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Many, many thanks to all of you who so generously responded to our Lent appeal last month. Your donations make all of Loyola House's programs possible. The revenues the Centre receives from retreat fees do not fully sustain our operations. It is your generosity that sustains our work.
Our deep gratitude to those of you who became new monthly donors in March. Several of you expressed that your intention as a new donor is to ensure that your own retreat experience will be available to others. Our spiritual directors are truly heartened by donations given in this spirit!
Thank you to those who continue to donate to "Sacred Ground" our capital campaign for the greening of Loyola House infrastructure. Be assured that, due to your support, we continue to be confident in our plans for the new heating/cooling and sanitation systems.
For more information, please contact the Development office at 519 824 1250 ext. 257 or
send an email to [email protected].
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LOYOLA HOUSE RETREATS & PROGRAMS 
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UPCOMING RETREATS -
Each retreat date is linked to our website for more information
Interested in digging deeper? Consider doing the Full Spiritual Exercises Experience this Fall. Read about it here.
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UPCOMING EVENTS & OPPORTUNITIES
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UPCOMING EVENTS & MORE! 
At Loyola House -
The Poetry & Ecology Project - Thurs April 26
@
7pm
What does poetry have to do with the local environment? Come and find out!
A presentation of seven leaflets on Food, Water, Trees, Wild Creatures, Flowers and Pollinators, and Degraded Land.
Come and hear about this project from
Redeemer University College professor, Dr. Deborah Bowen and student researchers, Elise Arsenault, Liane Miedema, and Joshua Voth.
Reading by local poets Madhur Anand, Anna Bowen, and Greg Kennedy, SJ.
Music by local group Magpie. Read more here.
At Ignatius Farm -
Looking to plant your own vegetables or, let us grow them for you?
The Ignatius Farm is inviting the public to attend segments of the Intern Education Program! This month, join Farm Educators Amy Bumbacco & Tash Reesor for two workshops:
Introduction to Soil Health & Organic Matter - Learn about soil composition, biology and organisms and explore effective soil management practices. The workshop will include interactive field activities to gain the skills for testing your own soil texture and drainage. When/where: Ignatius Farm workshop,
Tues April 17, 1:30-4:30pm.
Basic Botany and Plant Identification
Explore the science of plant life and how it relates to agriculture by examining plant and cell structures, identifying plant families, and taking a look at how plants grow. Take part in a germination test and a trip to the greenhouse! When/where: Ignatius Farm workshop,
Thurs April 19, 2:30-4:30pm.
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The farm team recently converted a washing machine into a quick & effective way of washing greens!
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Workshops are $25 for CSA and Community Garden Members, or $30 for non-members. Contact Amy at [email protected] to register.
Save the date for Spring Field Day!
On May 19, the community garden plots will
open up to gardeners to start planting. Seedlings, seeds, and amendments will be for sale and Meeting Place Organic Farm is providing a delicious BBQ! Farm Manager, Heather Lekx, will offer thorough orientations to the gardens and you can even join in on a sprouting workshop! Spread the word and
stay tuned for more updates on the farm's Facebook page.
Earth Events -
Land Blessing - save the date! Sun June 3 -
Look for more information in May's IJC Voice! Beginning this year, this annual event will take place on the first Sunday of June.
Attending Divinity through Sacred Gardening
A workshop with Steven Martyn of
The Sacred Gardener
Sat June 16 @ 10am-5pm at the Ignatius Jesuit Centre.
This workshop gives the participant an opening into an ancient way of gardening and working with the Earth. Steven holds up Indigenous gardening as sacred gardening, which has a very different set of agendas and methodologies than the Western forms of gardening that came to North America via Europe. Different even than Biodynamic or Permaculture, this more ancient way of gardening points us toward a whole new way of looking at, being with, and co-creatively participating in the natural world. Sponsored by the Ignatius Jesuit Centre.
Old-Growth Forest Project Events - 
Buckthorn Bash - Sat May 12 @ 9:30am-12:30pm
Cross Creek Blvd. entrance
(see map here)
Join us for the morning and help us restore the bio-diversity of the Old-Growth Forest project lands. With pruners, loppers, saws, stories and music! We will be removing the invasive European buckthorn and planting an abundance of native trees and shrubs to provide food and shelter for wildlife. Cost is free, but registration is required: 519-824-1250 ext. 224 or
[email protected].
Spring Awakes! Sun May 27 @ 1:30-4:30pm
Ignatius Jesuit Centre - Rain or shine
SKSS Productions presents a fundraiser for the Ignatius Old-Growth Forest project. This is a performance arts hike adventure with song, music, poetry, prayer, and dance.
Advance tickets only. Purchase tickets at Janus Books (Royal Plaza, 10 Paisley, Guelph) and Loyola House office (Ignatius Jesuit Centre). Adults $25, children free (must be able to hike with a group). Cash only, handling charges apply. Ticket holders: the adventure begins by meeting at the Orchard Park parking lot at Ignatius Jesuit Centre at 1:15pm. Potluck picnic reception to follow.
suesmith.ca |
shannonkingsburg.com |
oldgrowthforest.ca | 519-824-1250 ext 224.
Elsewhere -
Being Human after the Resurrection -
Sat April 14 @ 9:15am-4:30pm
with Greg Kennedy, SJ, a Jesuit since 2006 and a priest since 2015.
This event will be held at The Mary Ward Centre, 70 St. Mary St., Toronto. Donation of $30 is appreciated to cover costs. Cafeteria lunch available ($10) or bring your own.
RSVP to [email protected] or call 647-223-2248
by April 7. Presented by Christian Life Community Canada, Central Region Formation Team.
WALKING PILGRIMAGE 
Looking for a different summer experience? Consider this year's Walking Pilgrimage from Guelph to Midland - August 4-11. The Walking Pilgrimage is about nourishing your spirituality, enjoying the great outdoors, getting great exercise (20-30 km per day), and having fun & enjoying good company.
Read about it here...registrations are being accepted!
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TREE-HUGGING 
Greg Kennedy SJ
With you in my arms
I'm drawn into the long & broad
up-taking of the inside & deep;
I'm slowed by the heart-flow
coursing at speeds below
my winded senses;
and I rest in the kiss
laid upon the skin
stretched over the rings
of your love story
ever outward reaching.
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BOOK LAUNCH
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Eric Jensen SJ & James Clarke |
On Tuesday evening, March 20, fifty or so persons attended an event at Loyola House hosted by Novalis Publishing to launch two new books:
Stray Devotions - Prayers, Poems and Intercessions from the Bench by James Clarke, a retired Ontario Superior Court judge and friend of Loyola House, and
Ignatius Loyola and You - Learning to Become a Reflective Christian by Eric Jensen, SJ, a Spiritual Director here at Loyola House.
Fr. Roger Yaworski, SJ, Executive Director of Ignatius Jesuit Centre, welcomed all in attendance and invited Joseph Sinasac, Publishing Director of Novalis Publishing, to introduce both authors.
James Clarke spoke of his background as a husband, father and grandfather and judge, as a seeker of truth who plumbs the depths of human joys and sorrows, successes and failures, questions and doubts. He read several of his poems, sensitively touching on and evoking myriad feelings.
Eric Jensen shared his Jesuit background and his desire to show the relevance of St. Ignatius Loyola's spiritual journey for today's seekers of a deeper meaning of and response to life. He gave a few examples of significant experiences in Ignatius' life that "opened his eyes" to recognizing the way God's Spirit moving in him.
After their presentations the authors signed copies of their books as the audience purchased the books and engaged in lively conversation over wine and cheese.
IJC CELEBRATES THE LIFE OF GLORIA GANDOUR -
A loving community volunteer
Gloria was the first female to work full-time in the Jesuit Seminary at Guelph where she was employed in the position of cook. Surrounded and comforted by the love of her family, Gloria passed away at the Guelph General Hospital on April 2, 2018 in her 88th year.
Obituary here.
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