Meet Richard & Susan Schmaltz, Pembroke Associate Community
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Richard
and Susan Schmaltz
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In January of 1993 we received an invitation from Sister
Marjorie FitzPatrick of the Community of the Sisters of St.
Joseph in Pembroke to attend a meeting at the Motherhouse.
Because my husband and I were experiencing a serious faith
crisis at the time, we were reluctant to become involved with
a religious organization, which in our minds was synonymous
with Church. This meeting marked the beginning of a 10 year
spiritual journey, which resulted in a life-changing personal
transformation for both of us.
In September of 2000 we committed to a 2 year term working
in Central America. During our time in Guatemala, Richard
led service teams in the construction of simple one-roomed
homes for the poor in the slums of San Felipe. I set up four
child-centred, activity-based preschool programs, designed
to meet the needs of the whole child, and trained the teachers
to carry on after my departure. In the evenings, and on the
weekends, we fed the homeless on the streets and in the dump
of Antigua. For us, the impact of the mission was profound,
and the people of Guatemala touched us deeply.
Since our return to Canada in November of 2002, it has been
difficult to readjust to a North American way of life, recognizing
and acknowledging how the rest of the world lives. Presently
we are in a process of discernment. This waiting period is
proving to be bewildering and frustrating, but personal experience
has shown us that if we can be open to God’s will for
us, all will be well.
In the meantime we are deeply committed to the Associate
Movement, believing that something very significant is happening
at this time in the history of religious life, and feeling
very privileged to be part of it.
Presently we are also in the process of forming a group
called "Oneness through Mission" whose mandate we
feel is to bring people together, regardless of religious
beliefs, to serve the poor at home and abroad.
Over the past 10 years the Associate Movement has brought
us to a "new way of being". It was through the Associate
Movement of the Sisters of St. Joseph that we came to a deep
appreciation of the personal growth that can transpire when
men and women come together to share who they are, and develop
their unique gifts. Richard and I are very grateful for the
direction, love and support we have experienced from this
very special group of Sisters.
After over 50 years of membership in the Catholic Church,
it is through the Associate Movement that we have finally
come to know God in a deeply personal way, and recognize that
there is a plan, a purpose and a destiny for each one of us.
Our hope and prayer is that, one day, we all may come to the
fullness of our spiritual potential and become all that we
are meant to be.
- Susan Schmaltz
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