I.J.C. Voice
June 2021
Volume 11, Issue 9
Be surprised by joy, be surprised by the little flower that shows its beauty in the midst of a barren desert,
and be surprised by the immense healing power that keeps bursting forth
like springs of fresh water from the depth of our pain.
~ Henri Nouwen
Summer Enthusiasm
As the summer season begins, we are blessed by the abundance of this land. Since the May long weekend, hundreds of community members and their families have staked out their garden plots bringing enthusiasm, hope and joyful community to the fields.

Your donations and the support of a Guelph-Wellington Urban Agriculture “Scaling Out” grant have allowed us to extend waterlines to new fields and we’ve been able to open up more plots for gardening enthusiasts. Our farm team has persevered through the volatile spring temperature swings to grow seedlings for gardeners and our CSA crops. Greens are growing in the CSA fields; and a new livestock tenant farmer is pasturing cows on the land.

The Old-Growth Forest project crew are repairing boardwalks and continuing the planting of native shrubs and wildflowers that will contribute to the future forest ecology on the land that is protected in perpetuity for this community.

Our Loyola House guests are enjoying the summer’s warmth and beauty and the opportunity to walk out into the fields and along the trails.

When I am immersed in this community of people who are engaged in sustaining themselves and each other, I feel a deep security that diminishes fear and imbues me with hope. I pray that you are also experiencing the healing balm of this emergence of community and hope.
Ignatius Jesuit Centre is a registered charity and can accept donations of stocks, bonds or mutual fund units through CanadaHelps.

Considering a legacy gift and have some questions? Email development@ignatiusguelph.ca or phone 519-824-1250 Ext 257 to speak with Vanessa or Leanne.
Loyola House Retreats & Programs
Many of you will recall that way back in March of 2020 we decided to close Loyola House to on-site retreats; it’s now June 2021 - we never could’ve imagined that Loyola House would still be closed.

Since October of 2020 the retreat house has been serving those in the local community without homes, providing both shelter and food. This initiative has been a grace-filled experience for many and will conclude at the retreat house on October 31 2021.

We are very, very pleased to share the news that we will reopen as a
retreat house in April 2022!

You are all so missed and we sure do look forward to seeing you here again. Stay tuned for our 2022 retreats and programs calendar which should be up on our website by early fall.
VIRTUAL RETREAT OFFERINGS IN 2021
All upcoming retreats can be found here! Here are some that are coming up in the next month or two:

  • Multi-faith Retreat Series - (click on the dates)
  • June 12-13 - Indigenous, Jewish Kabbalah, and Lutheran traditions
  • July 10-11 - Ancient Egyptian thought and Zoroastrianism traditions




  • Ignatian Spirituality Retreat - July 22-27 - A practical introduction - This retreat is a good opportunity for a beginner or an experienced director to gain a heightened awareness of the fundamentals of an Ignatian Retreat or to prepare for Annotation 19 (the Spiritual Exercises in daily life). This retreat is being offered online.

  • Ignatius & Teilhard: On How God Loves Weekend Retreat - September 10-12 - This virtual guided retreat, based on St. Ignatius' "Contemplation to Know the Love of God" as understood by Teilhard de Chardin, will begin by focusing on images and descriptions of God in Scripture and Tradition. This retreat is being offered online.

At Ignatius Farm
This year we opened up a new field with 108 new garden plots ranging in size from 100 to 1000 sq ft. Check out the progress from marking the field by staff and volunteers to how some of the gardeners have made the plots their own.
Are you interested in starting a farm enterprise or learning more about ecological agriculture?

Join us for the 2021 season of the Ignatius Farm New Farmer Training Program. Registration is by term or individual event.

Term 1 was a great success with 38 participants! Term 2 began the first week of May and continues until July 28th. We have a great lineup of webinars and virtual field days planned for 2021. Individual events will open for registration 4 weeks prior to the event date. See EFAO.ca/Ignatius-new-farmer-training for more information.
 
This program is made possible through collaboration between Ignatius Farm, Everdale, and the Ecological Farmers Association of Ontario.
Thinking about Milton Farmers' Market
~ by Don Bowyer, Assistant Farm Manager

Recently I had the distinct pleasure of opening our farm stand at the Milton Farmer’s Market. Ignatius has had a presence at the market since 2014 and gone from a wee minivan and wee tent to a jam-packed cargo van and 15-foot tent of display space.

Although our farm has become well known for its CSA, the Milton market has a special place in my heart. Last season we made the difficult decision to not attend the market. In the early days of COVID the logistics of a large farm team and moving our CSA out of its comfortable routine into one of outdoors or all prepackaged shares were far too much. I don’t regret our decision but missed it greatly over the season.
Opportunities
Guelph VIRTUAL Walking Pilgrimage - July 31-August 7, 2021

A modified pilgrimage has been created for you! Read about it here and sign up!

Since 2003, in early August, a group of pilgrims journey from the Ignatius Jesuit Centre to the Jesuit Martyrs’ Shrine in Midland – a place that honours early Jesuit missionaries who introduced Christianity to the Huron Wendat Nation.

2021 as in 2020, we are not able to walk the pilgrimage as it has been done for the last 18 years. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a prohibition on large gatherings throughout the summer and the Martyrs’ Shrine in Midland remains closed until 2022. We feel that the pilgrimage experience is too important to cancel completely. Our best option is to offer you a virtual pilgrimage.


Photo credit - Bob Berno, VIRTUAL Walking Pilgrimage 2020
Summer Reading with IJC Authors
Looking for the perfect summer book? IJC has lots of wonderful options including titles from our own Jesuits on staff. Poetry, memoirs, spirituality resources, and more! Pick a read to suit your mood.

Curbside pickup or mailing options are available. For a full list of books available click here.

Contact Andrea to get your next great summer read at officecoordinator@ignatiusguelph.ca.
Poetry, stories, and info to reflect on
Pollinator Hedgerow Planting
As we continue to remove old wire and post fencing from across the IJC land, the Land, Farm and Old Growth Forest departments have been brainstorming on ways to make ‘living’ hedgerows more intentional. A ‘living’ hedgerow is inherently a relatively simple thing, usually comprised of a line of plants or trees that provide a degree of separation from one area to another. Although simple in nature, these installations provide a unique opportunity to be more creative, blending both the anthropogenic and environmental worlds.

On May 28, IJC Land, Farm and Old Growth Forest staff conducted a socially distanced hedgerow planting of over 150 pollinator-friendly trees near the CSA fields. Species included were Serviceberry, Witch Hazel, Common Elderberry, Ninebark and several Dogwoods. This new hedgerow will work to provide key habitat for pollinator species, and will aid in higher crop yield. It’s a win-win all around!

~ Nick Krete, Land Coordinator
Ignatius Farm
By Greg Kennedy, SJ

Sparrows and swallows and deep Sleepy Hollows
and what else I don't know.
Kohlrabi and mystery and sacred grace-history
are just some of the things we grow.
There's a definite sense that we're not tenants
though not one of us an acre owns.
There's a definite sense of a real presence
and that no one walks here alone.

The city's at the doorstep,
the city's under our skin.
It wants to end everything,
it always wants to begin.
But here we take a stand
for the peace and the calm.
Here we kiss the land,
down at Ignatius Farm.
 
Garlic and starlight and murmuring starlings
and sunsets that steal the show.
Pigweed and pigweed, did I mention pigweed?,
uprises out of control.
We work here to learn and to discern
our place in the unfolding play
about the Great Turn towards a new Earth
that's already entered the stage.

Graveyards and gardens, a creek that's called Marden,
let everything co-exist.
Apples, things dappled and St. Francis chapel,
there’s no point making a list.
For the gifts of this place and of this day
outnumber the grains of sand
that will blow in our eyes if we don’t decide
to love deeply all land.
Be tick-aware when walking on trails at IJC or elsewhere - tick encounters in Ontario are on the rise. Please follow the link here to learn more about ticks and Lyme disease in Ontario.
Copyright 2021