Almighty God, give us grace that we may cast away the works of darkness, and put upon us the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which thy Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the quick and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, now and for ever. AMEN 

 
Collect for Advent 1

1979 Book of Common Prayer

The construction of the new residence is moving along! We have added another slideshow to the photo gallery called Construction Phase 2 at the bottom of the Construction page on our website. More photos will follow as construction progresses.

PREPARATIONS

The Bertram Conference Center

Sr. Adele Marie and Sr. Carolyn have been getting to know people in preparation for our relocation to Duxbury. They are meeting with people to share our vision for the renewal of the Duxbury property. The Bertram Conference Center will be one hundred years old next year, and the Sisters are working toward giving it the gift of another hundred years. The Sisters are also working to discover potential areas of ministry on the South Shore and to gain support for the Society's further ministry.

MONTREAL

The gravestone for St. Margaret's Home 

I was privileged to again represent the community and visit the parish of St. John the Evangelist in Montreal from October 30 - November 3.  I was there for the Pontifical Mass of All Saints at which the Primate of Canada, Archbishop Fred Hiltz, presided and preached.  I was the preacher at the All Souls service the following day.

I had a delightful lunch with members of the Friends of St. Margaret's, a group working to support St. Margaret's Home. This work was begun by the sisters and is now a government run nursing facility.

Peter Harper, the parish historian, took me up to the cemetery where two of our sisters are buried and also the plot where the residents of St. Margaret's Home were buried. We had a glorious day tramping around the cemetery and then had a tasty lunch at a local Greek restaurant. It was wonderful to hear the old stories about our sisters and the parish.

Again I stayed with the Reverend Ellen Aitken; a gracious hostess and a terrific cook! Her home is a lovely and comfortable place to stay and I said Morning Prayer each day with her cat Rosie who is fast becoming the most liturgically accomplished cat I know. I left having had a short but wonderful visit and hoping to return again.

Kristina Frances, SSM

ASSOCIATE NEWS 

The Right Reverend Zache Duracin and The Rev. Oge Beauvoir

The Rev. Canon Ogé Beauvoir, an Associate of the Society of St. Margaret and first cousin of Sr. Claire Marie, SSM was elected as the first bishop suffragan in the Episcopal Diocese of Haiti on Nov. 25th. The ordination and consecration will be held May 22, 2012. Beauvoir, 55, will assist Bishop Diocesan Jean Zaché Duracin in the numerically largest diocese in the Episcopal Church. The new bishop suffragan will be headquartered in Cap-Hatien.

Beauvoir, who was born in Gros-Morne, Haiti, went to college and seminary in Montreal and was ordained a priest in the Anglican Church of Canada. He was received into the Episcopal Church in March 2000 by then-Diocese of New York Bishop Richard Grein. He has been an Episcopal Church-appointed missionary to Haiti since 2004. He also served in that capacity from 1991 to 1996. He was most recently the dean of the Episcopal Theological Seminary in Port-au-Prince.

We are overjoyed to see Ogé elected as Bishop Suffragan and ask your prayers for him as he begins this important ministry.

SPIRIT AND LIGHT 

You can prepare us for a future of God's work in new places. You can strengthen us in this work by praying for us, by supporting our ministries, and by giving of the substance of your life.

The Society of Saint Margaret receives no financial support from the Diocese of Massachusetts or the national Episcopal Church. We are supported solely through private donations. The Spirit & Light  campaign will provide the financial assistance necessary to build a new self-sustaining residence-reducing expenses and allowing us to live a simpler life as good stewards of God's resources.

There are many ways to donate money to the Sisters. All donations are tax-deductible. You may make a one-time donation or you may choose to make the Sisters the recipients of a pledge. In that case, donations are given on a scheduled basis, either monthly, quarterly, or annually. For a secure page to donate on-line to the Sisters of St. Margaret, visit our website at www.ssmbos.org  and click on Spirit & Light. You may donate from your checking account, savings account, Visa, or Mastercard. There are choices available on the online donation page. If you have any problems at all with your online donation, don't hesitate to call us. We'll be happy to help!