HISTORY OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD PASTORAL UNIT
With the anticipated creation of the new pastoral unit consisting of three parishes - St. Anne's, Emyvale (ext 1851), St. Martin of Tours, Cumberland (est 1868), and St. Francis of Assisi, Cornwall (est 1977) a committee was formed and were presented with the challenge and privilege of creating a name for the unit. Over the coming weeks they were invited to engage thoughtfully and imaginatively in this important process. All suggested names were shortlisted to three by a committee of the unit pastoral council and presented to the Bishop (Grecco) for approval in the spring. Each of the individual church buildings would retain their current name.
So what's in a name? On a personal level our name means everything. Our whole identity is linked to the name that most if not all of us are given at birth. It is especially from that moment of receiving a name that each of us began a personal and unique life journey to make a positive difference in the world and to change history. So also it is with choosing a name for our pastoral unit, a name that would serve to capture what we are about as a church community, our spiritual identity and our mission. The opportunity to create a name can also remind us of where we have come from and to help us to continue to work together to promote unity and peace in our world. As with our personal journey, so too with our collective journey, the creation and naming of our pastoral unit provided a unique opportunity to make history for many generations to come.
Ideally the committee wanted a name that was inclusive and that had theological, scriptural and/or religious relevance. For obvious reasons names of pastoral units already taken such as Holy Family, St. Benedict, Holy Trinity, John Paul II, and Bishop MacEachern will not be duplicated. Sources of inspiration for a name can come from many places, including the patron saints of our parishes. A snap-shot into the lives of our patrons and the very different times and places they lived out their faiths, reveals that many of the qualities they demonstrated and the life missions they embraced were remarkably similar.
HISTORY OF OUR CHURCHES
St. Francis Of Assisi
St. Francis of Assisi grew up in a prosperous cloth merchant family in Assisi, Italy in the late 1100's; he gave up his possessions to work with the poor and the outcasts, especially the lepers. His entire life was guided by simplicity and humility. He was a joyful person who loved people and nature. He dedicated much of his life to promoting respect and appreciation for the environment, especially birds and animals, and to this day St. Francis is considered the patron saint of ecology. St. Francis was guided by a deep love for God and everything God created. He was also a troubadour who wrote many hymns and prayers and knew the joys that music brings to the world. One of his deepest spiritual experiences was when he heard the call to renew the church. In the beginning he thought the Lord meant for him to repair a building. However, he soon realized through prayer and reflection that this was not the care for buildings but God's people. Francis was moved to embrace the poor and outcast in the person of a leper. He preached the gospel to all who would listen and embraced an intense prayer life as a hermit while building a new community which continues to this day.
St. Anne’s
St. Anne was born and raised in Bethlehem and became a devoted wife to Joachim, a shepherd from Nazareth in Galilee. After more than 20 years with no children, their prayers were answered and Anne gave birth to a baby daughter and called her Mary. Mary was later chosen to be the mother of the Christ. As a wife and mother Anne's days were long with the household chores and caring for the needs of her family (this was top priority). Like the Jewish women of her day, she took on the added responsibilities of raising their animals, gardening and harvesting. She cherished the special time with her daughter when she was a little girl. St. Anne was a loving grandmother to Mary's son Jesus as he grew up in Jerusalem and it is believed that Jesus was with her when she died. It is also believed that when Mary Magdalene, Lazarus, Martha and other friends of Jesus crossed the Mediterranean Sea to spread the news of His death and resurrection through Southern France, they brought with them the remains of Anne and had a Bishop bury them there. Today St. Anne is a patron in many places including Quebec and also for grandmothers throughout the Christian world. She is the patron saint of the 37 Mi'kmaq First Nations throughout Atlantic Canada. Anne, like St.Francis and St. Martin, is associated with the qualities of caring, wisdom and kindness well into her old age, as well as living a full life of simplicity, devotion and dedication.
St. Martin
St. Martin of Tours came from a well-to-do Roman military family and to no one's surprise joined the army at 15 years of age. At 18, he chose to be baptized and as he took on the challenge of living out his Christian Faith he realized he could no longer continue fighting. His vision of a world of peace and harmony was an attribute that would be picked up by St. Francis of Assisi much later. From his teenage years, Martin began sharing what he had with the poor. One of the most famous and symbolic stories around St. Martin was his decision to cut his officer's cloak in half to give it to a poor beggar who had nothing to keep him warm. St. Martin was released from military service after enduring abuse and ridicule in the army. He then dedicated his life to working with the poor, building churches, and winning converts. He lived like a hermit in his later years even after he became a bishop, and when he died at 81 years of age in the year 387CE he was buried at his own request, in the Cemetery of the Poor in Tours, France. Soldiers, tailors and innkeepers all recognize St. Martin as their patron today.