pathways, DECEMBER 2007
Five were among the 26 researchers gathered for the conference and two were in the support group. Three of the researchers presented
papers and short discussions.
The Australian researchers are Sisters Elizabeth Dowling (Ballarat East), Patricia Fox (Adelaide), Janette Gray (Melbourne), Sophie McGrath (Parramatta) and Elaine Wainwright (a Brisbane RSM living in Auckland, NZ). Sisters Patricia, Sophie and Elaine presented papers. Sr Veronica Lawson (Ballarat East) attended as one of two facilitators and Sr Adele Howard (Melbourne) was the media specialist.
The gathering engaged in a theological reflection on the theme, 'Fire Cast on the Earth - Kindling': Being Mercy in the Twenty-First Century, based on the words of Catherine McAuley in her letter to Elizabeth Moore on July 28, 1840, where Catherine is commenting on the Christ-given zeal and mercifulness of the English postulants preparing for the foundation in Birmingham.
photo: by Genemarie Beegan RSM, in the Burlingame chapel
The conference was planned and sponsored by the Mercy International Research Commission (MIRC), a group of Sisters of Mercy appointed by the Mercy International Association (MIA) in 2004. Members of the Commission include Sisters Sophie and Elaine.
At its August 2007 meeting, the Board of Mercy International Association adopted the following statement of vision, quoted in part:
God's gracious and compassionate Mercy is the wellspring, the source of never failing supply, for all those who cherish and seek to live out this gift of Mercy.
Catherine McAuley, foundress of the Sisters of Mercy, used her inheritance in service of the needs of her time. Today, Sisters of Mercy, through Mercy International Association, use their resources to respond to issues of global poverty demonstrated in the massive displacement of persons worldwide....
This vision keeps alive the founding spirit of Catherine among peoples of the world most in need of God's compassion and mercy.
The MIA Vision Statement situated the theological reflections of the research conference in the global Mercy aspiration, and remains an inspiration in the ongoing efforts of "Mercy - Kindling."
Details of the Australian contingent are:
Sister Liz Dowling is a member of the Ballarat East Congregation. She completed her Doctor of Theology in 2005 and published a book entitled Taking away the Pound: Women, Theology and the Parable of the Pounds in the Gospel of Luke in 2007. She lectures in Biblical Studies at Australian Catholic University. Her areas of research interest are New Testament (particularly the Gospels of Luke and John), and feminist biblical hermeneutics.
Sister Patricia Fox is from Adelaide, South Australia, and has been involved in secondary, and tertiary education, and in formation, spiritual direction and retreat work. She has held leadership positions within the Mercy Institute and the Archdiocese of Adelaide. More recently Pat has completed doctoral studies in systematic theology with a focus on the Trinity and feminist theologies and is presently directing a ministry formation program within the Archdiocese of Adelaide.
Sister Janette Gray lectures in systematic theology at the Jesuit College of Theology in the United Faculty of Theology, Melbourne. Her teaching areas are the theology of the human person, church, church-state relations, feminist theology, and Christian-Muslim relations.
Sister Sophie McGrath is a member of the Congregation of the Sisters of Mercy, Parramatta. She has a special interest in religion, church and women's histories. In an effort to contribute to breaking the cycle of the loss of women's history, she co-founded the Golding Centre for Women's History, Theology and Spirituality at the Australian Catholic University where she is currently a Research Fellow.
Sister Elaine Wainwright is a member of the Brisbane Congregation of the Australian Institute of the Sisters of Mercy. Her passion lies in enabling communities of faith to engage with their sacred story in the scriptures in ways that are transformative of their lives. She does this through teaching, research and publication, workshops and preaching. Currently she is Professor of Theology and Head of the School of Theology at the University of Auckland, New Zealand.
Sister Veronica Lawson is a Ballarat East Sister of Mercy who taught biblical studies at Australian Catholic University for 26 years before taking up her present position as Congregation Leader. Her main research interest is in feminist interpretation of the Christian Scriptures, especially Luke's gospel and the Acts of the Apostles. She has conducted biblical workshops, especially on mercy, in various parts of Australia, the Pacific Islands, PNG, Pakistan, Kenya, and Ireland.
Sister Adele Howard is a member of the Melbourne Congregation. She is the Director of Fraynework Multimedia, a Mercy ministry which assists organisations to communicate more effectively through digital storytelling. Adele is committed to supporting Indigenous Australians to communicate their culture through the Fraynework Indigital Centre. As convenor of MIACOM, Adele co-ordinates the on-line communications for Mercy International Association, including the mercyworld.org website, the
Mercy E-News and the interactive educational resource
Mercy and Justice Shall Meet.
editor's note: This material has been sourced and in part rewritten from the Mercy International Research Conference website. The article was originally sourced from the Mercy World E-News
of Tuesday, December 4, 2007.
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