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 members of the Good Samaritan community to contemplate and share your stories.

Image: Good Samaritan Window. Sisters of the Good Samaritan.

We invite all Sisters, Oblates, staff, volunteers, Partners in Ministry and our wider Good Samaritan community to contemplate a Good Samaritan who has inspired them, and tell their story, either in video or written form.

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’re 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. It’s an opportunity for us to reflect on and examine Good Samaritan life and values, and how they are reflected in 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 amongst us. For those of us who work or volunteer for partner organisations, it’s a chance to go deeper into the values and motivations that inspire us in our 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’ve inspired us will help us recognise how the Spirit continues to move amongst us and help guide us together into a new future.

We began this process at our recent July Plenary. We heard stories of insightful Sisters, adventurous and courageous Sisters who followed the ‘Missionary Impulse’ and first went to Japan in 1948, persistent and patient Sisters who spent time at Palm Island ‘pastoral 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 member of the Good Samaritan community
• What does/did they mean to you?
• What do/did you admire about them?
• What touched you?
• How did they inspire you?
• What drove them?
• What challenges did they face?
• What sacrifices did they make?
• What values do/did they embody?
• What were the joys they experienced?

To reflect on stories in a group please follow this Suggested Process

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 in size) use WeTransfer – instructions included in record your story instructions

Sister Michelle Reid SGS has recorded her story, reflecting on her Year 8 teacher, Sister Marguerite McIntyre SGS, who embraced stories in her teaching and searched for the Christ figure in the most unlikely places!

Watch The Power of Telling Your Story by Dominic Colenso on YouTube

Please email your written and recorded responses to cpcchair@goodsams.org.au

For updates on the journey to our Chapter Gathering 2023, click here.