We’re delighted to announce that the April 2025 MSS Newsletter is here, brimming with heartwarming stories and inspiring updates from the Missionary Sisters of Service! Read and download a PDF version, here, or you can read the eNews version here (with the added bonus of a fabulous short video from Cecilia Bailey MSS sharing her experience of visiting families in outback Australia).
In this edition, you’ll be touched by the journey of Geraldine Vytilingam, the inaugural recipient of the 2023-2024 Fr John Wallis Memorial Scholarship. Geraldine, now a Reconciliation Leader and Youth Minister at Xavier College in Kew, Victoria, shares her profound connection with the MSS, emphasising their emotional and personal investment in her. Her work nurturing students in faith, social justice, and Indigenous education is truly inspiring.
We also have a lovely update from Lorraine Groves MSS in Hobart, sharing news of her visit with Liz Jordan to the ‘Free2b Girls’ in St Helens. This wonderful initiative, started by Tani Langoulant in 2017, creates a safe and supportive space for girls and women to connect and build self-esteem.
The newsletter also highlights the vital work of ACRATH (Australian Catholic Religious Against Trafficking in Humans). Learn about Stancea Vichie MSS’s involvement in urging politicians to address modern slavery, including forced marriage and migrant worker exploitation, which tragically exists in local areas.
Discover the inspiring journey of Monique Saywell, the recipient of the 2024 MSS Scholarship focused on women and ecological studies. Now in her second year of a Masters of Pastoral and Spiritual Care, Monique shares how the encyclical Laudato Si has become her guide, offering both practical wisdom and a call for a deeper shift of the heart, particularly relevant in the context of the water crisis in rural South Australia. We also extend our heartfelt gratitude to the dedicated members of the MSS Stewardship Council for their unwavering support in upholding the mission of the MSS.
Finally, you can delve into a thought-provoking reflection, ‘In The Beginning’ by Corrie van den Bosch MSS. Inspired by Kate Rigby’s work, Corrie contemplates the significance of Genesis in light of our current ecological concerns, finding a steadfast hope in the boundless power of divine love that compels us to care for all of creation.