Friends, 2023 is a significant year, as in October, Australians will be called upon to vote in a referendum where we will be asked if we support an Indigenous Voice to Parliament being enshrined in our Constitution. A Voice to Parliament will give Indigenous...
Our News
We, Missionary Sisters of Service, keep busy in our various communities. We host and attend events, are busy with different projects, and happenings. On this page, you’ll find links to all our latest news and events, reflections and books.
Marcia McMahon MSS reflects on life ‘with the people’
My early memories of growing up are good memories, surprisingly profound in hindsight. My parents and the three of us were impacted greatly by the then ‘signs of the times’. Now, several years later, I realise that this experience was a strong basis for the choices I...
Lorraine Groves MSS shares some of her Principles of Life
Over the past 12 months, we MSS have been documenting our stories and reflections on video, as a way of keeping our thoughts and memories, and spirit alive. We've reflected on the following questions: (1) What drew you to the MSS? (2) What has been the main expression...
MSS on video sharing their reflections
For almost 80 years, the MSS has been a presence of God’s love and friendship in the lives of countless people whom we’ve met on the highways and byways of Australia and beyond. At its peak, we had more than 55 women in our community. Today, there are 21 of us—11 in...
Highways and Byways Small Grants 2023 applications
Hello! The Missionary Sisters of Service are 'officially back' for 2023 and what better way to start our year than with the news that our mission entity, Highways and Byways - Healing the Land, Healing Ourselves, Together's Small Grants Program opens for applications...
Mary Cleary MSS, on life and mission
This year, Mary Cleary celebrated the diamond jubilee (60-year anniversary) of when she first joined the MSS. She was 22 years old, and had moved from her hometown of Warwick, a town about 130 kilometres south-west of Brisbane, Queensland, to join the community down...
Australian Religious Archive: celebrating history and story
The religious archives of five Australian congregations have found a new permanent home in Melbourne as part of an initiative to collect and store valuable materials for future generations. Five congregations to date—the Brigidine Sisters, Presentation Sisters of...
2022 Bruny Island Pilgrimage
As we gathered on Bruny Island, off the southern coast of Tasmania, for four days of pilgrimage, we acknowledged that we walked on the traditional land of the Nuenonne People of the south-eastern tribes. In this spirit, some of the MSS hosted new staff and board...
Rest in Peace Marie Carroll MSS
It is with deep sadness that we share the news that Marie Carroll MSS died in the early hours of the morning on 20 September 2022, in Toowoomba, Queensland, aged 92 years. We extend our condolences to Marie's family and friends, and to our community of women who are...
Deepening connection: John Wallis Heritage Trail Yea
The founder of the Missionary Sisters of Service, Fr John Corcoran Wallis, is originally from Yea, in country Victoria, about an hour and a half's drive from our Melbourne sisters. Born in 1910, ordained a priest at 22-years for the Archdiocese of Hobart (December...
Yarck to Yea fundraiser, a resounding success
What a glorious day we had for the 2022 Yarck to Yea Walk-Run-Ride event on Saturday 26 August, to raise money for our mission entity, Highways and Byways - Healing the Land, Healing Ourselves, Together and their small grants/ partnership programs. More than 40 people...
August 2022 eNewsletter is out now
We are excited to share that the August 2022 newsletter for Highways and Byways - Healing the Land, Healing Ourselves, Together (featuring news from the Missionary Sisters of Service), is also its inaugural eNewsletter. Highways and Byways, with the MSS, publishes a...