Table 12:7, Religious Vocations in St. Malachy’s Parish 2“

Decades 1880-89

1890-1899 1900—1909

No. of Priests No. of Sisters

0 1 0 19105 4 19205 2 19305 - 5 19405 1 19505 1 19605 5 19705 2 19805 0

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As a result of reduced membership in the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Martha in P.E.I. there are no Sisters

teaching in the schools in Kinkora, although four Sisters are living in St. Stanislaus Convent, Kinkora. Their role as catechists has been largely taken over by lay people in the parish, in the 19805.

Although some of these changes were unwelcome at St. Malachy’s, — in 1990 complaints were heard about renova- tions inside the church, such as removal of the old Stations of the Cross, and some parishioners refuse to accept Holy Communion from the hands of lay people — people show great support for their church. In 1989 the parish record— ed a surplus in its financial report, and that after spending

nearly $200,000.00 on property renovations.27 Generous donations by parishioners include about $40,000. from the

late Philip Duffy for new lighting, and new kneeling steps donated by the Shreenan family. Rev. Edmund J. Roche, pastor from 1983 to 1989, guided the renovations to

preserve the style of this heritage church. As a parting gift Father Roche donated a set of bell chimes that are

automatically timed to ring out the call to prayer at morn- ing, noon and evening. Membership in the parish is at its

135

highest level ever, 223 householders; and they support their church; in 1989 179 parish households contributed an average of $426.00 each in Sunday collections.28 Changes in a culture tend to be most obvious to those who look back to what they remember when they were part of that culture. Charles McIver returned to spend his retire- ment years in Kinkora in the late 19705. As a household ap- pliance salesman for Holman’ Store in Summerside he fre- quently visited the Kinkora area. “There wasn’t a home in the area I didn’t Visit, many timesi’ he recalled. He was a loyal supporter of the activities sponsored by the Kinkora area residents, and a popular story-teller of the events and people of Kinkora’s past. In 1982 I was riding with‘ him to Summerside. As we entered the Trans Canada Highway, near Middleton, a funeral cortege approached us. Charlie pulled the car to the curb, turned off the engine, and remov- ed his cap. As we sat waiting for the procession of cars to go by, several cars passed us without stopping. After we had resumed our journey I asked Charlie if he knew the deceas- ed. “No”, he replied, “that’s not the point. The point is that some of those ‘jokers’ should know better; when you meet a funeral you’re supposed to stop, out of respect for the

dead?’ He noted how the people in Kinkora had no time to linger after church to chat. He feared the younger genera— tion was losing the “old waysZ’ However a look back at the whole history of these communities seems to suggest that despite an obvious conservatism in the culture, the people around Kinkora area have not been enamoured by the old ways; on the contrary, they have deliberately sought and embraced the new ways. In 1988 62 070 of the voters at Kinkora and Newton approved the building of a fixed link

between P.E.I. and the mainland —— a higher percentage than the whole Island gave.29