Twenty-three years ago, a group was formed to support religious women from small congregations living in Melbourne who had come from overseas to serve within the local Church. Today, representing 31 congregations, the ‘Small is Beautiful’ network lives on, the only group of its kind in Australia, bringing together religious women (and now some religious men) for formation, friendship and support, reports Melbourne Catholic.
Sr Jill Harding, of the Melbourne-based Family Care Sisters, was one of the founding members of Small is Beautiful (SIB) all those years ago. She had travelled to Sydney to take part in a national Catholic Religious Australia conference, and participants had been invited to submit topics for discussion. Inspired by previous conversations she’d had with Sr Carol Hogan, a Blessed Sacrament sister (now deceased), Sr Jill suggested a session on addressing the needs of smaller congregations, where women usually came from overseas and had few resources and little support. Together with Sr Mary Reaburn, a sister of our Lady of Sion, Sr Jill led a breakout session at the conference that posed many questions about the needs of smaller congregations (those with 16 members or fewer in the community). It was so well attended, and so many questions were asked, that further action seemed necessary.
Members of the Small is Beautiful Network meet together throughout the year to offer support, friendship and practical help. PHOTO: Melbourne Catholic.
“When we left that room, some of the Victorian religious gathered together and said, ‘What can we do?’ And that was the beginning of Small is Beautiful,” says Sr Jill. “It’s amazing what can happen when you put a few key women in a room together!”
Back in Victoria, the inaugural gathering was held at the Family Care Sisters’ home in Canterbury, in Melbourne’s East, with 40 religious women attending, most of them from overseas but now living in Melbourne.
“We wanted to provide a network where the women felt supported and that they knew there were people who could help in whatever way we could, whether big or small,” says Sr Jill. “At that time, too, we wanted to make sure all members of the congregations were receiving information, from the superior right down to the newest or most junior member.”
Today there are about 100 different congregations serving within the Archdiocese of Melbourne, including many small congregations, with their ministries ranging from education, aged care and pastoral care to youth support and ministry, and parish ministry. To this day, those involved in the SIB group usually have 16 members or fewer, with some congregations now comprising only one or two religious.
Scripture scholar Sr Mary Coloe PBVM gave a presentation at the most recent gathering of the Small is Beautiful network. PHOTO: Melbourne Catholic.
“I think members of the larger congregations don’t understand what it means to be small,” says Sr Jill. “They have a whole lot of infrastructure in place—personal assistants and staff, offices with technical support, property teams and so forth. But for the smaller congregations who don’t have that, if something goes wrong with your computer or your phone, what do you do? Often, you’re stuck. So, it’s good to have someone to call to ask for help, and one of the committee members will often connect them in with others who can help.”
Given many of the sisters come from overseas, it can be difficult navigating the nuances of Australia’s culture and laws, and even the customs and rituals of the various communities of the Melbourne Church. “We’ve managed to connect with the sisters within the community and let them know what’s happening within religious life, within the Church, and how they might navigate various aspects of Australian life,” says Sr Jill. Practical assistance has been offered by way of assisting with Visa applications, getting Working with Children Checks, understanding the safeguarding and child safety requirements, and providing advice on retreat centres, holiday homes, and spiritual directors.
Augustinian sister Lorraine Testa has been on the organising committee since 2010. She explains that there are currently 40 members who are part of SIB, ranging from their early 20s to their late 70s, with some having been in Australia for more than 50 years, while others have arrived only in the past couple of months. “It’s not unusual for me to receive a call from one of the women saying, ‘Did you know these sisters are here?’ and I’d say, ‘No, I had no idea’. So, it’s wonderful to invite them to attend our gatherings so that they can meet others, and we can provide information and support in whatever way it’s needed,” she says.
Each year, the organising committee—Vicar for Consecrated Life Sr Veronica Hoey SGS, Sr Marian McClelland SBS, Sr Mary La Bruna SJP, Sr Michele Touissant FCS, Sr Lorraine Testa ASJM and Sr Jill Harding FCS—determine the theme for the year and topics for the gatherings. This year, the focus has been Scripture. There are usually three or four gatherings each year, with the first always being a retreat or prayer day, followed by formation sessions and networking events.
A highlight for members is also the annual social outing or gathering. They’ve been on day trips to Tarrawarra Abbey to visit the Cistercian monks, and have visited the Rhododendron Gardens in the Yarra Valley. “When we come together, there’s always joy, there’s always laughter, and there’s always gratitude,” says Sr Lorraine. “It’s important that we’re not only there in the difficult and challenging times, but also in the times of celebration and joy. If someone is celebrating a jubilee or graduation, we make sure to mark and celebrate that. It really is such a valuable thing, and we’re all so grateful that we can connect and support each other in these ways.”
This is an abridged form of an article by Fiona Basile which was published in Melbourne Catholic.