Chapter Opening Address: Sr Pamela Molony

Provincial Chapter 24 – 28 October 2011
Province of Australia & Aotearoa/New Zealand

Sr Pamela Molony

The Chapter meetings which we have experienced over the past months have provided rare opportunity for people across Good Shepherd to connect at a deeper level. Our Chapter facilitator Jill McCorquodale showed how this tradition of the sisters, stretching back many centuries within the life of the Catholic Church, can be meaningful for all of us in Good Shepherd today. We experienced Chapter processes inviting us to listen deeply, to discern together and to envision the future of the Mission, and we found them satisfying. I thank the Chapter Planning Committee: Rhonda Cumberland, Naomi McClements, Julie McQueen, Monica Walsh, Michael Yore and Jill McCorquodale for leading this process. Also, I thank the Committees chaired by Monica, Rosie Hoban, Rosanne Smith and Jo Thitchener. Everyone involved has worked together holding the big picture and each small detail.

Perhaps the slow Chapter process suits Good Shepherd because we have a long and rich tradition to draw from. Some of you know the song: We are Standing on the Shoulders of the Ones who came before us.

The Abbotsford Chapel links us with the people who came before us in a special way. It was planned, funded and built by the pioneer sisters and the men and women of Melbourne who supported them. Today it is in the process of being renovated and refurbished. The first stage of work involved stripping back the building: the statues, pictures, the floor coverings, the accretions of a century and a half were taken out and the inner nature, the integrity of the building was revealed. I stood with the group of women and men who had been doing the detailed planning work for months, including the Architect Robert Simeoni. As we stood there silently, absorbing the changed atmosphere of the chapel Robert turned to me and said: This building is robust, you know. I recall a feeling of joy as it seemed to me that Robert’s words had a wider relevance.

Good Shepherd in 2011 has weathered some stripping and refurbishment, its inner nature and integrity is revealed and it is robust. This is important because a lot depends upon us. When the Mission of Good Shepherd is lived effectively it makes a real difference in the lives of women, men and children suffering exclusion, disadvantage and hardship. Each of you could share many stories which show that…..it is the only reason we are here. Among us today are four sisters who committed themselves to the Mission of Good Shepherd about sixty years ago: Mary Gilhooley, Carmel Rose Fairlie, Marie O’Malley and Joan Paul. They continue to live that mission with zeal and hope. There are many others who would love to be with us but are prevented by age and frailty. We acknowledge the sisters of Australia and New Zealand , and the sisters on whose shoulders we stand.

We give a special welcome to Sister Anne Josephine Carr who represents Sister Brigid Lawlor and the Congregational Leadership Team. Her presence brings into our midst the Sisters of the Good Shepherd in 72 countries. All around the world our sisters and mission partners are working with people facing enormous challenges: political instability, endemic corruption, natural disasters, desperate poverty. A major challenge being faced by the sisters ourselves is the diminishment of our numbers and decreasing capacity for leadership. In different countries, the sisters are taking various approaches to address this issue before it impacts negatively upon our work.

Six years ago a large group of sisters and mission partners gathered in this very place for the first day of the Provincial Chapter 2005. Anne Dalton was the province leader and she and her team had heard from John Date an idea for a legal restructure of the province to take the Mission forward into the next decades and beyond. Anne had asked John to present his idea at the Chapter, it received strong support and the sisters then directed the incoming leadership team to proceed as outlined. I thank the members of the Province Leadership Team who have worked with me to implement these directives: Anne Manning, Joan Murphy, Caroline Price and Jan Ryan. We have worked together with strong team spirit. I acknowledge those who have stepped up to the invitation to accept senior governance roles: John Hutchings and the directors of Good Shepherd Australia New Zealand - Jo Cavanagh, John Date, Peter Bearsley, Beverly Connors, Janet Clark-Duff, Vinita Godinho, Frank O’Connor and Anne O’Hehir. Your willingness to take up these serious responsibilities has made a new future possible.

The Mission Statement endorsed by the sisters at the Provincial Chapter of 2005 calls us to: recognize and acknowledge the Good Shepherd spirit wherever it is found. In this way people will know the story, embody the spirit and pass on the flame. The flame of Good Shepherd is not diminished by being shared – it generates more light and warmth.

Today we gather at a unique time of history. As the role of the sisters continues to diminish, you and those who follow you will take up the flame. Your challenge is entirely different from that of our pioneer sisters in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand but the same heart of compassion motivates you, and the contribution of each one of you is vitally important.

Between now and the Provincial Chapter of 2016, can we all accept the challenge:

to be faithful to the core of the tradition of Good Shepherd without idealising the past
to make Good Shepherd vision and spirit the watermark which can be seen in everything we do
to strengthen our identity, in a way which is inclusive
to continue to challenge each other to achieve best outcomes for those whom we serve
to build a culture which promotes and affirms good leadership
to plan the way forward in a spirit of deep listening and discernment.