WOMEN OF THE BRITISH ISLES
Helpers in Britain
We are a small group of women who come from these islands in the far north. We are scattered throughout these islands, none of us living more than 80 kms. from the sea.
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The wild Atlantic Ocean over which many of our great- grandparents sailed to new life in North America; the ocean that carried our sisters to their missions in foreign lands.
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The cold North Sea that brought our Viking ancestors to our shores, a sea exploited today for its oil and gas.
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The English Channel that separates us from and joins us to the great land mass of Europe, across which came the Roman conquerers who sowed the first seeds of Christianity in the south. The first Helpers crossed the Channel in 1873.
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The Irish Sea which carried many of our recent ancestral mothers and fathers to Scotland and England, looking for work and food. This was the sea that brought a coracle of Irish monks to speak of Christ for the first time to the northern people.
We gathered in the industrial region of North East England and in the sprawling cities of London, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Liverpool and the busy port of Portsmouth where our sisters worked hard, immersing themselves in their hard, grey poverty, bringing comfort and hope, and where we too have worked hard and long and still do today, journeying with peoples from many cultures who come to our shores seeking a new, meaningful life, peace, freedom, justice, work and acceptance. We walk in the giant footsteps of our Sisters who have gone before us and:
We celebrate our memories - THE PAST
We celebrate our life - THE PRESENT
We celebrate our hope - THE FUTURE
