Christmas Newsletter 2025

From now on all newsletters will be published on the website, but if you would like to be sent one individually, please send your e-mail to margogila61@gmail.com or via Messenger on the Facebook Page of  The Little Sisters of Joy .
 

"The harvest of righteousness shall be sown in peace by those who make peace" (Letter of St. James)

FRIENDS OF THE LITTLE SISTERS OF JOY
An ecumenical Foundation of Prayer, Peace and Reconciliation

Dear Friends

I hope you are enjoying what is turning out to be a mellow autumn season.

I have been reflecting, as I am sure you all have, on the events in Israel Palestine and the fact that I have not been there since 2000, when I made a conscious decision not to return, having been there 7 times before.I feel a little like an armchair peacemaker. But as my health has not been too good I like to think I have my reasons.

When I set up  The Little Sisters of Joy in 1999 I did not realise that I was also establishing a legacy. It has taken the form of two archives in different countries, one here in Cambridge UK and the other at the University of Toronto.

The one here was established in a library called the Cambridgeshire Collection, on the third floor of the central library in Cambridge.It houses a whole range of local materials and our archive has been here since 2013. It contains concert programmes of all the concerts I have done in the past 26 years, and there is a big collection of correspondence. Amongst letters and cards I received from people when I published my books, there are letters to and people in the religious world including Bishops and even an archbishop.

And a variety of people I have written to concerning the Project , including an Indian religious Sister I corresponded with for 14 years, and one of the first people I revealed the emergence of the community to when I was in Israel in 1999. It especially documents the Rule of Life and Constitutions I wrote when The Little Sisters of Joy was initially started.

Recorded there are visits I have made to various churches and organisations over the years, with the odd homily.Perhaps most interesting of all are the photos of all those in some way connected to the Project. And all my journeys are documented too. The archive at the University of Toronto is called a Special Collection. Housed in the John M Kelly Library, it also has copies of my three memoirs, as well as a CD of my music, and all the relevant materials.

Perhaps a highlight of this year has been the visit of my friend Tanveer from Oman.. Born in India, she has lived and worked with her husband in Oman for many years. We met over a 20 minute conversation on a bus in Cambridge two years ago; it was Friday and she was coming from the local mosque while I had been attending one of the local churches in the area. The first thing I noticed was how beautiful she looked in her Indian dress.It was a meeting of minds and hearts as we discussed The Little Sisters of Joy and what I was trying to do.She said she was staying with her son, who would be interested in the Project too.

I gave her my first little book, The Moving Swan and now she has the second.This year she visited again and we had some real quality time together, talking and praying and eating some delicious food! And walking near her son’s house along the river.

Going back to the archives, they are open to all, just ask for the archive of The Little Sisters of Joy and have a wonderful celebratory season.

Shalom from Gila

margogila61@gmail.com                           www.littlesistersofjoy.com

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