An award for her leadership in a ministry of restorative justice was recently presented to Patricia Love during a virtual ceremony drawing together friends, family, and colleagues from across the country. The ceremony was chaired by Kathryn Bliss, executive director of Circles of Support and Accountability (COSA) Canada, which makes the yearly award. The Award of Distinction was given to Patricia Love in recognition of her work in establishing COSA Ottawa at St John the Evangelist, Elgin Street, in Ottawa.
COSA Ottawa was founded in 1998 to implement a model of released prisoner rehabilitation begun by Harry Nigh, a Mennonite minister in 1994. The motto of COSA is ‘No more Victims’ as it works to assist offenders to turn away from their victimizing criminal behaviour. COSA Ottawa, which now has 14 Circles of Support with trained volunteers working with high-risk offenders (usually sex offenders). A core group forms around each offender, the Core Member, and meets with him regularly, usually weekly at the beginning, to assist with re-integrating safely into society and facing the many personal and social challenges that he must overcome.
This model of rehabilitation has proven so successful that it is now emulated in many countries throughout the world and across Canada.
Patricia Love, working with myself when I was the rector of St. John’s, secured initial infrastructure funding from Correction Services Canada once the initiative became too large to be managed by volunteers. St John’s Church provided the space for Core Group Meetings, office space, and many volunteers. Today, volunteers are draw from across Ottawa as well as from the parish of St John’s.
With funding, Susan Love was hired to coordinate the work, train volunteers, recruit and screen Core Members from correctional institutions, and work with the national committee of which she is a founding member.
Several participants in the awards ceremony spoke of Pat’s work with COSC and the congregation of St John’s Church as the ministry began. Pat herself sat as a member on several circles over the past 22 years. In my remarks at the virtual evening, I described Pat’s leadership in organizing COSA as well as her involvement in outreach ministry at the St Johns, in affordable housing and homelessness. Notably in 2001, Pat aged 76, walked from Ottawa to Peterborough to raise awareness about these issues.
Today, COSA Ottawa is playing a key role in the expansion of this model of restorative justice throughout Canada and the world.
Patricia Love, now 94, was not able to attend the award ceremony. Her daughter, Susan, received the award on her behalf. In presenting the award, Eileen Henderson, Chairperson of COSA Canada, noted how the award sculpture was made out of broken pieces of glass and pottery found on the ground, thus a powerful symbol of the restoration work which Pat pioneered.
Qu’est-ce que le bonheur?