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Rose to remember
Retired Foundation Board chairman praised for vision
A way to live:  Benedictine Studies Day
National gathering planned
School appointments
Historic e-conference success
CHA national conference:  Hand in hand


Rose to remember

For rose growers among the readers of The Good Oil looking for a new rose to plant this year, you could begin your considerations with the hybrid-tea Good Samaritan rose.

This deep fuchsia pink rose with a light, sweet fragrance was bred by Australia’s Swanes Nurseries to mark the 150th anniversary of the foundation of the Sisters of the Good Samaritan.

It has become a beautiful reminder of the women of the past and the present who have travelled the Good Samaritan way, and an encouragement for the future. The colour was chosen as symbolic of the wine that the Samaritan of the gospel parable poured into the wounds of the traveller.

It was released exclusively to the Sisters in July 2007, with general release in October that year as a potted rose leaf and flower.  Its winter release was only last year.

With a petal count of between 30 and 35, a flower size of 120-140mm and a height of 140cm, Good Samaritan won a bronze medal at the 2008 National Rose Trials.

Its catalogue description reads:

An undeniably magnificent rose. Some say red is the only rose colour, untrue when you compare this stunning bloom with all manner of pink and red shades glowing on petals perfectly formed. Exceptionally high centred, fully petalled blooms of satiny deep fuchsia pink are breathtaking in a vase. Tall, well branched and fully evaluated by Swanes, this is a rose to remember.

It is said to improve with establishment and have great disease resistance.  The rich colour gives the plant heat resistance.

Other “blessed” roses include Mary MacKillop (blooms of clear shell-pink deeply edged with rose-pink on the outer petals), named in honour of the co-founder of the Sisters of St Joseph; Catherine McAuley (blooms of bright clear yellow), named for the founder of the Sisters of Mercy and St Patrick (a super slow opening yellow rose that takes the heat), which according to Swanes is the “longest lasting cut flower of all time”.

 

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Retired Foundation Board chairman praised for vision

The recently retired Chair of the Board of the Sisters of the Good Samaritan Foundation has been thanked for his vision, drive and energy. 

Pat Cunningham had served for nine years as a Director of the Foundation and succeeded the inaugural Chair, Bill Carter, in April 2003.

In thanking Mr Cunningham, current Chair Pat Mullins said that Mr Cunningham had a talent for motivating his fellow Board members and had brought his considerable people management skills to the service of the Foundation. 

In addition to its fund raising role, the Sisters of the Good Samaritan Foundation has its own ministry, Good Sams' Housing, which provides transitional accommodation for women and children escaping domestic violence.  Mr Mullins said that Mr Cunningham had been instrumental in developing and expanding the Foundation's involvement in this vital ministry.

Congregational Superior Clare Condon SGS said:    “He brought to the Foundation not only his expertise from the financial world but a spirit of generous service that can only be described as a present day Good Samaritan. No job was ever too small and no request refused….

“I take this opportunity to publicly acknowledge and express deep gratitude to Pat Cunningham for all he has done to assist the Foundation and the Congregation.”

contributions to support the work: the Sisters of the Good Samaritan Foundation, PO Box 260, Wavell Heights, Qld 4012;  further information: 07 3350 4032.

 

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A way to live:  Benedictine Studies Day

by Pam Pullen SGS

The rain poured down outside but inside the Good Samaritan Congregational Centre at Glebe 95 people gathered for a Benedictine Studies Day: A Way to Live – Between the Ideal and the Real.

The day, organised by the members of the Benedictine Union of Australia and New Zealand who were meeting at the centre, presented three speakers: Fr Bernard McGrath from St Benedict’s Monastery, Arcadia, NSW; Fr David Barry from Holy Trinity Abbey, New Norcia, WA, and Sr Hilda Scott from the Benedictine Abbey, Jamberoo, NSW.

Fr Bernard spoke on Benedict’s use of Scripture – Playing with Texts?

He reflected on this in the light of contemporary discussions about the place of the Bible in the lives of Christians. In particular he referred to some of the propositions from the Bishops’  Synod on the Word of God and the concern about the separation between current methods of exegesis  and theology.

He then showed diagrams that indicated the frequent use of scripture by Benedict and used an example from Benedict to speak about “playing with texts”. In the Prologue, Benedict quotes John 12:35: “Walk while you have the light of life”, but he changes the text to “Run while you have the light of life”. This adds a dimension of enthusiasm and energy that is in keeping with Benedict’s thought in other parts of the Rule where he also uses “run” or its derivatives.

Fr David picked up the words from the title: “Between the Ideal and the Real”.

He emphasised the importance of ideals but suggested that we need prudence in formulating them. If they are impossibly high they can become a tyranny. If they are not high enough they can lead to mediocrity.

He then went on to apply these ideas to reverence in the Rule of Benedict. He said that he was ruminating with Benedict.

He spoke first about ruminating as in Lectio Divina and then applied it to the teaching on reverence in the Rule. First, there is reverence for God, shunning all forgetfulness by cultivating an active faith in God’s presence. From this flows reverence for what is of God in creation, for persons, including self, for things, for places, for times and seasons.

Sr Hilda explored some of the key features of Benedictine life, which she called “the Benedictine recipe”.

She showed how this can give us relief from the personal burdens that can weigh us down in our lives.

Her particular emphasis was on the Benedictine understanding of hospitality, especially as seen in the experience of the ABC TV Compass programme “The Abbey”, and what this meant for the five women involved and for the Jamberoo community.

The three talks provided rich nourishment on a soggy Sydney day.

a way to live: Fr Bernard McGrath from St Benedict’s Monastery, Arcadia (left),  Sr Hilda Scott from the Benedictine Abbey, Jamberoo and Fr David Barry from Holy Trinity Abbey, New Norcia.

 

 

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National gathering planned

A second national gathering of people with a close association with the Good Sams is being planned for October 2010 in Sydney.

The gathering will be an opportunity for Good Sam Associates, Oblates and Partners in Mission to explore and deepen their experience of living the Good Samaritan Benedictine spirituality as a way of life.  An inaugural national gathering was held in 1999.

Next year’s gathering will be on October 9-10, at St Scholastica’s College, Glebe.

Expressions of interest are needed by July 31, 2009. To register your interest in attending, please click here [Form] 

further information:  Sr Bernie Sontrop SGS, 07 32632297


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School appointments

Several Good Sam colleges will have new principals next year.

Congregational Superior Sr Clare Condon has announced Mr Frank Pitt, the current Principal of Mater Dei School, Camden, NSW, will be the new Principal at St Mary Star of the Sea College, Wollongong, beginning in 2010.

Ms Vicki Comerford will be Principal at Stella Maris College, Manly, NSW, also beginning in 2010. She is currently Principal at St Peter’s College, Tuggerah, NSW.

It has also been announced that the Principal of Lourdes Hill College, Brisbane, Mrs Narelle Mullins, will retire at the end of this year.

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Historic e-conference success

More than 5000 people gathered around Australia and in other parts of the world on Tuesday, June 30, to participate in an historic e-conference to mark the end of the Year of St Paul.

At least 180 sites, from locations in Parramatta Diocese to Broome, Thursday Island, Wellington NZ, the Philippines, Peru, USA, Canada and Malta, registered to participate in the e-conference, entitled, Paul – The Man, the Mission and Message for Today: igniting his purpose and passion.

During the day, registrations continued to flow in as interest grew. By midday, more than 1000 new participants had joined the online learning community and more than 2500 computers had viewed the first session in Australia alone. Some computer sites were hosting groups of up to 200 participants or more.

An initiative of The Broken Bay Institute and the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, the e-conference was hosted by television identity Mike Bailey and featured sessions from world renowned scripture scholars, Brendan Byrne SJ, Michele Connolly RSJ and film, media and communication scholar, Richard Leonard SJ.

Web-cast live to the world using innovative technology from Vividas, the speaker sessions were interspersed with opportunities for discussions at local gatherings, under the guidance of a trained facilitator. Emailed questions totalled more than 1700 by early afternoon and messages of support arrived from around the world.

The event site - www.paul.vividas.com - will remain operational until at least the end of September, with all sessions archived, so any person with broadband access may revisit individual sessions while the site remains live.

 

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CHA national conference:  Hand in hand

Australian and international leaders in social justice will gather in Hobart next month to examine why disadvantaged Australians are sicker and die earlier, at the Catholic Health Australia national conference, Hand in hand.

The World Health Organisation’s Commission on Social Determinants of Health’s Professor Fran Baum, Caritas Australia CEO Mr Jack de Groot, Catholic Health Association USA CEO, Sr Carol Keehan and National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission chair, Dr Christine Bennett, will be among guests and speakers.

“Hand in hand (will look) at how different aspects of the Church’s healing and social justice missions can be brought together to better serve disadvantaged Australians in particular,” CHA CEO Martin Laverty said.

“Why the poor are sick more and how we can change that, and achieving social impact in times of economic downturn, are two key sessions at the conference.

“We’ll also examine different aspects of mission, Catholic ethics and how they differ from ethics, and carrying Catholic governance through into the future.”

The conference will be held at the Grand Chancellor Hobart, Hobart, from August 17-19. 

further information:  www.cha.org.au    (Readers of the Catholic press are entitled to the group discount on registration fees – worth $110 – if they mention on registration form the publication in which they read about the conference.)

 

 

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