to say thank you to all the fallen soldiers.
Are you doing any fundraising to help cover the cost of your trip?
Yes, I have to raise $500 to help offset the costs. The foundation gives us pins to sell for $5 each. The Vimy pin comes with a great write up about the history of Vimy and the foundation. The foundation is encouraging people to wear them on April 9 on Vimy Day, just like you wear a poppy on Remembrance Day.
Do you still have pins for sale?
Yes, I still have pins and can get more. People can call 375-2040 if they would like to purchase one.
Do you see a future for yourself in the military?
I plan to go to the Royal Military College after high school. I'm working toward it with my courses, by volunteering, sports and cadets. I want to serve the same as those soldiers before me.
How important is it to remember the stories and sacrifices of Canadians who served overseas during the Great Wars?
We have to remember the stories of the sacrifices of Canadian soldiers before us, it's our history. Having participated in the heritage fair program as well as Cadets, I can tell some of these stories and pass the information on to more people. If we don't, it will be lost.
http://www.kingscountynews.ca/News/Local/2013-07-24/article-3326826/Standing-where-they-stood/1
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