ASSOCIATE RELATIONSHIP
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Associates are lay women and men, both married and single, who wish to have a relationship with the Sisters of St. Martha of Prince Edward Island with a view to living a deeper Christian life while maintaining their present state of life in the world.
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Associates bring an additional dimension to the congregational charism and ministry through their involvement in the temporal affairs of their lives. Their witness of Gospel values reaches into the home as well as the social, political, and economic realities of their civic and Church communities.
Associates meet once a month from September till June for prayer, formation and fellowship and are encouraged to set aside a day for retreat each year.
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Associates may participate in the ministry of the Sisters as opportunities arise. Some already are engaged in programs at the Spirituality Centre, volunteering at SAFE and helping out at Burke's’ Welcome Shoppe, visiting and supporting our Syrian Ishmael family...(ministries). Others commit to visiting the sick and shut in Associates, Sisters and church members.
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Associates elect their own directors and the congregation appoints Sisters to journey with Associates. The present co-directors are Eileen Clow, Mary MacLean and Sr. Gemma Dunn with Everett Stewart, Anita McGuigan, Sr. Lauretta White and Sr. Debbie Peters serving on an Executive team.
Associates plan an annual Memorial Ritual and Mass each fall for deceased Associates and Sisters of that year. This is an opportunity for Associates and Sisters to pray together and meet and greet.
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Associates support Anderson House, an emergency shelter and home for abused women and their children. They financially support a boy Evang Mutelkia Gatobu in Kenya (since he was 12 years old) through Chalice Adopt a Child.
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STATEMENT OF CHARISM
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We Associates of the Sisters of St. Martha,
respond to the call of Jesus as St. Martha did in a spirit of simplicity, attentiveness and hospitality serving the needs of the Church.
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Associates July 17, 2016
Co-Directors 2019 Mary MacLean, Eileen Clow, and Sister Gemma Dunn
ARCAN 2019
ARCAN (Atlantic Religious Congregation Associate Network) consists of Associates and Sisters from congregations in Atlantic Canada. ARCAN was founded in 2002 to support the relationship between Associates and Sisters. This committee meets twice a year in Halifax to deepen and enliven the mission of ARCAN.
Our present ARCAN representatives are Mary MacLean and Sheila MacDonald.
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ARCAN endeavours to host two Atlantic gatherings for Associates and Sisters – one in Halifax and one in Newfoundland every two or three years.
To Read the June 2021
ARCAN Newsletter click on the Edge image
To Read the February 2021
ARCAN Newsletter click on the Rose image
To Read the May 2020
ARCAN Newsletter click on the ARCAN Logo image
For the August 2020 ARCAN Newsletter click on the balanced rocks
ARCAN VISION STATEMENT The vision of ARCAN is to be a mutually supportive network of Associates and Sisters in Atlantic Canada living a new and dynamic expression of religious life and spirituality for the 21st century. We inspire to invite one another to a wider embrace of Gospel values and to live a commitment of love in relationship with all creation.
GREETINGS TO CONGREGATION ASSOCIATES IN THE ATLANTIC REGION Greetings to Atlantic Associates & Sisters: As editors of this latest attempt to publish a Newsletter, we asked members to submit articles on how they are coping with the realities Covid19 has brought or on another topic they wanted to share. We received a variety. We hope you enjoy!
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ARCAN MISSION STATEMENT Rooted in Gospel values and inspired by the charisms of each religious congregation the mission of ARCAN is to provide a supportive network committed to adult learning, inclusive actions, embracing diversity, along with an awareness of the new consciousness that all life is sacred and connected