nov25-dec1

	One of the first of its kind in the world, the National Memorial Centre in Beechwood Cemetery in Ottawa was blessed Nov. 28 in a ceremony attended by spiritual leaders from about 30 faith groups. The nine-sided facility cost over $5 million and is to be officially opened in April 2008. The "Sacred Space" area has no religous symbols but a 14-tonne rock lies in the centre under a large sky lit dome. Padre Gerry Peddle, an Anglican priest and former Chaplain General of the Canadian Forces -- who spearheaded the project -- said the rock, "reminds us that, in the midst of our mourning, there is another reality that is eternal."
	Padre Gerry Peddle, who is a former Chaplain General of the Canadian Forces and vice-chair of the Beechwood Cemetery Foundation, speaks at the blessing ceremony for the new National Memorial Centre in Beechwood Cemetery in Ottawa Nov. 28. Spiritual leaders from about 30 faith groups attended.
	RCMP Corporal Craig Kennedy watches as Elder Peter Deacontie of the Algonquin Nation begins the Aboriginal smudging ceremony at the blessing of the new National Memorial Centre in Beechwood Cemetery in Ottawa Nov. 28.
	Padre Gerry Peddle, who is former Chaplain General of the Canadian Forces and vice-chair of the Beechwood Cemetery Foundation, said the rock at the centre of the new National Memorial Centre "symbolizes a permanence and an endurance" and "provides us with a living tesitmony to the fact that some things last a lot longer than we mortal human beings."
	Leaders of about 30 faith groups form a circle around a 14-tonne rock that lies in the centre of the National Memorial Centre in Beechwood Cemetery in Ottawa Nov. 28. Each deposited their faith's funeral rites on a table nearby. Among them, second from right, were Bishop Donald Theriault the Military Ordinary for Catholics, and to his right, Bishop Peter Coffin, the Anglican Bishop Ordinary and recently-retired Bishop of the Diocese of Ottawa.
	Former Chief of the Defence Staff, General Maurice Baril, passes the colours of the Quebec-based Royal 22nd Regiment, nicknamed "the Van Doos" to Padre Stanley Johnstone, Chaplain General of the Canadian Forces, for placement in the Hall of Colours of the National Memorial Centre in Beechwood Cemetery in Ottawa Nov. 28.
	A guard stands at attention in the doorway of the newly dedicated Hall of Colours of the National Memorial Centre in Beechwood Cemetery in Ottawa Nov. 28. The stained-glass window above the regimental colours (flags) of the Royal 22nd Regiment and the Royal Canadian Regiment was donated by the Canadian Military Chaplains' Association in memory of military chaplains past and present and cost of over $30,000.
	As above
	A soft blanket of snow covers the National Military Cemetery in the heart of Beechwood Cemetery in Ottawa Nov. 28. Beechwood became the home of the Canadian Forces cemetery in 2001.
	This monument to Élisabeth Bruyère, foundress of the Sisters of Charity of Ottawa, and St. Marguerite d'Youville, the first Canadian-born saint, was unveiled in May of this year at Beechwood Cemetery in Ottawa .It was the result of fundraising efforts by a committee and as part of the 150th aniversary celebrations of the City of Ottawa and the 160th anniversary of the Sisters of Charity. Made up of five life-sized figures, the monument was the work of Canadian sculptor Achim Klaas. The monument is the central feature of the Stations of the Cross section of Beechwood Cemetery and is located near the grave of former Governor General Ray Hnatyshyn.