Community, Compassion & Connection

Last week our St. Joe’s Café celebrated four years at our new location at 602 Queens Ave in London — and what a celebration it was!

We were honoured to welcome 300+ of our clients for an afternoon BBQ filled with good food, prizes, snow cones, bubbles, laughter and connection. Our guests told us it felt like being at a fair or carnival — a beautiful reminder of the joy that community can bring.

We are constantly humbled by this ministry and incredibly proud of our St. Joe’s Café team - our amazing staff and volunteers who continue to show up week after week.

Thank you to our volunteers, donors, partners, staff and supporters who make this ministry possible. Most of all, thank you to everyone who walks through our doors and makes St. Joe’s Café what it is.

These pictures tell only part of the story. Behind every smile is a relationship, behind every meal is an act of generosity, and behind every successful day at St. Joe’s Café is a community that continues to care. Countless connections, and always a place at the table. 💕

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Rest, Reflect, Refresh: The Gift Of Retreat

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In the middle of your busy day, imagine for a moment a time of quiet on the banks of the beautiful Madawaska River not far from Ottawa or on the lovely shores of Lake Ontario in Cobourg just a short distance from Toronto. The Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada operate two beautiful retreat centres in these locations.

A retreat offers an opportunity to step away for a short time from the “humdrum” pace of everyday life and constant distractions – not as a “running away” but as a time of rest, inner reflection, care and renewal. Retreats provide silence, solitude, clarity in life and spiritual accompaniment. A welcoming space allows us to listen – to listen to God and/or the sacred in life, to our own hearts in joy and in struggle, to the pulse of nature and the world and to ask, “What really matters?”

Corrien Coker, Administrator of Stillpoint House of Prayer says, “For thirty-seven, years, Stillpoint has welcomed retreatants of all faiths. Stillpoint is located along the picturesque shores of the Madawaska River in Burnstown, Ontario. Here retreatants can embrace the silence designed for spiritual renewal and reflection, receive spiritual direction while nourishing the body with simple, meals and refreshment. Stillpoint has five comfortable rooms with private ensuites, along with two apartments situated in an ancient barn equipped with mini kitchens for additional privacy. The main house has a beautiful river view chapel, restful grounds and a well-stocked library for spiritual minds.” Stillpoint House of Prayer, pictured below.

Set on 10 beautiful acres along the shores of Lake Ontario, Villa St. Joseph Ecology and Spirituality Centre in Cobourg (pictured below) , similarly offers a welcome, inclusive of all faith traditions and those too who are more generally spiritual seekers. Retreat opportunities are varied, some completely silent and others with input to help deepen faith and/or life experience. In addition to retreats, the Villa provides workshops in ecological awareness and practice, evening prayers for special feast days of the church, and spiritual and ecological reading groups among other diverse events. Compassionate, non-judgmental spiritual accompaniment is offered. Rooms are comfortable, there is a peaceful chapel and library, and home-cooked meals have been described by retreatants as “love on a plate”.

We invite you to consider a retreat in one of these lovely centres. Come and know deep hospitality, belonging, peace, rest and renewal in these turbulent times. To view or register for our retreats and/or events visit:

- Sister Mary Rowell, CSJ and Corrien Coker, Stillpoint Administrator

Sweet Pea Ministry

When I was asked me to write an article on how ministry has changed for me over the years I immediately thought of my Sweet Pea Ministry which developed quite by chance.

As I reflected on the topic of changed ministry, I realized that the essence of the ministry has not changed but the expression has. The values and skills I used, first as a teacher, then as a Director of a House of Prayer and as a Pastoral Assistant have found new expression as I age. Prayer, presence, listening and encouragement have been central to ministry for me and as I age, they continue to be at the core of my outreach to others.

When I retired, I had all sorts of dreams about what outreach I would do in my "official retirement" as Pastoral Assistant. Then life happened: my only sibling, Roger, was diagnosed with heart problems, I spent time caring for him and then I got cancer and a few years later Roger was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. The journey with Roger was the hardest in my life. as we supported him through death to new life. Life continues and I found myself with more time to reach out to others and that has been most enriching.

Prayer is a large part of my day, and I consider it part of my ministry. Folks often ask me to pray for them and their loved ones. Often, after listening to people and their concerns I ask them if they would like me to pray for them and their loved ones and the answer is always yes. Prayer for our fragile world also is a good part of my prayer time.

Presence to others, looking at them, taking time to listen to their joys and difficulties is integral. I do a lot of that, at stores, in my apartment building and visiting others. I visit folks with dementia and have learned to just be present and to talk with them as we enter in and out of reality.

My Sweet Pea Ministry arose from gardening in garden boxes on the large deck in my apartment building. The first year I moved in I planted sweet peas and shared them with folks. The next year, Diane, who lived down the hall from me and had diabetes, asked me to take over one of her garden boxes and to just plant sweet peas. I was surprised but did what Diane asked. That August when the sweet peas bloomed, I gave Diane the first bouquet. Diane was delighted. Every four days I would pick a fresh bouquet and bring it to her apartment and visit with her.

She enjoyed the fragrant sweet peas so much as she lay in bed with her ulcerated diabetic feet up.  The next year Diane had to move to a care centre. I would visit her there and bring her sweet peas.

Diane died two days after I brought her her last bouquet of sweet peas. Diane asked me to lay them by her pillow so she could take in the fragrance she loved so much. For the last four years I have continued giving bouquets of sweet peas to folks and am always met with delight and sometimes tears from those who receive them and a visit.

Other outreach has developed over the years. After Mass on Sundays, I bring Holy Communion to 91-year-old Nora, and pray and visit with her. I visit the sick in the apartment, in care homes and palliative care and to a mentally ill person on the phone. I lead Liturgy of the Word and Communion Services at one of our large care centres and lead burial services when asked. I do some Spiritual Direction and try to keep in touch with folks, our Sisters included - by phone, email and cards. I find just listening to folks such as friends and store workers, being present to them and giving them encouragement in life's joys and difficulties enriching and am always open to new adventures with folks.

-Sister Lynn Rouleau, CSJ

Image: Annie Spratt/Sixteen Miles Out/Agnese Rudzīte Unsplash