Wednesday 31 December 2014

Gratitude is the Memory of the Heart.

So my wife and I decided to take our two granddaughters  for a Christmas lunch and show at the Famous People Players.  The Famous People Players is a dinner/theatre group set up especially with and for youth and adults who are developmentally challenged.  The meal is cooked, hospitality is provided and the black light theatre is performed by these challenged individuals whose participation in this effort gives them hope, skills and learning and, most, importantly, a sense of value and purpose.  I have been to FPP numerous times but the gift planned for the kids was a gift I received once again.  Truly.

This year they celebrated 40 years of existence.  Their founder, Diane Dupuy, has devoted her entire adult life to this work and clearly believes in the value and worth of each of the young people who come to be with this troupe.

So back to the gift I received.  2014 came rushing over me with memories.  A funny kind of year with new excitements and letting go of old friends.  Horses who have taught me life lessons and exhausted this old body.  Very young Sisters I met in Quito who gave me hope and renewed energy for the mission of Good Shepherd in our world.  Significant friends whose lives were cut short by disease caused me pause about what is most important in the many 'things' we do.  I became somewhat overwhelmed by the many sentiments flashing through my mind...most of those sentiments were of mindful gratitude.  How blessed I have been to have life long friends everywhere.  How fortunate I have been to have crossed paths with folks like Diane Dupuy, Jean Vanier, John Howard Griffin, Tom McKillop, Bob Carty.  And then there is Sam, Larry, Jack, Joe, Ann and Myron,  Frank and Nancy.  Yes there was Irwin, my mentor and, of course my wife Judy, the journey's companion who keeps me honest.  By the end of the show yesterday, I was in tears as the the music to the Impossible Dream played in the background.

Yes I have had my dreams and ideas.  What have we done with those dreams shared in our hearts? Who has helped us achieve them along the way?  Who inspired us to carry on?  What/who made a great impact on you in 2014?  Have we been true to the path we set out on in our own journey?

My dear, dear friend, Rose Virginie Pelletier came through significant trauma and side tracks in her life yet remained steadfast in her commitment to serve others as a nun.  Diane Dupuy is very similar to Rosie in that there is a single minded commitment to get it done.  Rose founded an international congregation of sisters and it expanded around the world.  All the time she never lost touch with the most important value she had embraced.  "That one person is of more value than a world"  And so "always lift them up in their own eyes".   

So the ending of 2014 is a time to feel really grateful for the many friends and loved ones who have kept me on the path.  I am no Rosie or Diane but I had had my shared of dreams and high aspirations. I have been so gifted by all those who have shared the pathways with me....they inspire and challenge me.  What about your pathways this year?  Have you been able to move forward with your own dream ideas?  What has been the most remarkable experience and person in your own life this year?

So let's share a box of tissue, pull up a seat and be mindful;  for what are we most grateful?

Sunday 21 December 2014

Have Yourself A Very Mindful Christmas

It was, indeed, a very long time ago when like most youth, I was trying to find my way.  I was searching for what I was meant to do and didn't have the slightest idea.  It was then that I came to Toronto to study Theology at U. of T.  It was then that I met the likes of Bob Carty and Tom McKillop, a couple of men who had an incredible influence on my life and yet-to-be-determined journey.  In that first year of meeting them, I had the wonderful opportunity to attend an event they had planned at Massey Hall in Toronto featuring two heroes of our times,  Jean Vanier and Mother Teresa.

Bob opened the night with some beautifully inspiring music and then Jean Vanier spoke.  Wow it was really powerful.  Then came this diminutive nun who had started a religious order of nuns in India, "to serve the poorest of the poor" and now she was in North America to arrange to send her sisters, as missionaries to the U.S..  "How do these places compare, what do they hold in common?", I asked myself.  Then came the most resounding statement I have ever heard.  This little, humble nun said with the greatest certainty of her faith, "I come here to serve the poorest of the poor, because the greatest poverty of all is LONELINESS!"

From that moment in 1971, Christmas has never been the same.. At times I have struggled with the superficial contradiction between the spiritual essence we celebrate and the gift-giving, commercial part of the holiday.  It has caused me often to remember with some pain (and guilt) that there are many folks who have absolutely no one to share Christmas with.  They are, indeed, the most lonely and therefore so poor (even as some live in their fine condos).

For me the wondrous resolution of this tension has been to remember in some special ways those who are most lonely during this time of the year and, in addition, to embrace with profound gratitude the cherished friends and family that I do have.  The greatest gift we give one another is really ourselves.  So while I will enjoy the new toys, sweaters, etc.  the happiest part of this season is being with those I love and who love me.  Turning off the technology could help us focus on time for and with one another.  Singing some songs, whispering some pertinent prayers, perhaps saying thanks to a cherished friend or partner may just spark a deeper bond. 

Being mindful of one another, including those who are alone, does nothing less than help us to remind ourselves why this season came to be in the first place.
A Baby is born in Bethlehem, and Mary, did you know he was the great 'I AM'!

So have yourself a very mindful Christmas!

Monday 1 December 2014

The Heart of the Things that Matter

There has been some time passed since my last blog.....My wife had a heart attack and, needless to say, this has been a profound event in our lives.  I am happy to report that Judy is doing very well and being a good girl following the doctors' directions and rehab follow up.  BUT THIS BLOG IS NOT ABOUT MY WIFE'S HEART ATTACK!

The events that surrounded this are really significant.  While dealing with our family crisis, I had occasion to spend many hours in waiting rooms at the hospital....Trillium -Mississauga to be precise.  They have one of three specialized cardiac units there and they did a grand job of their work on behalf of my wife.  Herein lies the heart of the matter.

While in those waiting rooms my eyes and mind would always wander and inevitably, as I am want to do, I found my way to their posted vision, mission and value statements.  I am a mission oriented person and my work calls me to focus on this constantly.  So, here I went looking at their statement and wondering to myself, "Do they live it?"

Since I truly believe that the most important part of these statements is the expressions of what an organization values, that is the place I go to.  That is the place where, 'The rubber hits the road!'  So in my own way, I set out to assess the work of the doctors, nurses, maintenance etc. and how they all fulfill their values statements.  What I found was truly inspiring.

At Trillium they espouse the values of  Compassion, Excellence and Courage.  In our dealings with their staff we were treated with the kindest, warmest and supportive relationships.  (I must admit, I was shocked never having experienced such in other hospital settings, especially in Emerg.)  The level of hospitality and the establishment of compassionate relationships with both my wife and myself gave us great confidence at a critical time.  

I listened to a doctor explain heartbreaking news to a couple whose father was in his final stage of life due to a severe stroke.  The doctor's courage to be honest, forthright and tender with this couple almost brought me to tears.  Judy's cardiologist came to apologize to her thinking he missed the blockages she had in two arteries....and yet he had not neglected to test for these.  Once found, she was on her way to recovery and while humbled, he had not played God.  The professionalism of this staff was truly beyond reproach.

I could ramble on with praise and other examples where the maintenance staff were warm and smiling, cleaning up routinely around patients with the joy of providing warm hospitality.  Just remarkable!

This all hit home to me in a different way.  In my work and training, I always talk about how that which our organizations value must be integrated into the very fibre of our work, our personal presentation with clients, and in the DNA of our agency practice and policy.  During this experience I was on the receiving end as a consumer of service and felt the vibrance of values well lived out professionally.  It has caused me to renew my own commitment to living our values as people who are the service providers through Good Shepherd.   This has caused me to reflect on the ways that I demonstrate how much I value a certain passion(Zeal) for this work;  what are the little ways that my professional presentation is one of compassion for our people (both clients and staff);  how do I show that I really value each individual person?  Will I have the courage to seek reconciliation knowing more intimately my own vulnerabilities in the face of others or in challenging times?

I guess it can be inspiring to see glowing, well articulated mission and value statements on the walls of our agencies;  but, really the heart of what matters most is how we make those statements alive in our own work and relationships.  Thank you, Trillium, for renewing my own faith in the possibilities that this can be REAL everywhere!

Thursday 25 September 2014

R.I.P. Bob Carty - More Than Meets the Eye!

Bob Carty was an old friend.  We had not seen much of one another for a long time but we had shared work, living together and dreams when I had hair and he had a gorgeous beard!  Bob died this week after a long battle with cancer.  Some would say that Bob was an incredibly successful radio documentary journalist; some called him a talented singer, songwriter whose music brought people together within the genre I liked to call folk music at its best.  He won more awards than one could imagine as a journalist with CBC; he had a significant following of his fun loving, justice-oriented music and had an engaging, dynamic personality that afforded most of us to love him, even from afar!  Okay, so why, beside my personal sense of loss would I blog about this man?

Bob Carty was not part of our Good Shepherd Network....but Bob was a Shepherd like no other.  Bob and I shared intense moments and experiences together 40 years ago but that journey shared is as fresh today as it was then.  He modeled an incredible dedication to study and research yet spurned formal education.  He critiqued his Church strongly but nurtured his profound faith always.  He had a sense of urgency for justice for the poor and a dedication to work for changing oppressive systems everywhere.  Within it all, Bob had an easy going, steady and consistent way of teaching and inspiring goodness, confidence and competence in others like few others can demonstrate.  

Bob Carty inspired a consistent commitment to reflective practice...he always reviewed his own and his team's work.  He taught others about the value of situating ourselves in front of the circumstance we would encounter, the people we would meet or address, knowing that the best place to start is always where THEY are at. This sensitive awareness is what made him so engaging with others and allowed him to lead the rest of us to a deeper place.

After all is said and done, I don't think I will remember what awards he won;  I will not ever remember what was the first or last song he ever wrote.  I will always remember how it felt to share a piece of our mutual journey, our growth as persons, our learning about the world and this complex life we live.  And how this felt was truly life giving, profoundly more than words can capture.  I am a better person today for having known him.  

So my friend, the award-winning journalist and the folk singing troubadour, has left this human journey.  But his legacy is an intimate, personal witness to self reflection, changing oneself as one works to change systems and knowing that each one of us has a special gift to leave to this world.  

How many of us have had a special person in our life who found the goodness in us?  Surely, we have had that one person....so what did they reveal to you?  What is that special gift you have?  Go find it, nurture it, share it and, in time, leave it.  Thanks, Bob, for the profound gift you have left us.

Friday 5 September 2014

What Happens in Quito Should NOT stay in Quito!

Last week I had the immense privilege to join with 65 Good Shepherd Sisters and 10 other Mission Partners to participate in the month long Intercontinental Assembly of the Americas.  The participants were all representative of Countries across South, Central and North America.  I met some truly amazing women (and a few good men) who energetically engaged in study and dialogue (I mean DIALOGUE!) about the risks they need to take for Mission.....their mission.  These meetings are in preparation for next year's International Meetings in June.  This is a called their general chapter where every six years the sisters determine new leadership for the congregation which operates in 72 countries;  they will also determine how they will choose to live out their spiritual and active participation in ways to live their lives of extraordinary commitment and will make adjustments in their governance.  

Equally and perhaps most importantly, the Sisters make determinations about future directions in their embrace of the mission of Good Shepherd and how they should live their commitment to furthering the great work of compassion, service of the poor, reconciliation and advocacy for those who lives leave them on the margins of society.  Throw in many moments for spiritual reflection and prayer and the recipe for inspiration is complete.

In Quito I met many really fine leaders with an abundance of courage, sensitivity and competence.  I also met a people who love to celebrate and party as passionately as they bring love and healing to the world.  I met younger sisters, some who could easily be my daughters, who humbled me with their insight, bravery and integrity of soul in their singular desire to serve the world.  If they are a sampling of the rest of this international group, the future is indeed hopeful and in good hands.

I also met a sampling of mission partners....lay folks like you and me.  Folks who are professionally trained and equally passionate about the core mission and values of Good Shepherd.  They are a formidable group of leaders who are committed to support the rest of us to embody those core values in the way we work and view the world both professionally and personally.  Their voice, their input and their insights were sought throughout the week and their input will also be represented at the general chapter meetings next year.  

These experiences, this dialogue could easily be the start of something really new and challenging for everyone....or they could be the world's best kept secret!  Let's not stop here!  Let's keep the conversation going.  Like to know more?  Let me know.  I have nothing to hide from my wondrous experience in Quito, Equador!

Wednesday 13 August 2014

So You Work in a Faith-Based Agency

Many of my friends and colleagues find themselves working in social service agencies that were founded by religious women like the Sisters of the Good Shepherd; programmes all across North America and, indeed, around the world.  For many of them this has been a source of resonance with their own values and beliefs.  It has been comfortable to know that people like the Sisters ‘had their back’ in the way they believed clients they serve should be treated.  The modelling of values like dignity, healing relationships, individual worth and compassionate care by the Sisters encouraged and helped to inform the environment within which they worked.  For some, ‘this has been a job made in heaven’.
Today most of those same agencies do not have the physical presence of those founding partners to inspire the work.  And yet these same agencies espouse the heritage legacy of the Sisters, et al.  Some of my colleagues now complain that their agency is losing that informed and inspired environment.  Herein lies the question.  Are faith-based programs or inspired environments solely dependent of those founding models being present?  One has heard so many persons of great wisdom including the likes of Mahatma Ghandi, Martin Luther King, Mother Teresa, etc. share that the grandest challenge of life is not so much in changing the world but in changing ourselves.  If the work environment we have chosen to spend our professional lives in is important enough, then how do we individually address how we might become those who inspire and inform that environment.  Perhaps we might even help create a work environment that is more informed and more inspired than what the founders had envisioned.
I would dare say that even organizations that are not faith-based but which were founded by truly inspired persons in their field go through similar challenges when the founder, finally let’s go of control.  Some of them get caught in the cycle of ‘Founders Syndrome’ and can actually get stuck, or worse, lose ground and momentum in their business due to the challenge of making this transition.  One of our agencies in the Good Shepherd network has adopted a guiding principle for all of their strategic planning cycles.  It simply reads, “Proud of Our Heritage, Defining Our Future.”  It has helped them not to get stuck in the past while embracing all things new based on the heritage principles they have been taught.
Whatever the principles we have been gifted with, the operative questions for each of us are, ‘How can I make these my own in the way I conduct myself professionally?’  What is it I can do to add value to my organization?  Do I have some creative juices and ideas to contribute and will I exercise the courage to share these with others in the agency and with the ‘brass’?  If I have already discovered the core strengths that exist in my agency, how can I make them more identifiable?  What activities would help to nurture these core strengths?  And if I were to dream about making this work the work of my dreams, what might I personally contribute to the agency?  How can I inspire deeper team collaboration?  Is there some area of interest that I could give some extra time to (Staff wellness, outdoor education or peer groups for both staff and clients)?

Do you still believe in the work of your agency?  Is this work still a source of meaning and purpose in your personal and professional life? Then nurture that faith; nurture that purpose.  Nurture your peers and leaders because we know that there are those assigned certain leadership roles but so many more real leaders within the rank ‘n file of every agency.  Be the change you wish to make, be the spirit you wish to enjoy, be the agency you wish to see as alive and well.  That reality is dependent on you not the founders.  Your founders left you a ‘gift’.   The sisters call that gift their charism…….use it yourself!  For those founded by Good Shepherd ask, How can I be more Good Shepherd?  However you define the gift you have been given, make it your own!

Friday 6 June 2014

Making and Risking Connections

One of the most valued parts of my work with our Good Shepherd Agencies across Canada and into the U.S. is the opportunity that is presented to foster inter-agency communication.  This week I had the privilege of sharing some time with our friends at Maryvale Adolescent and Family Services in Windsor, Ontario.  They were celebrating Heritage week and coincidentally their 85th anniversary of their founding by the Sisters of the Good Shepherd.  The Sisters are no longer physically present but their spirit, their passion and zeal remains in the very fibre of the agency.  It is always a joy to spend time with them but especially this year which has been particularly challenging due to financial cutbacks from the government of Ontario and resulting lay offs.  Hard not to go to the dark side of cynicism when such events happen and friends lose their jobs!

Nonetheless, I found the same enriching spirit when it came to what their wonderful staff do with the youth they serve everyday.  We all know that our kids watch everything we do and pick up on all of our sentiments and sensitivities.  They reflect back to us how we present to them.  Well yesterday, during their closing ceremonies, the youth at Maryvale were truly appreciative of the Good Shepherd awards given to one female and one male peer.  Afterwards I had the privilege of helping to handout ice cream in the remembrance garden on a beautiful Spring day and there was not a single youth or adult who neglected to say 'thank you' when they received their treat.  That, my friends, is not an accident!  Many kudos to all the adults and young people of Maryvale for contributing to a Good Shepherd culture.

Then I had a great chance to chat with the clinical director who continues to explore how they may deepen their own capacity to enrich therapeutic relationships with all of their youth.  As they further explore the foundational elements of trauma informed care and resilience, she expressed a very keen desire to connect with her counterparts in our other Good Shepherd programs who are also working on the implementation of trauma and resilience treatment in their work.  Not unlike other agencies, Maryvale has its own style and preferences on how best to implement change and it is always very easy to stay within the safe environment of 'home' and not risk hearing about what others do or sharing what we are currently working on.  Maybe it is protectiveness or fear or whatever?  But here was this leader saying to me, "Bob, can you help me to connect with the new clinical director in Winnipeg?  Please send me information about the workshop coming up in Winnipeg in September.  I want to hear more from Stacey in Halifax about how they are working with the educational system in ensure a seamless transition in the public schools there."  Guess I now have more work to do in facilitating these connections.  I do so with a dance of joy knowing that the real risk, the real challenge is not mine but theirs!  I do so also knowing that the generous spirit that exists within each of these persons will provide the support, advice and honest sharing about challenges that they each so richly deserve.  

Sometimes we miss these golden opportunities even within our own agencies.  Taking the risk to openly share ideas and dreams and experiments with one another just might be the most valuable effort we make this month.  Besides it beats the heck out of cynical gossip around the water cooler!

Risk it!

Wednesday 28 May 2014

Being the Best that We Can Be!

There may be lots of adjectives that might be used in my epitaph but one of them will not be 'an academic'!  Normally, you will not hear me talk often about reading research that resulted in a book and strongly recommend that book to you.  But this day will be different!

As many of our colleagues address the issues related to the provision of residential care for children and youth, and how best to do this within our Good Shepherd service philosophy, I have come to desire more learning about how trauma and resilience fit into that quest.  I have come to learn with them that the women who have inspired this service philosophy have been themselves inspired  by  the compelling life of their founder, Sr. Mary Euphrasia-Pelletier.  I will likely have much more to say about this in future posts and in a workshop currently being prepared about the role of trauma and resilience in the life of Mary Euphrasia.  I hope to present this workshop in the Fall.

Meanwhile I have discovered the work of a group of 'academics’ from Cornell University who, amazingly, have gifted us with their comprehensive book  "Children and Residential Experiences".  Published by the Child Welfare League of America and authored by Martha J. Holden, et al. the book is actually written in clear 'English' beautifully sensitive to the concrete thinking of most of us committed to youth care work.  In this writing, and between the lines, I have discovered the wonderful wisdom and clarity of Mary Euphrasia partnered, if you will, with numerous current experts in the field of looking after children in residential care. With integrity, there is a clear commitment to the principles of trauma informed care and resilience.

One of the bonuses I found in the lay-out of the chapters is that they lend themselves to chapter-focused study and reflection for teams in residential care to assist the development of reflective practice.  Taking individual chapters to study and discuss in team meetings might be a helpful process for a small group of care providers to collectively work on deepening their skills and abilities.  This written work calls us toward a practice that finds youth care workers developing themselves through purposeful reflection and feedback in order to use themselves differentially in important relationships with young people. Equally the rich content advises how best to structure programs, activities and individual therapeutic relationships using engaging language to help young people feel included, accepted and empowered to contribute to their own safety and future development.

Get my gist?  I truly love this work and strongly recommend it to any of you seriously interested in deepening your own sense of competence. Likewise, the reflective practitioner will want to learn more how this all relates to being more 'Good Shepherd' in our work with young people.  And if some of you wonder what I mean about being more 'Good Shepherd' in the work, then send your comments, ideas and questions by commenting below.  I can write all day on this and would like to help clarify the subject.


Children and Residential Experiences,  by Martha J. Holden, et al.  can be found and ordered through Amazon. ca.

Sunday 4 May 2014

A View from the Trenches

I recently made a decision to tell some stories once a month.  For those of you who follow this blog, it is quite likely that you are within our network of Good Shepherd service providers who know the visionary woman who founded the Sisters of the Good Shepherd.  She was Sr. Mary Euphrasia-Pelletier, a woman ahead of her time, yet very much in the moment in the way she related to the real life challenges she encountered. She lived 180 years ago.   Having come to know her over the last 12 years has been like making a new friend and companion.  In some ways many of her stories have inspired me in my work and they have made her a mentor of sorts to my participation in this work.  I will share stories with a twist hoping to make those past ‘old’ stories relate to our current reality.


I am sitting on the plane on my way home from Winnipeg and I have just completed a week of visiting with my respected colleagues who have recently had one of their leaders suddenly leave the program.  The depth of sadness and wondering within this group of caregivers seemed, at times, to be insurmountable.  How can their loss of a trusted and admired colleague and leader be digested?  Still in the throes of a tragic loss of one of their youth, the trauma of this loss is yet another setback and obstacle to sustaining their undivided care for their kids.  Typically, some feel this much more strongly than others.  Nonetheless, the upset of a significant change within the ranks of an important influence in the agency can have an immense impact.  It is hard for some to just do business as usual.

I recall a time in the early days of the founding of the congregation, when Mary Euphrasia was receiving innumerable women who would join the religious congregation dedicating their lives as nuns serving young women most disdained in society at that time.  As her young sisters were going through their individual formation, one young sister really stood out as bright, creative and a person with incredible leadership potential.  At the completion of her formation, Mary Euphrasia did the unusual in promoting her into a trusted leadership position.  This young sister was truly a star among all the dedicated young sisters who were becoming members of the congregation.  Mary Euphrasia thought that she wanted to really help this young sister achieve all of her potential and placed in her an unusually important position of trust. As time went on, Mary Euphrasia perhaps lived with a certain degree of guilt and remorse for having placed a young woman in such an important position ahead of her time.  Was this a strategic mistake?  Was this fair?  It certainly was irresistible given this young sister’s gifts. 

After a while, Mary Euphrasia learned that her trust had been betrayed and, not only that, but this young sister was leaving the congregation instead of reconciling her differences.  Mary Euphrasia’s  approach to this was both typical and extraordinary.  She was angry and challenged this young woman, pointed out her breach and yet wanted her to learn to make personal changes and be responsible to both herself and others.  Perhaps she also felt that remorse cited above for placing this young sister into a position of trust and responsibility before her time.  When the young sister left the community, Mary Euphrasia kept in touch with her and at one point offered to welcome her back in a spirit of reconciliation.  For Mary Euphrasia, the most important thing she kept in mind was her mission, her call to be a person who would model her life after the spirit of the Good Shepherd who left the 99 in search for the one lost sheep.  So she put aside and tempered her own emotions, anger and personal needs to focus on what was best in the larger scheme of things.  She let go of the pain and anger, of her own need to seek ‘justice’ and got back to work(if you will).  The incredible strength and determination it must have taken to refocus her energies and perspective.    What humility it must have taken to look only at what mattered most, i.e. serving the young women who arrived on her doorstep.  Even this estranged young sister would be welcomed back and forgiven if she could share in the unconditional commitment to the service of their young women.

How does one do this without getting either too soft or too hard with others?  How does one find a way to let go of our own stuff to reclaim our energies and commitment with the youth we serve?  I do not have an easy answer but I do know it is possible.  I have witnessed friends and colleagues at other times gracefully let go of deep hurt and anger and refocus their energies on their purpose.  When some things were huge obstacles they found ways to build tunnels instead of fences; when some hurts were ‘unforgivable’, they found ways to let go; when some losses seemed impossible to overcome, they challenged themselves to move ahead and live life anew.   

Thursday 24 April 2014

Youth Is Wasted on the ‘OLD’ - The Voice of Youth

I love young people!  There, I said it!  For me they nurture my life spirit and the more they tell me where to go (in no uncertain terms), the more I feel drawn in by them.  These days there are so many mixed feelings running through my person.  Remembering my child welfare days where youth taught me so much about what it feels like to be in care.  I remember the heart-warming moments when a cherished colleague said, “Youth must have their own voice and we need to ensure their voice is heard.”

You know some of us have been around the block a few times.  A few of us even think that youth nowadays are beyond us.  The basic truth is that young people essentially are who they are yesterday, today and tomorrow.  We adults, on the other hand, are the product of the values, beliefs and assumptions we learned long ago about children and youth. (‘Seen….not heard.’  ‘Yours is not to reason why, yours is but to do….and die!’)  Some of those assumptions we were taught are rooted in power and control.  Adults had the power to keep things under control and the young benefited from that by being cared for and kept safe.  Children and youth were essentially powerless.  That’s just the way it was.

Youth in care, given our special consideration of their needs while under our watch, have been telling us new things for years now.  Have we been listening?  Have we acknowledged their courage and insight into what just might be needed by them?  Do we ever take the time to explore with them their hopes, dreams and wishes?  Do we help them to discover their gifts, interests, strengths and plans for their future?  I can remember the powerful impact one young person had on me when he said, “The only time my worker came to visit me was to talk about some problem or to move me to a new home.”  That statement was made over 30 years ago and its impact has never left me.

So maybe this is a good time for renewal!  You know Spring and all.  Maybe this is a good time to ask ourselves some soul searching questions.  Perhaps it is time to renew our study and research about youth engagement and how best to help guide their journey into the future.  Find some moments for yourself to reflect on whether you are a strength-based engager of young people: Do you explore dreams, feelings and hopes with youth?  Do you go for walks with them?  Do you accompany them for no good reason at all…except to just be with them?  Have you worked on your active-listening skills with youth?

Interested in some incredible reminders?  Search out the Provincial Advocate’s Office in Ontario or in your own province or state.  What are they doing to empower youth voices in their own care?  In Ontario our greatly valued colleague, Irwin Elman, is the Provincial Advocate who has surrounded himself with youth in and from care.  Together, these young people held public hearings on improving in-care and leaving care concerns…They have advocated for themselves for change to legislation and policy.  They submitted their own report from these hearings to the Ontario Legislature and are committed to seeing their recommendations kept alive through advocacy.  Their tag line:  Our Voice, Our Turn!

Theirs is a great read entitled, “MY (Real) Life Book”.   Read their own words in this publication and most importantly LISTEN to what they have to say.  They are truly profound!   To view this follow the link below: 



Some still say that ‘Youth is wasted on the young’.  If there is any truth to this adage, perhaps it is due to our adult inability or unwillingness to listen to their profound insights, dreams and wisdom about what they and their world really need.

Friday 18 April 2014

Come, my friend, “Feed my Sheep”

Where will we all be in 10 years?  This is a question that can be examined from 2 major perspectives.  Where will I be?  And/or where will my Good Shepherd work be? For some years now some Good Shepherd friends have asked the question, ‘What’s gonna happen when the sisters are no longer able to run our agency?’  That time in Canada has come and gone.  None of our six agencies is owned or operated by the Sisters.  At best we have Sister representation on our Boards.  The 10 years has arrived!  Okay now what do we do?
This is really cause for some purposeful reflection.  What has been the base of our expressed value and continuity?  The Sisters….. yes, but why?  Is it because they were the most incredible youth care or social work or administrative wizards?  NOT!  Many were very good, some, ugh!!  They were the expressed value and continuity of our work because of one important ingredient that otherwise did not exist…..VOCATION>>>>They stayed!   Individual sisters were not prone to look at career path, improving income to support one’s family better, diversifying one’s challenge to grow professionally making one’s mark on the field.  It was because they were each members of a community group that vowed to pursue their single mission and stick with it even to death.  They don’t retire, they just get old, sick and die.  They believe their rest comes in small doses and, ultimately, when the journey of life is done.  This is why they are loved and respected so dearly.
In the face of their diminishment and (in some cases) ending, the rest of us are left to wonder what will come of all that we do, all that we shared and the people who relied on the beauty of that support offered for so many years to women and young people in need of care.
We know the Sisters had a special way (at times not so gentle) of communicating their spirit of dedication to our clients.  They taught us more by example and their spirit of commitment so that often one hears older staff say, “I wasn’t taught about Good Shepherd, I caught it”.  This is our dilemma.  How can we lead and teach those who will come after us the wonderfully special ingredients that make up our special service philosophy?  We aren’t nuns, how could I ever be that committed? 
Well, the possible answer is both simple and possible although admittedly more challenging than captured even in one simple word……VOCATION!  Yup, we are not nuns!  We are not always very religious!  Sometimes we are downright too human!  But something drew us into this work within Good Shepherd.  What is that invitation all about…..VOCATION!  Our deepest spiritual selves said ‘yes’ to someone’s invitation to be part of Good Shepherd Service.  Somewhere, somehow, there was a recognition of special gifts you have and the invitation was expressed in the same way the Good Shepherd, Jesus said to his leadership team….”Do you love me (In other words, does what I do make sense?)……..Then COME, FEED MY SHEEP!
Not all of us can stay like the Sisters have done.  But all of us can choose to say yes to this invitation and to carry that YES wherever we go.  One does not have to be surrounded by others or work within a Good Shepherd program to say yes to the Shepherd way.  But for those of us who can choose to stay….who we are and how we engage with others around us will be the means through which we can fulfill our own sense of vocation and how, in the end, we will be the leaders and teachers for those who come after us.  When we say yes to a sense of vocation in this work……we choose to be an integral part of the life spirit of our team, group or organization….we participate as the SOUL of our organization.


WE each, have a choice to make and embrace…..FEED IT!

Tuesday 15 April 2014

play.simpletruths.com | Store Landing

play.simpletruths.com | Store Landing



I just could not resist this post....I really enjoy Simple Truths Website with all their practical yet inspirational works.  this is worth retelling.  Enjoy!

Saturday 12 April 2014

So What About this ZEAL thing?

Learned over the years that The Sisters of the Good Shepherd take a 4th vow of ZEAL.  WOW!  Incredible enough that they have 3 vows of Poverty, Chastity and Obedience….and so, what is this ZEAL?  

Surely ZEAL is not what most might consider a household word.  We know that the dictionary will define Zeal as fervor for a person, cause, or object; eager desire or endeavor; enthusiastic diligence; ardor.

Mary Euphrasia lived by this value and expressed this most profoundly shortly before her death when she said,  I was not the most attractive, intelligent or smart person;  I only loved and I loved with the strength of all my heart and soul.”  She defined Zeal as “Love in Action”.

I have had a tendency to use the synonym of passion to define Zeal when we talk among one another about CORE values of Good Shepherd.  Well I am not one to shy away from words of all kinds but ZEAL had me stumped a bit.

Well, I want to announce that I am undergoing a conversion of sorts.  In the past several months I have had cause to note some very special qualities in some of our colleagues.  Most notably those who have become the advocates for the use of Trauma Informed principles in our work.  I saw “Love in Action” in Halifax during their symposium on Trauma,  I saw it again in Angers when some of our folks who are embracing Sanctuary, Resilience and Risking Connections met together and spoke so passionately about the critical importance of establishing significant, trusting relationships with our young people and their families.  I saw our colleagues as fervent, and diligent in their profound desire to establish a sense of belonging and love in therapeutic alliances they work to create.  I saw “LOVE IN ACTION”.

Good Shepherd teachings from Mary Euphrasia, are founded on this sense of highly valued relationships.  “It is not enough that you love them, they must know they are loved” (SME).  She modelled a special way and gift of engagement with people.  One that most of us must work at diligently to achieve.  And yet it is most often expressed in the smallest, simplest gestures; a smile, walking with someone, asking them about their hopes and dreams, accompanying to appointments, praise and acknowledgement.  For so many years our great staff, along-side our sisters, have done these small things over and over.  They built wonderful alliances and relationships with those we serve.  Now we continue to express the depth of our dedication through new approaches which can only enhance our ability to demonstrate that care, compassion and cheerleading in important therapeutic relationships. These advocate leaders among us are taking us in the right direction!

I have truly loved watching this passion among our colleagues knowing that they are building something more attuned to that which Mary Euphrasia taught us so many years ago.  Their sense of importance and urgency is no less zealous than was Mary Euphrasia’s when she lead the birthing of a new congregation.


Yep, I always had a passion for this work…..now I think I have  the ZEAL!!

Saturday 5 April 2014

Mixing Business with Pleasure

Recently home and cooled out from another great pilgrimage to the Sisters' motherhouse in Angers, France.

With every pilgrimage, we have the privilege of sharing with some very special groups of people.  This year was no exception but also left a particular impression on me.  There were 72 folks who are our mission partners doing all kinds of work in Good Shepherd Agencies from front line staff to leadership and Boards members.  Although we were a group of very different religious and spiritual traditions, it struck me how readily they  participated in religious and spiritual rituals.  At the same time this was also a group of serious professionals who were eager to talk more about their work with one another.....some examples included several, well attended lunch & learn sessions.  They wanted to talk about


  • How Trauma informs our work - how we might network to forward our Good Shepherd foundations as expressions of Trauma informed practices
  • How we can share ideas about fostering our expression of mission and values in our workplace
  • Leadership concerns for senior management and board members.
Often I meet people who are eager to work on the work and at other times to work on Good Shepherd's service philosophy. Are these really two separate worlds?  Can our reflection on how we remake ourselves personally be so separate from how we remake ourselves professionally?  Is there really a disconnect between faith and works? Am I a different person professionally than the person who is home with family and friends?  Which representation is the fake?

I find it disturbing at times to hear our agencies treating Good Shepherd Values and Heritage as if this is an aspect of our work that represents the 'perk' we get to when there is spare time (which, of course, we know there is precious little.)  Who we are as Good Shepherd folks is bound up with our professional roles. This integration is an essential component that we must find more ways to support.....Where the rubber hits the road for me is in direct service supervision.  This is the place where relationships express the lived culture of the agency.  This is the learning center for front line staff.   In Canada here, we tend to call a royal commission when we have major questions that need answers.....I think it is time for us to call a royal commission on our collective style of supervision starting with a look at what we are doing that works well.  How can supervision build a healthy culture?  How can supervision foster our integration of our mission and values knowing these resonate so well with professional standards and treatment principles that we choose to utilize in the care and service of our children and families?

I am most appreciative of spending this time with such committed and dedicated professionals.  Thanks for your leadership and for showing one another the way!  You make our work places our Holy Ground!!

Sunday 23 March 2014

Getting Started

Let the Games begin!  So there will be lots of topics I'd like to cover here hoping to get some of your own ideas..  I am thinking about our use of traditional language and how some religious terms can leave us feeling a disconnect.  Why can't we use different words if we wish?  Seems to me that if we take the time to select a word that essentially means the same thing, that ain't a bad thing!  I am also interested in talking more about the co relation between Trauma Informed, Resilience and Good Shepherd Care....what do they really hold in common?  BUT enough about what I want...I will write anyway.  Do you have things that matter to you that we can toss around?  Let me know.  Welcome to my blog;  I hope you will visit often and keep me honest.  I will write once a week.  Here's wishing we will have lots to share.