“News” Archives of Past items
April 27, 2017 Poems Inspired by Conference
I was born singing.
I was born singing.
During womb rest and growth
you gifted me with song
stories of past moon’s
and tomorrow’s suns
with streams and hunts,
prayers and smudgings
and sacred sage and tobacco came to me
in my mother’s blood
so at birth
I already knew my story.
Ciarán Mckenna © April 26th 2018
Inspired by Gilbert Kewistep’s story of how his son sung to his child while still in mother’s womb.
When you crossed over.
My anchor, my rock
my roots, my truth
Grandmother, Grandmother,
I call from my
As I was forbidden to be present at your
crossing over,
unable to pack gifts for your journey.
Salt tears were all I could give
until I cross over
and we embrace,
all I still have is my thanks for you,
my salt tears and
my love for you.
Ciarán Mc Kenna © April 26th 2017
Inspired by Gilbert Kewistep’s moving telling of how he and his sister could not leave the residential school when their Grandmother died.
Please click here to read the report of the Transparency Working group and the recommendations to the CASC board based on the results of a survey done with Members in January 2017.
Dear CASC Members;
By now we are sure that many of you have heard about the announcement last week contained in the Saskatchewan provincial budget that eliminates funding for spiritual care within health care in the province. This decision means Saskatchewan is about to become the only province in Canada that will not pay for spiritual care in health region facilities. You can imagine how this affects our members in Saskatchewan, essentially all of them have lost their jobs and are unemployed. The Board has been involved in responding to this announcement, and our President Philip Weaver was interviewed this week by CBC and other media networks.
The Board is appealing to all of our members to utilize your social media platforms to share, tweet, pin, the stories that are coming out regarding this decision. We are aware that there are concerns and issues related to social media communication, but this story is out there in these platforms and so we’re asking you to keep the story alive! We have made this decision for two main reasons: 1) we believe it is one way in which we, as CASC members across the country can do something concrete to demonstrate our support and solidarity with our colleagues in Saskatchewan, and 2) the more this is kept before the media, and hopefully the Saskatchewan provincial government, the more the possibility of having this decision overturned.
The Board is also reaching out to religious bodies in Saskatchewan and the Health Care professional colleges asking for their support in speaking out against this decision.
For your convenience we are providing you with the links to articles that have already been published on social media platforms for you to share.
http://thestarphoenix.com/news/local-news/hospital-chaplains-fall-victim-to-provincial-budget?utm_term=Autofeed&utm_campaign=Echobox&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#link_time=1490658764
http://thestarphoenix.com/news/local-news/hospital-chaplains-fall-victim-to-provincial-budget
Marc Doucet B.A. M.Div. RP
Past President
Canadian Association for Spiritual Care
Association canadienne de soins spirituels
416-603-5378