St Joseph Parish Port Hawkesbury
138 Granville Street B9A 2G1 Port Hawkesbury, NS, Canada

Weekly update from the Diocese of Antigonish.

I get this question a lot: If we have less than 100 people in the entire province diagnosed with COVID, and not a single person in hospital with it, why is eve...ryone in the health care system so stressed out? It’s a reasonable question. From the outside looking in, you wouldn’t think there should be much impact of the pandemic on normal healthcare operations. But peeling things back, there has been a tectonic shift in the way services are planned for and delivered since last March. And to be blunt, the healthcare system isn’t generally known for changing quickly. Fairly simple things being able to book a service online or just getting rid of fax machines in doctors’ offices is about as difficult a process as turning around the Queen Mary in the Bay of Fundy. Healthcare does not pivot. So the fact that we’ve seen more change in the last 6 months than we have in the last 20 years is notable. Being able wander into a pop-up testing site and get results by email, having a visit with a doctor without going to the clinic, and getting rid of most waiting rooms are good examples. Any of those would have been a multi-year project in its own right but in a matter of weeks these have been designed, tested and launched pretty smoothly. More remarkable is that all of this, for the most part, has fallen on the shoulders of the same people that are running the current health care system and providing care. On top of their regular jobs, they have been transforming and adapting to new processes at the same time. Practically, they were building a plane while flying it, with passengers onboard. And while the rest of us fret about the last ‘potential exposure location', anguish over skipped family traditions and complain about how masks fog up our glasses.everyone in the healthcare system lives in quiet terror that we are always just 14 days from the potential disaster of a super-spreader event. It’s no wonder that nearly every healthcare provider, manager and bureaucrat is stressed out or simply exhausted. And this is far from over. This pandemic is going to be the backdrop for another year at least, even with a vaccine on the horizon. Oh yesthe vaccine. Orchestrating the biggest and most complex mass immunization campaign in history is the next feat, and that will make the changes we’ve already seen pale by comparison. I share this as an appeal to have a dose of empathy for our healthcare workers. It’s a bit of a role reversal, because usually they take care of us. Now, we also need to take care of them. I guess it’s a call for patience. This is the first pandemic for all of us. For those who are concerned that too much change has happened too fast, relax. Doctors still use fax machines. I’m not kidding.

St Joseph pray for us.

With this new year full of new challenges and new routines know that we are still here for you! Fr. Gary MacPherson - our Priest in Residence can be seen e...njoying walks on campus, checking in with students, and sharing a meal at Morrison Hall. Even from behind his mask, he is sporting a big smile and happy to see you again. Feel free to say hello when you see him. Fr. Gary will be celebrating Mass every Sunday at the StFX Chapel at 5 pm for the campus community. Muffy McIntyre - University Chaplain - serves the entire University community and is here to help ensure our students are being well taken care of emotionally, mentally, physically, and spiritually. She is trained in Pastoral Care, Counselling, and Mental Health First Aid. When you visit the Chaplaincy Centre, you will find a safe space and a compassionate listener who has many years of experience supporting students along their educational journey. Whether you are a spiritual or religious person or not, you are welcome to pop in to the Chaplaincy Centre (Bloomfield 313) for a social distance visit and chat.

I hope many of our citizens in our Town of Port Hawkesbury will try their best to support local businesses as much as they can. These are uncertain times. ...How we do - as small businesses - in these crucial first months of operations during the lull after the first wave of Covid 19 will determine if local businesses, including my own business - Fleur-de-Lis Tea Room and Dining Room - will survive. Small business can ONLY do this with your support! We can all do our part to ensure our local economy can survive Covid 19! We can work together and keep as many of our dollars in our Town as much as is possible. Even if you can commit to buying 50% of your items locally - it will make an incredible difference (I say that with the complete understanding that you cant get everything locally)! That is why 90% of my campaign budget will be spent right here in our Town of Port Hawkesbury. Along with supporting Maple Signs & Engraving and Snows Econoprint, Im getting what I need locally as much as I can. It is important that leaders lead by example! I am always happy to be an advocate for small businesses in our Town! We can all lead by example and support local. I really hope you will consider making that commitment. Every dollar we keep in our community will help strengthen our Town, our local jobs, our local economy, and our Towns future! #SupportLocal #WorkTogether #RebuildOurLocalEconomies #LeadByExample

Online Mass from St Joseph Church, Port Hawkesbury.

Annual St Joseph Parish Cemetery Mass Wednesday, September 16 at 6:30. Hope you can join us. #AppleClips

Healthy boundaries are important for #mentalhealth #mentalwellness #ymhc

Wishing all students, parents, teachers and staff many blessings as you begin a new school year from all of us at St. Joseph Parish. Thanks to Nancy for offering these words and this prayer.

Beautiful holy mass in Mala today. Thanks to all who came to join us. Special thanks to Fr. Conrad and Deacon Berkeley that made this beautiful day possible. God is great! here are some pics of the day! Welaliek!!

Online Mass from St. Joseph Church, Port Hawkesbury, NS.

Something we all can learn

What a speech by Pope Francis yesterday! Worth a read regardless of your faith *You can have flaws, be anxious, and even be angry, but do not forget that you...r life is the greatest enterprise in the world. Only you can stop it from going bust. Many appreciate you, admire you and love you. Remember that to be happy is not to have a sky without a storm, a road without accidents, work without fatigue, relationships without disappointments. To be happy is to find strength in forgiveness, hope in battles, security in the stage of fear, love in discord. It is not only to enjoy the smile, but also to reflect on the sadness. It is not only to celebrate the successes, but to learn lessons from the failures. It is not only to feel happy with the applause, but to be happy in anonymity. Being happy is not a fatality of destiny, but an achievement for those who can travel within themselves. To be happy is to stop feeling like a victim and become your destinys author. It is to cross deserts, yet to be able to find an oasis in the depths of our soul. It is to thank God for every morning, for the miracle of life. Being happy is not being afraid of your own feelings. Its to be able to talk about you. It is having the courage to hear a "no". It is confidence in the face of criticism, even when unjustified. It is to kiss your children, pamper your parents, to live poetic moments with friends, even when they hurt us. To be happy is to let live the creature that lives in each of us, free, joyful and simple. It is to have maturity to be able to say: "I made mistakes". It is to have the courage to say "I am sorry". It is to have the sensitivity to say, "I need you". It is to have the ability to say "I love you". May your life become a garden of opportunities for happiness ... That in spring may it be a lover of joy. In winter a lover of wisdom. And when you make a mistake, start all over again. For only then will you be in love with life. You will find that to be happy is not to have a perfect life. But use the tears to irrigate tolerance. Use your losses to train patience. Use your mistakes to sculptor serenity. Use pain to plaster pleasure. Use obstacles to open windows of intelligence. Never give up .... Never give up on people who love you. Never give up on happiness, for life is an incredible show.* (Pope Francis).

Ive gotten a few messages asking if Mala Mass was still on and YES it is! This Sunday Sept 6th at 3pm Father Conrad Edwards will be saying mass at the altar at... the graveyard in Mala. There will be no meal or gathering afterwards as per the Bishops restrictions. I wanna take this time remind people to bring a mask and a chair. We will have some chairs for the disabled and elderly but most will have to sit on the ground or bring their own chair. See everyone Sunday at 3pm. Spread the word and share this post pls. Welalioq.

Visit with Father Hughie D today. He is still at St Marthas but doing very well. Great care there for him. His nurse Sheila, is from Iona and like she said, Everyone knows Father Hughie D !!

A great message from an Irish Bishop. Directed to their Catholic schools, but applicable for all of us. Please share freely!

Its okay....#ymhc

Great News Everyone - Mala Mass is going to take place this year!!! Sunday Sept 6th at 3pm!!! It will take place but with some specific instructions from Bishop... Wayne: (1) Maximum number of 250 people. (2)A 6-foot social distance must be maintained unless it is a bubble group. (3) Face masks are suggested but not required EXCEPT FOR COMMUNION and was one of the few things that the Bishop felt strongly about so even though they are not required, masks are strongly encouraged to be worn. (4) Hand Sanitizers must be available(working on that) and used by all present. (5) No food allowed so no reception or anything after mass. Volunteers will be needed for crowd control and ensuring all the rules are being followed. Very grateful for the chance to continue this wonderful tradition. Thank you to Father Conrad for working out the details with the Bishop to make it all possible. P.S. - not my photos below it thanks Please spread the word and share my post. Welalioq

Mass from St. Joseph Church, Port Hawkesbury, NS.

The Welcome Crew this morning at St Josephs.