Dear Miriam,

Back in 2010, researchers published an article in Clinical Psychology Review that came to this, not-so-surprising, conclusion: “Gratitude is strongly related to well-being, however defined, and this link may be unique and causal.”

This is very good news for us at IJC. We begin 2024 immensely grateful for the generosity that has washed over us in response to our Advent Appeal. As a result of the swell of donations, the Centre’s health and longevity is doubly enhanced—first, because we are in a much better position to afford needed improvements, particularly a backup generator system. Second, because our gratitude for this only increases our well-being. Our warmest thanks to all our donors who have set us on this virtuous cycle of vitality.

Greg Kennedy with

Anna Kroetsch, Grounds Coordinator

champion snow plower

The new year is full of promise. Already all our retreats for the next twelve months are open to registration and filling up. They range from our traditional, individually-directed, silent offerings to a host of day programs, including several on the goodness of food and cooking, to three spring days of yoga, and investigations into our technological attachments. Already our 2024 CSA shares and community garden plots are selling. Already tickets for our renewed Taste of Diversity dinners are available. Already people are making their first 2024 forays through the Old Growth Forest. And for many long weeks already, skiers have been dreaming of snow to get them out on our extensive trails, groomed by the Guelph Nordic Ski Club.

May gratitude, generosity and grace—the spiritual engine of a perpetual motion—carry us all through this brand new year.

Registration is open for 2024!

Now’s the time to sign up for CSA & Community Garden plots. Register online here.

2024 Farm Immersion Internship applications open soon. Check back at the end of January for internship and farm training opportunities. https://ignatiusguelph.ca/ignatius-farm/internships/

Interested in keeping up-to-date on the Farm's activities at a deeper level? Sign up for the Farm's E-News here!

Taste of Diversity Returns!

We are very excited to announce the return of our beloved dinners for 2024.

Tickets are limited so book early to save your seats.

April 9 - Mass 5pm, Dinner 6pm

November 13 - Service 5pm, Dinner 6pm

$100 per dinner, $180 for April and November

Tickets: register online here!

or call 519-824-1250 ext 241

Cedar Circle Sunday Afternoons

January 21, 2:30-4:00 pm

Join special guests Natalie Thomas and John Lawson for a Cedar Circle Climate Café. “The purpose of a climate café is to provide a reflective, safe, respectful and private space for people to express their emotional responses to the climate and environmental crisis.” Natalie is both an adjunct faculty member in philosophy at U of G and a practicing psychotherapist who specializes in climate-away therapy. John is a United Church minister particularly concerned with ecology.

Find out more here on our website, ignatiusguelph.ca under events.

A 2024 addition to our newsletter is the “Land Lovers” profile, complied by local Guelph artist, writer and Ignatius land lover, Dawn Matheson, with photography by Teresa Blanking. If you are a lover of our fields and forests, flora and fauna and want to share in the wonder, please reach out.

Our first profile is of Teresa Blanking, Guelph mother, photographer and blooming florist.

What would you like us to know about you?

My name is Teresa and I am a seeker of the beauty that is all around us. In fact, my peace-of-mind depends on it. I am an avid photographer and hiker, gardener/small scale farmer and florist. I have lived in Guelph for over 20 years and this is where I raised my three children who are now 28, 24 and 19. After years of office work, I am currently embarking on a career dream of floristry and micro-urban flower farming on our ½ acre property with my partner. But my gardening practice all started here at Ignatius, when I grew food for my family in the shared garden plots.

How do you spend your time out at Ignatius?

I have been coming out to the land at Ignatius for over 15 years, walking the trails with my young children and dog. We would spend hours each day, hiking and talking, exploring and reflecting. As the kids got older and became less interested in walking, the dog became my main companion. This soon became my coveted time to recharge, to process difficult life challenges, to settle my spirit, to meditate and to remind me of the beauty all around me. Over the last 10 years, it became my photo studio. I have over 1,000 images of this land, in all seasons.

Why do you come? What does this land offer you?

The land offers me peace and comfort. It reminds me of how beautiful the world is, even when I feel the weight of it. Our family has had our share of hardships. I can start my walk with a heavy heart, confused by a situation and leave feeling hopeful and with clarity. Walking the land here has truly been the most important self-care practice I have known.

How do you give back to the land?

Acknowledging the sacred land with every step, seeing and feeling the beauty, saying, “I see you,” feels like a gesture of giving back to me. Sharing the beauty of walking here with loved ones, and recording the many wonders through photography feels like a testament to the impact the land has made.