PROVIDENCE

BY SISTER RITA GLEASON
The story of
‘Provident
Woman’ began
with a phone call from
Sister Catherine Cannon,
member of the
Anniversary Committee
inviting me to compose a
song or a poem for the occasion.
Composer Sister Rita Gleason
Sister composes Anniversary song
A short while prior to this phone
call, while I was on the Celtic
Pilgrimage in Ireland, Monica
Brown, facilitator and composer had
asked me if I had ever considered
composing music.
So with Catherine’s invitation, I
thought, maybe I could compose a
song! I sat down at the piano and
started making up this tune for the
Refrain which I felt had a bit of an
Irish lilt to it.
The words of the refrain and the
title are based on the song ‘Valiant
Woman’ by Jane Marie Richardson,
SL — a song based on Proverbs
31:10-31. The words of the Verses
reflect our beginning history and
ministries; our present charism and
mission statement, and our hope for
the future as we continue to trust in
Providence.
I chose a major key for the Refrain
to reflect a joyful celebration of
who we are as Provident women.
Some may be asking why I chose the
words Provident Woman. As we are
celebrating 150 years as a Congregation
I thought of the valiant
Provident women who did the
pioneer work and I wanted to honor
them.
Why Woman and not Women? It is
simply a poetic choice. Like the
singing group called Celtic Woman.
The Verses are in a minor key —
chosen for musical reasons and it
also gives our call a more reflective
tone.
I sought help for the final arrangment
from California -based
composer Jim Raycroftt, the son of
my neighbour. We communicated
via e-mail, and I am very grateful to
him for his contribution and
generosity.
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