Keeping the faith for 17 years

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 06/01/2024 (643 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Today I’m signing off after a 17-year run on the faith page. It’s time for new challenges, other writing projects and a life without regular deadlines.

I met remarkable people and visited beautiful spaces in my work for the faith page, and I would like to highlight a few of the many that made an impression on me.

● Unexpected miracles: I wasn’t sure what to expect when composer Danny Schur (who sadly died last year) wanted to talk to me in 2010 about an upcoming project, but that’s how miracles roll.

Seeking to raise funds to install an elevator at Holy Family Ukrainian Catholic Church, Schur had written a short musical for a one-off performance, starring Rev. Mark Gnutel, then priest of the Grant Avenue parish. In the hour-long production, aptly named Perogy Supper Musical, the character of Father Mark worries about declining attendance, dwindling coffers and lack of volunteers to run the regular perogy supper fundraiser.

Filled with catchy tunes, humour and universal themes, this uniquely Ukrainian Catholic production prompted more than one miracle. The first one was scripted by Schur, but the second and more lasting one was how a story about a perogy supper fed people in many different contexts, leading to productions in Sudbury, Burlington, Ottawa, Calgary, Saskatoon and Prince Albert and several reprises in Winnipeg.

“From the entertainment point of view, this little thing that wasn’t supposed to be anything like it’s become, has miraculously become this hit,” Schur said in a followup story published on Jan. 8, 2011.

For me, a musical about potato-and-cheese dumplings filled my readers’ appetites for relatable stories. Maybe the menu was different in their congregations, but the ingredients of working together, maintaining hope and figuring out how to adapt to changing circumstances remains relatable for all people of faith, no matter their tradition.

● International visitors: In 2012, His Beatitude Sviatoslav Shevchuk, major archbishop of the Ukrainian Catholic Greek Church, based in Kyiv, Ukraine, visited Manitoba for two weeks. Just hours after arriving, the multilingual leader sat down for an exclusive interview, answering questions about his church doctrine and practice and more importantly, the future of his church in Canada. Then just 42, the archbishop was impressive in his calm demeanor and his willingness to take on such a huge role.

Two years later, I had a much shorter conversation with Pope Tawadros II of the Coptic Orthodox Church in Alexandria who stopped in Winnipeg during a cross-Canada tour. He made good on his promise to shake the hands of everyone who came to meet him and we also had a brief exchange. I presented him with a set of greeting cards reflecting a project within my denomination, and he gave me (and hundreds of others) a Coptic cross made to mark his visit, which has hung in my office for the last 11 years.

● Wee souls: I’ve written about death rituals and funeral practices of many religious traditions, but the most touching was the discovery of the burial of 2,284 infants at St. James Anglican Cemetery in unmarked and unknown graves. Previously, the cemetery manager had worked from an incomplete list before recovering a missing register recording burials from 1908 to 1976.

The best guess for the mystery is that the remains of these premature or stillborn infants had been handed over to cemeteries for burial, often without informing the parents where their child was laid to rest.

After the first article ran on June 3, 2019, many readers contacted me or now-retired cemetery manager Margaret Steele for more information about their sons, daughters or siblings. Unfortunately, the missing record book did not indicate where the remains are buried in the four-acre cemetery.

But Steele wanted to do something for the families, so in the fall of 2020, the cemetery installed a memorial stone and bench at the south end of the cemetery. Now bereaved families have a place to visit and remember the wee souls buried there. For me, the stories about the unmarked and unknown graves remind us of the importance of acknowledging prenatal and infant losses with rituals and resting places.

● Faith in the city: As a journalist, I’ve visited many beautiful worship spaces not always easily accessible to readers. In January of 2008, I set out to tour Winnipeg’s houses of worship and invited my readers along for the ride. Over three months, we visited about 20 different groups and we were always welcomed warmly by people from these faith traditions.

In temples, mosques, churches and meeting halls across the city, we heard people explain their religious rituals and share deeply held beliefs. Readers were eager to venture outside their own traditions and learn something about their neighbours. That three-month tour also opened many more doors, giving me the opportunity to write stories about the wide range of religious traditions in our city.

Thanks to all who welcomed me into your sacred spaces over the past 17 years and shared your stories, practices and beliefs. I believe Winnipeg is a better place when we are curious about each other and take the time to know our neighbours. I’m a better person because I have met all of you.

brenda@suderman.com

If you have story ideas about religion and faith in the future, please email faith@freepress.mb.ca

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