Ministry in Spirituality

"To be a person is to have a story." We go on telling our story. We go on listening with and tending the stories of each other - those, who are closely with us day by day; and those, who move in and out of our lives. At times we come together to celebrate our stories, and the bigger story - of Jesus among us.

It is in this context, that the ministry of spirituality comes alive today, as it has done across the generations before us, in ways that are particular to the culture and circumstances of the time.

Our early Sisters ministered to the women of convict times. They, with others (like Carolyn Chisholm), helped to lift the spirit of the age. Across the years, ministries developed in health care, education and social welfare. The practical was there always, and deep within this was a presence to each person in their uniqueness and their wholeness - and a knowing of God being with them and among them.

As we look back at the decade just gone, we note something more specific in the development of the ministry of spirituality. People are giving expression to deep yearnings and longings. They are searching for meaning in their lives. There is a difference in the atmosphere of society. As David Tacey writes:

"The surface of life will not be restored until links have been (re)established with the depths. This is why so many Australians, especially young Australians, are talking about the need for spirituality today." ( Re-enchantment , p.45)

Our Sisters have responded to the call of our times. They gather with people in their homes - for prayerful reflecting together on their lives and the Gospel, and with programmes of on-going prayer and faith development. They offer spiritual guidance in the context of retreat centres, where people come seeking spiritual guidance. Members of school staffs are often among those who gather, renewing and deepening their own spirit, and being more able to share this with their students. Whatever the walk in life, people come to be more grounded in who they are, and to grow in intimacy with their God - they give expression to this in many different ways.

The healing prayer ministry captures something of the all-encompassing love of our foundress, Mary Aikenhead, in her concern for the whole person. Those involved in this ministry spend time in prayer with the emotionally broken, the abused, those who are confused and disturbed, the rejected, the hurting ones. Enabling people to journey back through their lives, recalling painful memories and revisiting painful experiences can be demanding and painstaking. To be part of their continuing journey in their new-found freedom and peace is humbling.

The Medley Avenue community in Liverpool offer programmes and prayer opportunities in the convent and in the homes of families. An outreach from this local community is the Web of Payer which unites us with people across our land - people who regularly support us in prayer. These women and men occasionally gather for a day of reflection and prayer in different cities.

Caritas Christi Conference Centre and Bethany Retreat House in Wahroonga NSW were places alive in spirituality programmes and retreats through the '80's and '90's. Currajeen Retreat Centre at Eltham Victoria continues today on its relocated site in the outer Melbourne suburb of Doreen, with its lovely setting, looking out on pastures and cattle, and with its varied accommodation. Also in Victoria, the Sisters of Charity work together with the Brigidine Sisters at the Kilbride Centre at Albert Park. The Sisters of Charity are represented at this centre in the roles of coordinator, hospitality and spiritual direction.

At the Emmanuel Pastoral and Spirituality Centre in Launceston one of our Sisters has been a member of the centre's team of religious and lay people, a complementary mix for this crossroads part of the church of the Tasmanian church.

In all our centres, the women and men who attend programmes and retreats bring an ecumenical flavour to our ministry - they represent a breadth of religious traditions. A Sister has been a member of the Commission on Ecumenical Spirituality, Theology and Education of the Tasmanian Council of Churches. One of our Sisters was an assistant in the Religious Services Centre in the Olympic Village of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. She knows a widening in her experience of the multiplicity of Christian faiths, and it has introduced her to the worlds of Buddhism, Islam and Hinduism. Also in the Melbourne Archdiocese a Sister has worked on Ecumenical Commissions throughout the '90's and takes part in ecumenical discussions and prayer groups throughout the year.