Image: Good Samaritan Window. Sisters of the Good Samaritan.
To prepare for our Chapter Gathering in July next year we have begun the process of telling and collecting our stories of Sisters who have meant something to us over our lives. We now invite all Good Samaritan Sisters, Oblates, Staff, Volunteers, partners in ministry and our wider Good Samaritan Community to contemplate and share your stories.
Stories bind us together and help us understand our experience. We may dismiss our stories as personal and not important and but in truth they are vital to create connection and foster understanding.
It takes a willingness to be vulnerable and step out of our comfort zones to tell our stories, and yet it’s an act of generosity that nurtures our community. Telling our story is an opportunity for us to reflect on and examine Good Samaritan life and values and how they are reflected by the lives and work of the Sisters and colleagues around us and those who came before.
For the Sisters of the Good Samaritan, it’s a chance to honour and celebrate how the Spirit has moved among us. For those of us in the wider Good Samaritan community, it’s a chance to go deeper into the values and motivations that inspire us in our own work.
Stories have momentum, they allow us to imagine and create what is to come. Sharing these stories that make us who we are will help us shape our future.
Our stories of Sisters, and others who have inspired us, help us recognise how the Spirit continues to move among us and help guide us together into a new future. We began this process at our recent July Plenary Council. We heard stories of Sisters who were insightful, adventurous and courageous; Sisters who followed the “Missionary Impulse” and first went to Japan in 1948. We heard about persistent and patient Sisters who spent time on Palm Island “pastorally loitering” as they described it, and knowledgeable Sisters who impressed with their grasp of the scriptures and their writing.
We heard about the importance of Presence in a Sister’s life and the need to draw on inner resources like prayer, friends and finding beauty.Some of the many values that emerged from this process that we considered important to nurture in our future included:
- Courage to step out into the unknown
- Patience
- Zest for life
- Integrity in the face of criticism
- Gentleness
- Compassion
- Forgiveness
These values all inform our vocation of being ‘good neighbour to all’ in response to the social reality of our time. Those who came before us were responding to their time and their stories can inform and inspire how we will respond to ours. Please be brave and generous with your continued sharing of these stories.
We would like to start formally collecting your stories, as video or audio recordings or in written form, to share amongst the community as we prepare for the Chapter Gathering.
Some considerations when it comes to telling your story:
- Think of a Sister or Good Samaritan community member
- What do/did you admire about them?
- What touched you?
- What do they mean to you?
- How did they inspire you?
- What drove them?
- What challenges did they face?
- What sacrifices did they make?
- What were the joys they experienced?
We thank you in advance for your willingness to be courageous and share your story.
To reflect on stories in a group please follow this
To record your story follow the instructions CLICK here. Written stories are also welcome, please attach a photo of the person who inspired you if possible. To send videos (up to 2GB) size use We Transfer – instructions included in Record your story instructions.
Watch Sr Michelle Reid’s story about Sr Marguerite McIntyre, who embraced stories in her teaching and searched for the Christ figure in the most unlikely places! Here
Watch The Power of Telling your story by Dominic Colenso – YouTube
Please email your written and recorded responses to the cpcchair@goodsams.org.au
