Assembly of our Sisters in England

List News

12/11/2019 - United Kingdom

Appropriately it was an autumn theme chosen for the Assembly in Sunninghill recently.
As many Sisters as possible attended, including 11 from Hythe and three from Birmingham pictured above.

Sr Carmel Reynolds writes:

It was the culmination of the November Triduum 'All Hallows Eve - All Saints and All Souls' when we gathered in Sunninghill for our Annual Assembly. Our animator for the day was Sr. Magdalen Lawler SND. All our communities were represented. The atmosphere was of the season - a little damp, misty with falling leaves in abundance and trees in autumn glory. Our hearts too were in a joyful mood as we greeted each other. There was a felt sense of expectation as we eagerly awaited our sisters from the Hythe Community; Sisters many of us had not seen for a long time. And what a joy it was to greet them.

The main themes were Autumn and Jesus Relating to Women in The Gospel Narratives. We began by savouring deeply and prayerfully the rich symbolism in the 'O Antiphons for Autumn' from 'The Circle of Life' by Joyce Rupp and Macrina Wiederkehr. Sister Magdalen asked us to prayerfully invite God to 'come' afresh into our Iives throughout all the stages of our reflection as we prayed together 'O Come'.

ln the next session we spent quality time looking at 'Jesus and Women' in the Gospel Narratives. The message was that however we may perceive ourselves and our relationship with Jesus, we must know and totally believe that he is always there for us as he was for -the little gir! of 12 years old, the woman with the bent back and the woman with the haemorrhage.

The reflection hy Tom McGuinness S.J on Touching the Water' was a very special one. Magdalen used the icon painted by'lcon Jack' who travels around the country in his mobile home painting /writing Icons. This reflection left us very happy at the invitation of Jesus who is there for us 24/7. John's Gospel invites us into the land of wells and springs where Jesus meets the woman. Jesus you are always there for us too 'on the well-side of our lives'.

At the end of the day Fr Kevin Duffy sm celebrated Mass for the assembly. He picked up the theme of the well, asking us to stir up the waters of our memories so that we might not forget the people who nurtured us from their wells and helped us to grow on life's journey.

It was a very special day for us. It was hard to believe that the Sunninghill community comprised two Sisters only, Pauline and Magdalen! We marvelled at what they did in preparing such a comfortable and cosy well laid out venue with such generous hospitality. Thank you Anne for your quiet and hidden support all round.

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