Mercy, Indigenous people and students were themes as more than 1,000 teachers and staff of the Regina Roman Catholic School District #81 gathered in Resurrection Parish August 30 for the annual opening mass. Archdiocesan Administrator Very Reverend Lorne Crozon was the main celebrant con-celebrated with Winnipeg Archbishop James Weisgerber and several diocesan and Ukrainian Eparchy priests.
Crozon’s homily focused on the teacher’s role in the life their students and encouraged them to use the Holy Spirit to guide them in their work. “The power of the gift of the Holy Spirit is in all of us.”
Weisgerber and Leah Perreault were the main speakers; Perreault talked about mercy and how the church became structured about 1,700 years ago in her 40-minute address and Weisgerber used his time describing how life changed for Indigenous people with the arrival of Europeans, the difficulties they encountered and how that translates into their lives today. (see separate stories on the speakers).
The opening mass is an annual event serving as the official opening of the new school year. New teachers and staff members are made conspicuous with their blue t-shirts and welcomed; the choir is comprised of teachers and staff brought together specifically for the mass and under the direction of music teacher Kelly Magnusson. and there are short welcoming talks from the Director of Education, Domenic Scuglia, (pronounced school-yah) and Board Chair Frank Flegel. Scuglia joined Regina Catholic schools, May 28 and officially took over as Director, August 1 when previous Director Rob Currie joined the Ministry of Education as an Assistant Deputy Minister. Scuglia described the results of a couple of strategic planning sessions held over the summer with the board and staff and displayed the one-page poster that outlines the Division’s vision and mission statements and the four main strategic goals. The poster is to be taken to the Board of Trustees September 6 meeting for discussion and possible approval.
It was a special moment for two new Grade one students, Meredith Toth and Cullen O’Halloran who were presented with a framed copy of their art work that adorns t-shirts to be given to all students entering kindergarten this year. All kindergarten students last year were asked to draw something that represents the Divisions moto for this year Go Make a Difference and Love your Neighbor as Yourself. K-PreK coordinator Monique Wahl, Religious Education Coordinator Miles Meyers and Communications Coordinator Twyla West judged the entrants.
Scuglia and Wahl introduced and presented the children following the mass.
Guest Speakers
More than 1,000 Regina Catholic School Division teachers and staff heard two different historical perspectives at their October 30 opening mass. Winnipeg Archbishop Emeritus James Weisgerber spoke about changes in the lives of Indigenous people when the Europeans began arriving on the prairies about 150 years ago, and Leah Perreault described how the Church changed about 1,700 years ago and what it means today.
Perreault describes herself as a preacher without a pulpit. She is a motivational/inspirational speaker with a Master’s of Arts Degree in Pastoral Theology from St. Michael’s University, Toronto. Her day job is Executive Lead of Governance Advancement with Emmanuel Care (Catholic Health ministry of Saskatchewan). She was Director of Pastoral Care for the Saskatoon Roman Catholic Diocese from 2007-15 prior to her current position.
Perreault compared mercy to a wave; “It has no structure, it is energy that moves through us,” The early Church had no structure, said Perreault, but about 1,700 years ago began building structure in churches, education and health facilities. “They came to us for everything, now they come to us only for spiritual care.” She described mercy as love for the broken by the broken and went on to list the seven corporal and seven spiritual works of mercy. She noted Pope Francis frequent references to mercy.
Weisgerber has a long relationship with Aboriginal people stemming from his time as parish priest in Saskatchewan’s Qu’Appelle Valley where he served several First Nations Reserves. He described the dramatic changes to their lives with the arrival of the Europeans on the prairies. “150 years ago the government invited people to come and be farmers on the prairies. There’s nothing out there but buffalo they said. But we know now there were people living here.” And they used the buffalo for everything, said Weisgerber, but in eight years the buffalo were gone. “What were they to do.” In 1874 Treaty four was signed, he noted “and that’s about us too. We entered into it together.” They were then pushed off to little pieces of land and these were a people used to roaming all over. They were starved, their children taken from them and placed in residential schools and when all the children were gone that led to dysfunctional communities, said Weisgerber, the government controlled everything and it wasn’t until 1960 when they could vote and leave the reserve without permission. We now blame the victim, he said. “We need to learn the truth.” Our biggest hope is the youth and he cautioned “when you teach kids you teach your own values and kids can see through that.” Mercy, he said, is a challenge for everyone who claims to be a disciple of Christ.
