Sisters' Stories
Interview with Sister Ann (McGlinn) - former Maternal & Child Health Nurse in the Kimberley area of Western Australia, St John of God Health Care Board Member. As an opener and for those who may not know you will you tell us who you are and what you do? My name is Ann McGlinn; I have been a religious Sister of St John of God since 1967. How did you get to be a religious Sister? |
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My father took over the lease of a farm in an area called Lake Grace in 1948 in the Great Southern Area of Western Australia. My five brothers, one sister, and I were brought up there.
For my secondary schooling I had to attend a boarding school at Wagin 123 k from the farm, in those days on poor roads the distance seemed far greater than the same distance today. Following secondary school I applied to start nursing and heard that St John of God Hospital was opening a training school for nurses. I was part of the third group to start training there; it was the apprenticeship training where we learned on the job. As the three years training was finishing I started to think about my future and had some idea that the Religious life may be for me however I did not really want to think about it.
Then one day I received an inner knowledge that the religious Life was where I was meant to be. Having been at Boarding school and educated by Sisters who were semi - enclosed I had found the Sisters of St John of God were quite different. They were involved with people in a different way nursing the sick and being involved with the families of the sick. The Sisters seemed to me to be very down to earth people who got on with the job. They had a certain amount of mystery about them, the only way to find out about that mystery was to join them and be part of the mystery.
You have had a lot of involvement with mothers and babies especially in the Kimberley with Indigenous Australians. Did you learn something you value from Indigenous mothers that you would be willing to share with us now?
Since becoming a Sister of St John of God, I have furthered my training as a nurse studying midwifery and Maternal and Child Health. Most of my practice as a Maternal and Child Health nurse was in the Kimberley; those mothers young and not so young taught me how to relate to people with young children. They taught me how to listen, the importance of family support and to give a choice of solutions to problems so they felt they had more control over how they cared for their babies. I also learned that I can learn something from everyone I meet.
I really had the best of both worlds there as I had both Aboriginal clients and Caucasian clients with young children who were far away from parents and other support people.
Being a member of an influential board seems to be a long way from caring for Indigenous people. Does your Kimberley experience influence you in that role?
Being on the John of God Health Care Board is a very different from any of my previous experiences. The Kimberley experience does have an effect on my Board role, I am much more aware of the Mission responsibilities of John of God Health Care to proclaim the healing power of God's Love for all people.
Also I rejoice in the St. John of God Health Care role with the poor and marginalized which is a fundamental and non-negotiable part of our ministry.
A new initiative in St. John of God Health Care is the Strong Women, Strong Babies, Strong Culture programme borrowed from the Northern Territory Health Care. The new Programme has been in the Pilbara region for the past four years and is now being implemented and funded by St John of God Health Care in the Kimberley Region. It is run by Aboriginal people for Aboriginal People.
Mobility is an aspect of active religious life. Like many of your sisters you have lived in a variety of places. Have the places you lived affected your spiritual life?
I have lived in a variety of places however not as many as some Sisters.
I spent 14 years in the Kimberley region and another three as Community Nurse in my home town, this has been important to me; I love the wide-open spaces and being close to growing things. Small country towns are like a big community and are more relational than some cities. Country people are close to God in the way of being dependent on the weather for their livelihood.
My Spirituality is connected with the land, particularly the country where I grew up. When I come near that place my spirit lifts and I feel different. The same happens in the Kimberley which I call in my heart country.
I remember the day I left home to enter the convent, I thought, I may never see this place again or feel the wind in my hair. I have been back many times. When I pray I always meet Jesus in the open spaces
Which of your spiritual books has the most dog-eared pages?
The spiritual book with most dog-eared pages is a small book called 'Enfolded in Love' - daily readings with Julian of Norwich. I always come back to this little book as I find it very simple and it gives room for my relationship with God to grow and deepen.
You have held a role for your sisters as Vocations Director. Vocations Direction and Novice Formation are generally experienced as difficult roles, perhaps more so in the Western World. Why did you stick with it?
Why do I stick with the Role of Vocations Director or Minister as we say now?
I truly believe we as the Congregation of the Sisters of St John of God have something to offer women today. We are open to the new, continually strive to deepen our relationship with God and each other, we take risks in creating and sustaining a just world and work on taking care of planet earth.
I would love to share these things with many others; I try to bring these aspects to the fore in my relationships with people I meet.
Also working on Vocations, I have met many Religious from other Congregations who have taught me all I know about Vocations.
What gives you hope in this role?
What gives me hope in working on Vocation? There are many men and women who work for Justice, for the poor and marginalised who want to do so in and through the Gospels. They long for a spirituality, in which their faith can grow and deepen. These women and men are the hope of a future way of Life that is evolving and may look very different from the one we live.
In addition, Vocations have become an issue within the Congregation and there are more Sisters who are actively taking part in Vocation promotion work now.
You are very artistic - creating cards from native flowers among other aspects. Has your creativity played a role in your spiritual life?
Making cards from pressed flowers and gardening are all part of my creativity. I use these crafts and activities to centre myself, to get away from noise and outside distractions. I find when I do not use the creative skills my prayer is not as active and is stale and harder to stay with.
Does your Sisters' corporate vision include your work and spiritual aspirations?
Yes 'Our Vision' is becoming more a part of me. I find that our corporate reflections for Advent and Lent help to raise different aspects of our Vision. Also sharing with other sisters around the Vision gives new insights all the time. Personally, my Sister in Law says I am a fanatic about saving water, and not using plastic bags. Coming from a place where water was always in short supply I have a special value for this precious resource.
If you had a magic wand and could change anything or everything - what would you change about the way the Sisters are now?
If I had a magic wand and could change how we are now I would put more emphasis on Interdependence and less on individuality. I would create a more life giving way to live community. Interdependence and community are very much a part of the same thing. It is as if we need to come back together again after separating ourselves from each other.
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