Sister Sue Kidd
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Slide - 50 Years, 50 Voices Sister Sue Kidd 00:00 My name is Sister Susan Kidd and I’m the chaplain here at the University of Prince Edward Island. Slide - Food for Body and Soul 00:09 I do like the fact that the University has this building, known as the Chaplaincy Centre that does have a spiritual overtone to it. And we do a lot of food here, like we give away a lot of free food, whether it be the food back or whether it be the chili lunches that we do during exams. I like the affiliation with food for body and soul. I think that that’s one of the highlights for me so when you say you know what comes up is that we feed the spirit, but we come through the belly. Slide - A Spiritual Place 00:39 The fact that my ministry, here at the University we have a designated building for the Chaplaincy Centre. I am affiliated with Student Services, but I’m not directly over in that building and I’m not part of the Student Union building so my outreach here is very much, or the outreach the office and this building is, is very much part of staff, student, faculty, administration, the whole campus community. And it's probably one of the few buildings on campus that we get to do that. That we really do recognize the importance, like they come - we're an academic institution so they come for their intellectual development for sure, we're aware of their physical needs you know of gym and health and wellness those different activities. The Chaplaincy Centre gets to say there’s a spiritual dimension to our lives too. For some people that’s a small S, that is just what’s that spark plug, for other people it might be affiliated with a particular religious denomination so it’s like that capital S of the spirit. Here in this building though it doesn’t really matter. We offer a place for people to gather. If you want to come for yoga on Tuesdays at noon, if you wanna come for a pray group Wednesday at 7:30, if you wanna join the Muslim community Friday afternoon, the Catholics gather Sunday evening, there is a space for that and by the very being of our - the very fact that were here we say that there’s more to our lives then purely academics, that, there’s a tangibleness about the spirit life here at UPEI. Slide - Greatest Mentors 02:11 I mean, I think this year 2020 or 2019 is a special year for me. The person who invited me to this position is Father Charlie Cheverie. And I met Father oh well before I came to UPEI at Student Conferences and he wanted to know what I was doing next in my job and I was on my way to Cameroon for two years of missionary work there and he told me he would wait. And so when he phoned me in January of 2010 and wanted to know what I was doing and he invited me to come to the University to consider this position I got to work - I had the best on the job training, I think possible. I got to work with Father Charlie for a year and then and in June of ‘21 he retired and I assumed the role. I think I had the greatest of mentors. And so with his passing this August, it became very challenging for me on a personal level and also to accompany the campus community in their grieving. It was a very, it was very important time, Father Charlie’s outreach even though he left the University eight years ago, a lot of the faculty, the staff members had been touched by his presence too. So this fall it was an interesting time in my own life of kind grieving the friend that I had and also accompanying people who had known him for much longer then I did. And, I think in the same breath, I can’t think of Father Charlie without thinking of our friend Rocky, who was a - Rocky was cleaner, Rocky passed two years ago, in 2017. But was very much part of the heartbeat of this building. It started by his cleaning and it turned into, it grew into being part of, an integral part of a team that fed our students. Physically fed by cooking, by being present, by sitting, by listening, by joking, and by teasing, and by music and by his dog Max. So those were two people that for me are very key to the life blood. And it sort of left me - not sort of it has left me with a sense of and what’s the legacy - how do we contribute to this story unfolding. So 50 years is a great opportunity to, to acknowledge what has brought us to this moment. And who are the current day people that are going to carry us forward from here. Slide - Multifaith Needs 04:28 I came to UPEI in 2010 and I - my numbers might be off a little bit, but I would think maybe 10 or 12% of our student population would have been international. That most of our people would have been either Islanders or certainly people that looked like Islanders. And we’ve doubled that, well almost tripled it now, we’re probably knocking on 30% now of an international population. And, while possibly in the more developed world faith isn’t an important of role, when our international students come they're looking for a spiritual home as well. So one of the changes for me, has been being able to respond to those needs of the other great religions of the world. Being able to respond, to provide space for our Muslim students. Being aware of the difference between you know a woman and a man within that religious tradition and how do we respond to the needs of each of them. The whole First Nations question. In our building it's been a great spot for students to gather to do the mass blanket exercise, for students to gather to participate in a Sacred Circle, to know what a Smudge is and how that, that tradition is - it's not against who I am as a Catholic woman. But how can I celebrate that and provide that environment for people of different religious experiences, different religious traditions to find a home here at UPEI. That was never on my radar ten years ago, but it's been an exciting development and even when our recruiters say to me: Sister what do we have to offer?. Where I’m challenged to find out what Charlottetown offers in a multifaith setting. It makes me grow, I think it makes me a better person and I think it makes me a better campus minister as well. To be able to provide for these needs of the new population of students at UPEI. Slide - Social Outreach 06:21 I think the food bank next door, it started with you know a 12 kilogram bag of rice and people coming in with their baggies; and you know kinda scooping out rice. And it has grown to being 100% donation driven by this community and the Charlottetown area and the Island community. When new students come they say well can I give to the food bank. And it really is this care of our neighbour dimension is also, I think is one of the universals and so it’s not only this quiet below ground kind of environment, but it is the social outreach that is critical. And Soup for the Soul came about, this is our 5th year for Soup for the Soul, and it came about through a partnership with the Province with their Health and Wellness Strategy; trying to respond to mental health and healthy eating by providing an environment where people can sit at a round table. Eat a bowl of soup that’s made here in the building by different departments on campus. You know, come for twenty minutes, half an hour - nobody stays, they all then leave until they come back the following month. Food is an important outreach dimension of our lives. If it was just about me and my personal prayer practice or playing the piano it would be a pretty limited scope. But I think you know responding to the bodily need, to the corporal needs we would say, the corporal works, you know. To be able to respond in that way. The chili tradition, I don’t have an exact story, I think it’s probably twenty years old, if not more, maybe even twenty-five this year. Where somebody recognized, back in the day, I think it was Sister Joan Marie Chiasson in fact, before Father Charlie. Who recognized the need for some healthy food during exams. Where students were staying up to late and stressing about school and the first thing off the list was healthy eating. I don’t know if they had Red Bull twenty-five years ago, but when you see them knocking back these high caffeine drinks. But they can come here for two days during the exam cycle and have a healthy bowl of soup, rather a bowl of chili, a baked potato and again some companionship. It helps them be students and that’s the support I think that we offer. Slide - Quiet Purpose 08:39 I’m very grateful to have this designated space. Yes, I collaborate with different departments or different faculties for different events and yes, facilities management is practically speed dial on my telephone. But I think the fact that Father Charlie was able to say, and it was heard, that this building needed to be separate from Student Services or separate from the Student Union building is a great gift. To know that the outreach - people don’t often book appointments to see me, it's often by drop in. So if somebody is coming in to clean or somebody is coming in to drop something off: Sister do you have a minute? Sue, can we talk? Those are the opportunities and it’s very discrete. In that sense it’s separate from, you know, I can refer people to Employee and Family assistance. I can refer people to other places. But for some people this is the first stop. There’s a safety in this. When I first came to UPEI, to come in our building you go down eight steps and I thought oh my god, I’m in a pit. I’m in a basement. It is grown on me in a good way. It’s quieter. By our being below ground, it's a quieter building. And the people that come into our building are quite intentional about what they’re coming for. They’re either coming for quiet or they’re coming to see me or they’re coming for food. But it’s not just a, I’m walking by on my way some place else. They have to really make the choice to come in and come down. That helps our building, I think to serve a particular purpose. If we were in the Student Union building, it wouldn't be impossible, but it would be harder to navigate. There are quiet places on campus. There are some lovely student lounge areas. The library has done some great initiatives for finding some de-stressing, decompressing zones. And this is one of those options so that’s a really good thing, I think. Slide - Final Thoughts 10:35 I am a part of a national network of campus ministers and when we get together annually for a conference or I’m on that board, when I talk to some of my colleagues and I hear the challenges that they're facing: for space, to respond to multi faith needs, to respond to the mental health crisis and it just makes me more appreciative. We have those needs here, but I’m very appreciative of the support I get, both from sort of my neighbours, as well as administration. Some people tease me that if you put Sister Sue’s name on a work order, it might jump to the top of the list a little faster. I’m not sure that’s true. But, I do believe kindness breeds kindness. You know, to greet people and to welcome people so that when there is a need, people do step up. I mean, I suppose we couldn’t be an interview of the Chaplaincy Centre without talking about our issue of flooding. We do that a lot these days. And as climate change and the heavy rains come will probably do it more. But, the University is very aware of that and we’re trying to figure out how can we respond. My first week here, there was six inches of water because the sump pump broke. Then two months ago there was more water. So I do think people are aware of the issues of here and they’re willing to strategize, they’re willing to discuss - who knows if it's going to be fixable or not. I hope so. But, I do think that a new building is not really in the cards as much as I might like to think it might be nice. So, how do we make this building conducive? How do we make this building safe? How do we make this building healthy for people? Those are conversations that I do get to have with people who are in other offices than this one. I think that’s a sign of their support for me personally, but also for the work of the Chaplaincy Centre. It’s an important mandate and the University does acknowledge that and I’m very grateful.