.

Delightful reports have been shared of wildlife freely exploring areas previously occupied by people. There are stories of the lions of Kruger enjoying the expanse of a reserve devoid of traffic, and the singing of birds is returning to many cities. Closer to home, this image showing the penguins of Simon’s Town walking freely through the streets is lovely. By coincidence it seems to represent the confluence of Earth Day (22 April), World Penguin Day (25 April) and Freedom Day (27 April) all in one picture - oh, to be ‘free as a bird’!

Springfield’s 150th Birthday Celebrations

We are so excited to share the 150th logo we have designed to use throughout 2021 and beyond, to mark this incredible Springfield milestone.

As Springfield's existing branding is strong, we have used our current logo and incorporated elements to highlight the significance of this birthday and paying tribute to our Dominican roots and values adding the words Laudare, Benedicere and Praedicare (to praise, to bless and to preach).

Planning is underway for a number of celebratory events during the course of 2020 - Special appeal: In these extraordinary times, to keep things moving during lock down, can any of you help? The 150th committee is focused on two projects at the moment - a special book to mark this occasion and a celebratory for parents and staff. If you would like to get involved and help with either of these two projects, please email Kate Maurel on 150@springfieldconvent.co.za

Dear Friends

The disciples on the road to Emmaus find themselves in a liminal space (Luke 24:13-35). They are grieving what they have lost and wondering how their futures will shape up. Cleopas and his companion are in a transitional space. They are still living in a space between death and resurrection.

Liminal spaces are transitional ones. They are like ‘waiting areas’ between one point and another. They are transformative spaces. They are also challenging places to be in because they signify change. They tell us that we are on the verge of something new. They require that we begin to think and act in new ways. We do not choose liminal spaces. We seem to fall into them.

We enter into a liminal space, like the disciples plodding on to Emmaus, when our former way of thinking and living is changing. One of the lessons that Cleopas and his companion learn is that they are not in control.

The account of the two on the road to Emmaus also reminds that in a liminal space something new will happen. Liminal space can be a moment of frustration but also one of great learning and remoulding. St Ignatius of Loyola discovers this when a cannonball shatters his leg and he spends months convalescing.

Ignatius learns a number of lessons when he is in liminality. He learns that God is in control. He learns that he has to wait on God. He sees how he has faltered – he experiences his vulnerability. He experiences emptiness in himself and begins to recognise the movements in his emotional life, in his soul. He learns too that he has to leave a world behind and enter into a new one. He goes from the world of ambition and being a soldier to seeking a life of simplicity and humility in the service of God.

The COVID-19 pandemic has thrust us into a liminal space. We are caught between two worlds: the one we knew six weeks ago and the one that is to come. Just as the disciples heading to Emmaus – or St Ignatius after the cannonball – could not go back to ‘life as it was’, we cannot either.

Our lives will continue to be changed – psychologically, socially, professionally and as a church. It will take time but, hopefully, like the disciples and Ignatius, we will approach whatever awaits us with freedom and creativity.

The Jesuit Institute feels this liminal space acutely, like so many in the Christian community. The very essence of our work – having personal contact and being in community – has abruptly ended. We feel the frustration, the unease. But we also believe that something new will, in God’s time, emerge. We believe that change is inevitable and we cannot simply sit around thinking “when life goes back to normal”. Liminal spaces never take us back, only forward.

As we live in this liminal space we are thinking, consulting and praying. We are trying to ‘tune-in’ to where the Spirit is blowing. We know that as we move from level five to level four of lockdown, the place of liminality will not change. It could be weeks or even months before we move levels again. We know too that the Christian community will not be able to gather for a while to come. This makes our task of allowing the Spirit to blow in new directions even more essential.

Don’t run from this uncomfortable time of liminality. It invites us all to discover the essentials we may well have lost touch with. It invites us, like those disciples, to have our eyes opened and recognise the Lord in our midst in a new way. It invites us to see ourselves, our Church and our world through new eyes.

Keep safe, know the Lord walks with us – even if we don’t recognise him! – and may God bless you.

_______________

Fr Russell Pollitt SJ

Director: Jesuit Institute South Africa

A Prayer to Our Lady in Difficult times

Holy Virgin Mary, you are reigning in glory, with Jesus, your Son.

Remember us in our sadness. Look kindly on all who are suffering or facing any difficulty.

Have pity on those who are separated from someone they love.

Have pity on the loneliness of our hearts.

Have pity on the weakness of our faith and love.

Have pity on those who are weeping, on those who are praying, on those who are fearful.

Holy Mother, please obtain for all of us hope and peace with justice.

Amen.

Community Engagement

Sandwiches / Perishable Goods Drop-Off

Ladles of Love is an organisation that assists in feeding hungry people. They have requested donations of rice, samp, maize, sugar, lentils, canned goods and other non-perishables, nappies, sanitary pads, soap, blankets and towels.

They also hand out food parcels on Monday and Wednesday afternoons. Premade sandwiches, fruit or boiled eggs can be donated on Monday and Wednesday mornings. Please do not cut the sandwiches, just put them as is into a bag.

Jessica Ballantyne has supported the sandwich making and have recommended the following drop-offs:

- Oakhurst Farm Stall in Kenilworth

- Chardonnay Deli in Constantia

Donating or making some masks

The Minister of Health, Dr Mkhize, has asked people not to go out in public without a face mask. Ideally, everyone should have two face masks - one to wear while the other one is being washed). Not all families have the resources to make their own masks and, due to the high demand, many companies are running short. We would like to encourage you to, once you have secured masks for yourselves, and only if you have the resources to do so, to consider making and donating some for others.

You can find the pattern and further information on this website.

Face masks should ideally be three layers thick and include written or typed instructions. Nicky Going has arranged with Pick 'n Pay in Plumstead (Gabriel Road) for a box to be placed outside for you to drop them off in and they will be made available for collection by members of the public and communities that desperately need them. One of the communities that we are collecting for are patients who arrive at hospitals, to help to protect them from infection of and by other patients.

If you'd like to learn more about the importance of wearing a face mask you can watch this clip.

Get out those knitting needles

Our knitting project this year will be aimed towards making Baby Beanies for Mowbray Maternity Hospital. If you have some free time and need something relaxing to do, you could consider getting started with this.

Find the wool type, needle size and pattern here.