Inspired by the story of Catherine McAuley and the ‘walking nuns’ of 19th century Dublin who refused to be cloistered away from the needy, three Sisters of Mercy have been engaged in a ministry of walking in Newcastle for more than 20 years, Aurora magazine reports.
Sr Patricia Whitten, Sr Colleen Kleinscfer and Sr Bernadette Mills became Newcastle’s first walking nuns, in 1997 at the encouragement of then Hamilton Parish Priest, Monsignor Allan Hart.
Sr Patricia Whitten RSM with volunteer Bob Frazer. PHOTO: Aurora magazine.
They had a strict rule not to knock on doors, instead beginning conversations with people in their gardens. Sr Patricia said they wore badges and would approach people and simply say “how are you getting on today?” or “I love this flower”.
“And then they'd give us a flower or a plant. It was lovely,” Sr Patricia said. “And we’d go on, and eventually we were collecting so many things we had to give them away to the next person we met.”
Through these simple conversations, the locals would eventually ask “where are you from?”. The sisters responded they were from the Church and that they visited everybody, no matter their religion.
“Very soon, because we were good listeners, they wanted to tell us their whole story,” Sr Patricia said. “And then they said ‘you're going to come back and have a cup of tea with us next time’ and things like that. And so, the trust grew.”
Newcastle’s warm embrace of the “walking nuns” soon encouraged other people in the Church to ask if they could also join the team. Volunteers were welcomed even though at times it created some confusion as to who in fact was a nun.
“The people knew the walking nuns and suddenly we appeared with someone else and they took for granted that the lady would be a nun,” Sr Patricia said. “And then I appeared one day with Bob, who wanted to put on barbecues for them, and some asked Bob, ‘are you a nun?’ It was funny.”
Twenty years ago, when the ministry started, the Sisters would meet many people who were not aware of the help available to them. The sisters would share information about Meals on Wheels and Mercy Services and link them to appropriate support organisations.
The ministry of walking and visiting people in their homes has continued until today under the name of the Mercy Pastoral Team.
“We have a rule to not argue about religion, politics or money,” Sr Patricia said. “We don't push religion. We just talk about whatever they introduce. It is really letting them chat and see where we can help them.”
Volunteers joining the team are trained in how to approach a variety of conversations and how to really listen.
Sr Patricia said it feels so good to see people’s eyes light up when they come to visit, and many times she has heard of volunteers having a hard day, but still show up to walk, and end up feeling they have received more than they have given.
This is an abridged form of an article by Brooke Robinson, published in Aurora, the publication of the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle. Read the full article here.