Communitas Montreal

Here is the annual tool kit for Restorative Justice Week 2021 produced by Correctional Service Canada.

RJ Basic Resource Kit

To our dear friends and supporters!

Communitas has undergone several significant changes in 2021, including moving office to the Undercroft of Christ Church Cathedral, and hiring a new part-time Coordinator, Brent Walker, for our crucial Circles of Support and Accountability (CoSA) operations.

Our signature Open Door program has continued virtually on Zoom and we have been very pleased with the weekly attendance of 25-30 persons.  We have started testing a hybrid Open Door (Zoom plus in-person attendance at Fulford Hall) and are hopeful that we can soon have more in-person participation.

In other good news, our volunteers have finally been allowed to resume penitentiary visits to participate in chaplaincy activities.  The palpable joy of both inmates and volunteers at that first visit after an absence of 18+ months was beautiful to see.

Other prison visits are taking place now that the Correctional Service (CSC) is relaxing Covid lock-down regulations.  We are reconnecting with men who want the support of a Circle when they are released, and we are offering one-on-one pastoral accompaniment to the men during their incarceration.

It is hoped that our volunteer drivers will soon be escorting incarcerated men on Temporary Absences once again to our Tuesday evening Open Door meetings.

While we continue to offer our services to the community, the national CoSA Canada five-year federal funding package comes to an end next March, and with it, the bulk (80%) of our funding. Coincidently, because of changes in the Federal government’s priorities, our funding from Montreal Community Chaplaincy (ACM) also ended this year after 21 years of support, leaving us wholly dependent on donations received from our members, supporters and the general public.

As we start our annual fundraising drive, Communitas welcomes your donations for our activities and appeals for your support of our efforts to reduce Covid’s aggravation of the already endemic isolation the incarcerated suffer during their enforced distancing from family, friends, and the community.

Donors are invited to contribute to  Communitas through the  Canada  Helps button on our website www.communitasmontreal.org.  Cheques are also welcome and can be mailed to the new Communitas office address which appears on our letterhead.

We also encourage you to become a monthly contributor to our Organization.  This will assist with our long-term planning, especially given the upcoming changes in our funding base at the end of this Fiscal Year.

We would like to express our heartfelt thanks to all members, supporters and well-wishers for your financial and moral support, without which, our work could not succeed.

Michele Rattray-Huish, President
Mouvement Communitas Inc.
1444 Union Avenue, Montreal QC, H3A 2B8 Tel: +1 514 244 6147 www.communitasmontreal.org

September 11, 2021 — Open Door celebrated the 20th anniversary of its very first gathering yesterday, September 11, 2001. Two dozen Communitas members gathered informally while practicing social distancing in Montreal’s Old Port. It was great to see old faces in the flesh and meet new ones that had only been visible on Zoom. Individual drinks and bags of chips along with slices of watermelon were handed out and participants took home cobs of corn to cook as Communitas once more had to forgo its annual corn roast due to Covid restrictions. It was a most enjoyable gettogether.

Click on the image to read the Summer  2021 Edition of the Sou’Wester, Communitas’ quarterly newsletter.

August ushers in some major changes at Communitas including moving office locations, and the hiring of a new CoSA coordinator to be part of a new dynamic coordination team aimed at serving Communitas members more effectively.

The Communitas office is moving from Notre Dame St. West in St. Henri to the newly refurbished Undercroft at Christ Church Cathedral, located at 635 St. Catherine Street West.  Communitas members are familiar with the Undercroft, our backup meeting place for Open Door when Fulford Hall is unavailable.  The move is effective August 1^st and our new mailing address will be Le Mouvement Communitas, 1444 Union Avenue, Montreal QC, H3A 2B8.  The telephone number will remain the same: 514-244-6147.

Brent Walker will join the coordination team as CoSA Operations Coordinator, working with Circles of support and accountability and being in contact with those in prison and those who have left prison.  Brent has worked as a prison chaplain, a volunteer in prison ministry and in many faith communities across Canada.  He brings with him a wealth of experience and knowledge that our members will find engaging.

Monika Barbe-Wenzel will continue in a part-time capacity, being the administrative link between CoSA Canada and Communitas.  Jeri Pitzel and Bill Kokesch will continue in their roles as part of the coordination team.   Peter Huish will temporarily take on the role of Coordinator, being the link between the coordination team and the Board of Directors.

Two new members were elected to the Board in May: Sabrina Tucci, a chaplain at the Federal Training Centre in Laval, and Gordon Pargelen, a long-time Communitas member.  Bill Kokesch resigned from the Board to devote more time to the Coordination Team.

For more information, contact: [email protected]

In November, 2020, Communitas volunteer Marlyn Silverstone was diagnosed with Lymphoma, a type of cancer that affects the lymphatic system, a part of the body’s germ fighting network.  Marlyn’s health journey took her from chemotherapy to failing organs and then transition to palliative care.

In this first of two articles, Marlyn shares her thoughts and emotions of this perilous time in her life.

Click here to read the pdf article

CoSA Canada seeks Associate Director to assist with resource and fund development.  For more information, click here!

Here is the latest edition of the Sou’Wester for  Spring 2021. Click on the newsletter to view,

DEAR MEMBERS OF COMMUNITAS,

Our Annual General Meeting will take place Wednesday, May 26th from 7 pm to 9 pm. Once again, due to measures in place due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the meeting will take place virtually on Zoom.  All the pertinent documents for the AGM will be sent out by email in the days prior to the meeting.

One of the requirements for the AGM is to have a quorum of members present. It is very important for you to respond to this email stating your intention to continue as a member.  Please indicate your intention by replying to this email. 

Membership will also ensure that you are able to vote at the AGM, including the election of members to the Board of Directors.

Any member can be nominated for the board after being supported by five voting members, according to the procedure set out in the linked document.  All nominations must be filed by the first Tuesday in May (May 4^th). A link to the nomination form is also included.

If you have any questions, please direct these to our Coordinator, Monika Barbe, at your earliest convenience at coordinator@communitasmontreal.org.

Thank you,

Bill Kokesch
Board Chairman

Nomination and Election of the Members of the Board of Directors of Communitas

Nomination Form – Board of Directors

Your feedback is always welcome.

Communitas
Coordinator@communitasmontreal.org