Thank you to Sister Josephann Wagoner, SSND, for sharing with us the story of her visit to Western Canada and the Northwest Territory in 2013, while a member of the Provincial Council. She offers a detailed narrative of her three-week tour of Canada, the first detailed account of the newest addition to the Atlantic—Midwest Province. The Canadian Province was its own province until 2011 when it became part of the Atlantic-Midwest Province.
The adventure began on June 11, 2013, when I departed for a visitation to our sisters in the Northwest Territory and Western Canada. The trip took 21 days and 18 airplanes to visit from Fort Good Hope to Winnipeg, Manitoba.
June 12: The flight from Toronto to Yellowknife took seven hours on two planes. I spent the night at the Trappers Spiritual Center in Yellowknife.
June 13: I flew from Yellowknife to Norman Walls, with the planes getting smaller. Sister Joan Liss had booked the plane from Norman Walls to Fort Good Hope. I adventured on the smallest plane possible to Fort Good Hope and was met by Sister Joan and Sister Pauline Girodat. I had traveled approximately 3,500 miles and spent a memorable six days. I had the opportunity to visit the Arctic Circle – a mere 40 miles by boat. During my visit, I experienced life among the First Nation Dene people and found out what life is like in such a unique community.
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any activities were taking place in the village of Fort Good Hope. I attended a feast for the elders, graduation of four high school students, and a special dinner with the friends of the sisters. During my time there, the Northwest Territory had 24 hours of daylight, and I experienced all 24 hours of them on June 21. In the winter months the darkness lasts for 22 hours. This is the place to see the Northern Lights.
Fort Good Hope is the oldest fur trading post on the Mackenzie River. Missionaries arrived in the late 1850s and built the famous Our Lady of Good Hope Church, a National Heritage site. The church has the original murals and frescoes painted by the missionaries. The sisters live in the mission house and are responsible for ministry in the community. Their ministry is fostering the spiritual life within the community, with a priest visiting very occasionally for Mass and administering the sacraments. They are pastoral ministers who perform the Sunday Services, sacramental preparation, and lay-led liturgies and Monday's video service to the community. Their pastoral responsibilities are baptism, funerals and weddings.
June 18: I flew from Fort Good Hope to Edmonton to spend the night in a motel.
June 19: The flight was from Edmonton to Grand Prairie, where I was met by our sisters, Mary Jean Davidson and Louise Vanderploeg. The drive from Grand Prairie to Peace River was a two-and-a-half hour ride through beautiful land.
Peace River Regional District is in the Northeastern part of British Columbia. The regional district comprises seven municipalities, which I visited: Dawson Creek, Fort St. John, Tumbler Ridge, Chetwynd, many Indian reserves, and the one Indian settlement of Little Buffalo.
June 19-21: I visited the Diocesan Office with Louise to see that she is the coordinator of Religious Education and the Evangelization Office for the Diocese. Mary Jean ministers to the Indian settlement of Little Buffalo. Mary Jean travels about an hour to the reservation. The people are so grateful for her presence and ministry.
I had the opportunity to meet the Chief of Little Buffalo, and he shared his concern for his land and people. The children and people welcomed me to their village. They are experiencing many hardships as an Indian settlement with the government.
June 21: The sisters from Peace River drove me to Dawson Creek, where all the sisters in the area gathered. The following sisters ministered the people of British Columbia:
• Connie Harkin, Dawson Creek
• Angelita Trentin, Kamloops
• Edna Hood, Fort St. John
• Mary Jean Davidson & Louise Vanderploeg, Peace River
We enjoyed time together over lunch.
June 21- 25: During these days I spent time visiting the historical places of Dawson Creek and Fort St. John on the Alaskan Highway. Connie is the pastoral minister of Notre Dame Church, and Edna has spent years as pastoral minister in Fort St. John. Edna will be leaving Fort St. John and British Columbia on July 25. Sister Angelita came to visit all of us in British Columbia. Angelita had been taking care of her mother for many years until her death. At the present time, Sister Angelita is doing volunteer work in Kamloops.
June 25: I flew from Grand Prairie to Edmonton and on to the Saskatoon airport, to be met by
Sisters Val Leibel and Joyce Smith and a drive of about two-and-a-half hours to Unity. Unity Saskatchewan is in the western part of Canada. Many of our sisters have ministered and entered from this area. The sisters drove through the town of Wilkie on the way to Unity. It was a friendly visit in Unity, where our sisters live in a retirement facility and volunteer their time visiting the sick, working in the school library and doing spiritual counseling.
July 27: Val, Joyce and I drove through the prairies for five-and-a-half hours to Regina, Saskatchewan, to spend time celebrating Canada Day with family and one another. We traveled through Biggar, Saskatchewan in the heart of the Canadian Prairies. Biggar is well known for its famous sign "New York is Big but This is Biggar."
June 27 – 29: A special visit with Sister Joyce Lorentz in Regina, Saskatchewan. Regina is the capital of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. This was the first experience of a large city. Joyce teaches in the ESL program of the Diocese. She has many immigrant students who are learning the English language. She is involved with the SSND Associates. I had the opportunity to spend several hours at an associate gathering.
June 29: I flew from Regina to Winnipeg, Manitoba, and was met by Sister Rose Mary Sander. Winnipeg is the capital of Manitoba. It is the largest of cities. It was a great trading center for aboriginal people prior to the arrival of the Europeans. There are two languages spoken by the people, both English and French. Rose Mary works for the Diocese and parish in spiritual counseling and parish ministry.
July 1: Canada Day was celebrated in Winnipeg and Waterdown (the location of our Notre Dame Convent). This was my final flight, to Hamilton, and then back to Baltimore in the morning.
