Up Close and Personal
Oblate Bishop Douglas Crosby of Diocese of Corner Brook and Labrador
This title, I feel, will draw a few eyes to this article. Whatever does a bear have to do with our bishop? Let me first introduce ourselves. We are Donna Kelly and Mildred Chabassol, two sisters of the Congregation of Notre Dame who came to Benoit’s Cove, on the West Coast of Newfoundland, five years ago. We are directors of Parish Life in Our Lady Star of the Sea, and it is a ministry that we enjoy. Like most of you, we are engaged in many tasks: from performing baptisms and weddings to carrying out the garbage in the church hall. And yes, back to the bear and the bishop.
One thing we noticed, after being here a few months, was that there was a grave lack of attendance in our services of younger families and thus small children. Why? That question we are not yet able to solve, but face it we did, in what one would undoubtedly acknowledge as a creative sort of a way.
We began by having an extra service on Christmas and Easter Sunday for families, but that just didn’t attract very many. So, the next year we added a service on Good Friday morning and advertised it especially for children, and parents could come if the children wanted to bring them. Come they did—out of curiosity, if nothing else. To achieve our end, we put together a service designed for children, in song, movement, readings, and reflection. It was then they were introduced to Ben Bear. Every child loves a teddy bear, and every adult who still has the inner child alive in their hearts, loves a teddy bear. We took it upon ourselves to search out the perfect bear for this special mission. It took a
The children with their teddy bears came to listen to Bishop Crosby.
He sat on my knee as I read a story appropriate for Good Friday. The children sitting around me realized, at least to them, that Ben was alive. They grew to love him and he became well known throughout our town. The following Christmas, we issued a further invitation to all the children in the surrounding areas. “Come to a special Children’s Mass on Christmas Eve. Take along your parents and grandparents, and each child is to come with their favourite teddy bear so that all can meet Ben Bear.” Well, they came, and our church was overflowing. The children loved it and the parents could not say enough. If the children were happy, they were happy.
You are asking, I know, and what has that to do with Bishop Crosby? So I will tell you.
This past Christmas we could not find a priest to come on Christmas Eve, and of course we had to take our concerns to our bishop. He very generously offered to come along, since he was free the first part of the evening. We mentioned we had only one problem, our liturgy was a bit “different” from what he might be used to—it included bears! Needless to say, he was a bit confused at what bears had to do with Christmas yet he was open to whatever we had to propose. Thus the bishop met the children, Ben Bear, and all the teddy bears.
What was totally impressive, touching, and inspiring to all of us that evening was to see Oblate Bishop Douglas Crosby sitting on the floor in his presiding robes, surrounded by children and bears, reading them the Christmas story. These little ones learned, up close and personal, who their bishop truly is. Their families were deeply touched that the spirit that is Christmas—Love—was lived so really with Bishop Doug Crosby. None of us will forget that Christmas Eve 2008in our church in Benoit’s Cove.
Sister Mildred Chabassol, C.N.D., and Sister Donna Kelly, C.N.D., direct the parish life ministry at Our Lady Star of the Sea, in Benoit’s Cove, Diocese of
