Page 2 Journey <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2013</strong>Every once in a while, a mistake is such a gem <strong>of</strong>an error that I have to share it.In preparing this edition <strong>of</strong> Journey, I made a typographicerror. I created a saint, which, I realize, isnot my role.I noticed in an edit that I had typed “St. Lucy Kearney”.I shared my error with her, hoping it wouldbring her, if not a halo, at least a smile.After I had a laugh, I realized that maybe it’s asimple message that perhaps we should all try to liveour lives as a saint would: devoted to goodness andour spiritual lives.For me, an important part <strong>of</strong> living in a way that’sas good as humanly possible is to look for as manypositives as I can find in life and the world. It’s asimple task, for there is much good in the world.I see it reflected in articles sent to Journey. I ampleased with serendipitous submissions.Make sure to read the articles (page 3) by Our Lady<strong>of</strong> Mount Carmel students: a story about the BostonMarathon by Riley DaCosta and Caitlyn MacDonald;and Silence with a Message, an article submittedby Aidan Joyce, a Grade 8 student.In my outside life, my work involves many things,JourneyPublished by the <strong>Archdiocese</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Kingston</strong>Mark Bergin, Editor(markbergin@mail.com)Fred Happy, PhotographerAddress all communications to:Journey, 390 Palace Road, <strong>Kingston</strong> ON K7L 4T3Tel: (613) 548-4461E-mail: journey@romancatholic.kingston.on.caA Communicatorfor the Roman Catholic<strong>Archdiocese</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Kingston</strong>A Message fromArchbishop Brendan O’BrienThe Year <strong>of</strong> Faith continues to be atime to build up the inner fabric <strong>of</strong>the Church – that is to say, our personalfaith and the example and witness <strong>of</strong>our faith communities.Pope Francis encourages us as hespeaks <strong>of</strong> God’s always present mercytoward us. At the same time, he challengesus to extend that love and mercyby our closeness to the poor and thosewho suffer in so many different waysin today’s world.I hope that, during the remaining sixmonths <strong>of</strong> the Year <strong>of</strong> Faith, you willtake advantage <strong>of</strong> opportunities whichhelp to build us up spiritually. As weread in I Peter 2:5, “You yourselves,like living stones, are being built up asa spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood,to <strong>of</strong>fer spiritual sacrifices acceptableto God through Jesus Christ.”While the health and growth <strong>of</strong> theChurch as the Body <strong>of</strong> Christ is paramount,we must also consider the outerfabric <strong>of</strong> the Church – the way in whichwe are organized in parish communitiesand how we are equipped to servethe spiritual and charitable mission <strong>of</strong>the Church. I would like to mentionfour particular areas <strong>of</strong> concern:1. Parish RestructuringIn 2010, a Parish Review Committeewas established to provide advice to mein planning for the future. The members<strong>of</strong> the Committee drew up guidingprinciples along with policies andprocedures for implementation whichwere conveyed to all parishes in 2011.Having completed its work, the ParishReview Committee was succeeded bythe Implementation Committee in June2011. Its mandate was to examine possibleclusters <strong>of</strong> parishes and to recommendwhether or not a parish should beclosed. The Committee also developeda list <strong>of</strong> practical questions which needto be addressed in the event <strong>of</strong> clusteringor closure.Since September 2012, three clustershave been established:- Amherstview - Amherst Island - Bathin the Central Deanery;- Merrickville - Spencerville - NorthAugusta in the Eastern Deanery;- Westport - Elgin in the NorthernDeanery.2. Property ConditionAssessment and HazardousMaterial AssessmentIn 2012, the Archdiocesan FinanceCommittee recognized the need to assessthe physical condition <strong>of</strong> churches,rectories, and parish halls, and tohelp parishes comply with governmentregulations concerning the management<strong>of</strong> hazardous building materials.This work is now being carried outacross the <strong>Archdiocese</strong>, and we expectEditorialthat we will have the reports in the nearfuture. The condition <strong>of</strong> the buildingsand the costs associated with theirmaintenance are an important part <strong>of</strong>the planning process.3. Participation in theSunday EucharistIn November 2008, a survey wastaken <strong>of</strong> each parish and mission todetermine participation in the SundayEucharist. Approximately18,000 parishionerswere in attendance at Masson the two November weekends thatwere included in the study. This November,we will need to carry out anothersurvey in order to determine ifthere has been any significant changein the last five years.4. Financial Health<strong>of</strong> ParishesIn the past three years, while the OrdinaryRevenue <strong>of</strong> all the parishes hasnot declined, neither has it increasedsignificantly: 2012: 7,317,567; 2011:7,197,870; 2010; 7,199,832.Expenses do increase, at least at therate <strong>of</strong> inflation. Eight <strong>of</strong> our parisheswere in a deficit position in 2012 interms <strong>of</strong> their expenditures and the incomefrom ordinary and extraordinaryrevenue.As I mentioned at the outset, thehealth and growth <strong>of</strong> the Church as theBody <strong>of</strong>Christis whatis paramount.If wefocuson this,perhapssome<strong>of</strong> ourorganizationalissues will improve. However, shiftsin population and the cost <strong>of</strong> maintainingcertain properties require oversightand planning. We expect to ordainsome priests in the next two years, butthis may be <strong>of</strong>fset by he departure <strong>of</strong>other priests – those who are retiring,and others currently on loan to the<strong>Archdiocese</strong> who will be returning totheir home dioceses.I want to thank the members <strong>of</strong> the ImplementationCommittee and the ArchdiocesanFinance Committee for theiradvice and for the work they have doneto help us plan for the future. I alsowant to thank you, the parishioners, foryour understanding and cooperation.+ Brendan M. O’BrienArchbishop <strong>of</strong> <strong>Kingston</strong>ranging from photographing live theatre and danceto writing newspaper columns. One <strong>of</strong> my columnsis called Daytripper, about interesting places andthings to do. The other is called Enchanté; it’s aboutfascinating and interesting people.In some <strong>of</strong> my recent columns, I looked at thosewho work in our educational system.I found a crossing guard, Dan Taft, who is celebratinghis 25th year helping to keep our childrensafe. He’s been standing guard, literally through rainand sleet and snow, for children at Welborne AvenuePublic School since 1988.I wrote a column about a teacher, Brad Douglas,who is on staff at Mother Teresa Catholic School. Itwas a thrill to sit in on his class and see the work he’sdoing. He emphasized that he wanted readers to realizehe was just a teacher doing what all teachers do.In a third story, I wanted to look at those who workin the administrative side <strong>of</strong> education, so I chosea principal. I wrote about Wayne Hill, principal <strong>of</strong>Regiopolis-Notre Dame Catholic School.Despite the many challenges presented by the modernworld, including keeping up-to-date with technologicaladvances and dealing with bureaucratic demandsand governments changing contacts, teachersand others in the field keep doing what they do best:helping develop the mind and character <strong>of</strong> each childsitting in a classroom.I think Wayne Hill said it best: “We have some verytalented teachers. They find all the things that make akid special. They bring out the unique gifts. They doit every year. They’ll do it again next year. It’s sucha blessing to work with the kind <strong>of</strong> people that I do.”As for students, Mr. Hill noted: “This generationis so prepped, so generous and so committed to socialjustice. I feel very secure that the future is in thehands <strong>of</strong> kids who have gone to my school.”Our educators give me hope. Our students give mehope. Two students who hosted a run to honour thevictims <strong>of</strong> the Boston Marathon bombing and a `Grade 8 student who cares about the people <strong>of</strong> Haitigive me hope.The rebirth <strong>of</strong> the St. Daniel’s Church building (seepage 9), which was destroyed by fire a little over ayear ago, brings me hope and joy.Now if I can just get it through my head that it’s notmy job to create saints.Mark Bergin, EditorSubmission GuidelinesArticles should be e-mailed as unformatted Word “.doc” attachments.Photos should be e-mailed in “.jpg” format in a size <strong>of</strong> at least .5 Mb.(No family birth, anniversary or death announcements)Deadlines:September 6, <strong>2013</strong>November 15, <strong>2013</strong> (Christmas issue)March 21, 2014 (Easter issue)Circulation: 12,000Our market includes the cities <strong>of</strong> <strong>Kingston</strong>, Belleville, Brockvilleand Smiths Falls. Southeastern Ontario from Trenton in the westto Morrisburg in the east, north to Carleton Place.
By Aidan Joyceam silent so the children can be heard.I This year, on April 18, I took a vow <strong>of</strong> silencewith Free the Children to raise awareness and moneyfor the people in Haiti. The vow <strong>of</strong> silence representsthe people in Haiti who have no voice. Nobody willlisten to them and they are being ignored.To raise awareness for the vow <strong>of</strong> silence, my mommade t-shirts; one has the words, “I am loud but onApril 18th I will be silent.” The other one has thewords, “I am silent.” I wore that one on the day thatI took the vow <strong>of</strong> silence.My vow <strong>of</strong> silence took place on April 18 for 24hours. I first heard about the vow <strong>of</strong> silence from mycousin who also did it. Once I signed up online, Iwrote a letter to our principal, Mr. Calcafuoco, at OurLady <strong>of</strong> Mount Carmel, explaining my mission andwhere the money was going: clean water and sanitationin Haiti. This meant a lot to me, because I haveseen what people have to do to get water every day,like walk five miles. The quality <strong>of</strong> the water they getis disgusting. Nobody should have to go through thatevery day just to get a drink.Mr. Calcafuoco read the letter and made sure that itgot sent home with every student. Basically, the lettersaid that I was going to take a vow <strong>of</strong> silence onApril 18 and explained how the money was going tobe used and that if you wanted to help my cause youcould do that by simply bringing in any change thatyou had in your house and that it would be greatlyappreciated.After that, all I could do was sit and wait for thatday to come. Slowly but surely that day came. ThatPhoto by Mark BerginCaitlyn MacDonald, left, and Riley DaCosta organized arun at Our Lady <strong>of</strong> Mount Carmel Catholic School in support<strong>of</strong> those who were killed and injured in the BostonMarathon bombings.was it, a full day <strong>of</strong> silence. As soon asI got to school that day, everybody triedto make me talk, but I wouldn’t budge. Ispent the whole day in silence, which washard, but I managed to do it. In the hallwayseach teacher was smiling at me. Idon’t know whether it was because I wasdoing such a good thing or it was just becausethey didn’t have to hear me for awhole day. That must have been heavenfor them as I am very talkative.The hard part was when I got home,because it was the day before my brotherFrankie’s birthday, so my cousins and mygrandma were over and I couldn’t talk tothem either.Finally, the next day we got to count themoney. I was really excited to see howmuch I raised. We stayed after schooland added it all up with Mr. Calcafuoco.The grand total came to $481.81. I wasso happy that everybody helped. This justgoes to show that when you are passionateabout something one person can make adifference.I did some research and found out that $25 providesa person with clean, fresh water for life withouthaving to walk five miles to get it. So if you do themath, that’s about 20 people who now have fresh waterfor life. So I didn’t just change one person’s life;I changed 20.I would like to thank all the people who helped meaccomplish my mission and supported me: my mom<strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2013</strong> Journey Page 3Our Lady <strong>of</strong> Mount Carmelstudents set a good exampleNine-year-olds <strong>of</strong>fer moral support to the victims<strong>of</strong> the Boston Marathon terrorist attackOur names are Riley DaCosta and Caitlyn Mac-Donald, and we set up a run program in memory<strong>of</strong> the Boston Marathon runners who were hurtand killed on April 5.The run took place on April 23 at Our Lady <strong>of</strong>Mount Carmel Catholic School during our lunchrecess.We organized the run because we were concernedabout the people who got hurt and killed when thebombs went <strong>of</strong>f in Boston. We wanted other studentsto remember these innocent people and howterrible this act was.We first asked our teacher and principal for permissionto do this. Then we put up posters and madean announcement over the PA system telling the studentsabout the run and where to meet.We met at our swingset at 12:10 and hadstudents run until 12:50. We used our crosscountrymethod <strong>of</strong> keeping track <strong>of</strong> laps. Wegave each student a popsicle stick each timethey passed the start point, completing a lap.Our goal was 267 laps, one lap for each runner injuredor killed by the bombing, but the students didbetter than that and we counted 541 laps, double ourgoal.We were happy and surprised by the turnout. Happybecause lots <strong>of</strong> kids came. Surprised because wereached way over our goal! We were very impressedwith the number <strong>of</strong> Grade 1 students who participated.Student uses silenceas a tool for changeWe plan on holding the run again next year onApril 21, 2014, on the date <strong>of</strong> the real marathon, inmemory <strong>of</strong> this tragedy. We hope that the run will bea success, too, and that God will watch over the hurtand killed people. So will we!Teacher’s (Patti-Ann Whalen) Comment: Thisevent was completely organized by Riley and Caitlyn.The only thing they asked me for was permission.They approached our principal, Mr. Calcafuoco,with a letter explaining their event and put upposters to advertise it. They wrote up announcementsthanking the students for their participation, reportedthe results and even mentioned the Grade 1 studentswho came out to run. This initiative was on the heels<strong>of</strong> Aidan Joyce’s “Vow <strong>of</strong> Silence”. There were a lot<strong>of</strong> similarities in the process Aidan went through tobring his vow to the attention <strong>of</strong> schoolmates.I know this empathy started in these students’homes, but as you can see it has been internalizedand is a living example for other students and staff atOur Lady <strong>of</strong> Mount Carmel Catholic School in Amherstview.In our school, it starts with our principal,but that’s a whole other story!Editorial note: I have obtained permission fromCaitlyn and Riley (and their parents) to forward thisstory to the organizers <strong>of</strong> the Boston Marathon andto some <strong>of</strong> the victims. I am hoping that the support<strong>of</strong>fered by people like Caitlyn MacDonald and RileyDaCosta will bring some joy to the victims <strong>of</strong> thisterrible attack.– Mark Bergin, EditorPhoto by Mark BerginAidan Joyce, a Grade 8 student at Our Lady <strong>of</strong> Mount Carmel CatholicSchool, through a day <strong>of</strong> silence, raised funds to help provide freshwater to people in Haiti.and dad, Kimm and Frank Joyce; my brother and sister,Frankie and Hope Joyce; my principal, Mr. Calcafuoco;my teacher, Mrs. Carlin-Adam; and all myclassmates, staff and students who donated money tohelp the children in Haiti.Thank you all for your support and time.Aidan Joyce is a Grade 8 student at Our Lady <strong>of</strong>Mount Carmel Catholic School in Amherstview,Ontario
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