The Sisters of the Good Samaritan have launched a new website this week which offers a window into the rich spirituality, life and mission of Australia’s first ‘home-grown’ religious congregation.
The site was launched during a national plenary meeting of the sisters in Sydney on Sunday, March 6.
“In our 154-year history we’ve embraced the media of the day to spread the Good News of God’s compassion and justice, values at the heart of our spirituality,” said Good Samaritan Sister, Patty Fawkner, who co-ordinated the redevelopment of the website.
“The Internet has changed our lives in terms of connecting and communicating, and we want to use this medium as a way of continuing to share our story and to link with like-minded people who share our values.
“We see it as a vital medium of communication, education and formation,” she said.
Developed by Marco Gatta of Technique Interactive and Nick Krull and Daisy Turnbull of KrullDesign, the website has a fresh new design and is easy to navigate.
Patty said content for the site had been written in an accessible manner to reach a broad audience, from students who might be researching the history and ministries of the Good Samaritan Sisters, to adults interested in faith issues or discerning their mission in life.
“The site includes resources for the spiritual journey, including the extremely popular “Oil and Wine” reflections on the Sunday Gospels from Scripture scholar, Verna Holyhead SGS.
“There is a calendar section to keep people informed of events in the Good Samaritan and Church calendars, as well as activities in the broader community of relevance to our faith life.
“The Good Oil, the free monthly e-magazine of the Good Sams, has also had a make-over. Each edition will include news and feature articles about Good Sam life plus opinion pieces and columns that explore themes and encourage reflection and dialogue about issues of the day from a Christian and Good Samaritan perspective.”
The Good Oil is published on the second Tuesday of each month.
Patty said she was grateful to all who had been part of the redevelopment process, particularly to Bernadette Beinke from the Good Samaritan Congregational Office.
Patty also paid tribute to Mary-Lynne Cochrane SGS, who single-handedly managed the congregation’s previous website.
“I invite people to visit our website and give us their feedback,” said Patty.
“This is another new beginning. We want to value add to this new site and further explore how we can make our website more interactive, and a means of conversation and dialogue.”
