Margaret Ryan's Farewell Celebration 22 January 2010

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Permalink Reply by CatholicLIFE Archdicoesan team on January 25, 2010 at 10:23

Opening Comments from Shawn van der Linden, Director of CatholicLIFE - Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn

On behalf of the whole Archdiocese and the team here at CatholicLIFE I am delighted to welcome you all to the Rheinberger Centre tonight for this farewell celebration for Margaret Ryan.

We are here tonight on traditional Aboriginal land. We acknowledge the original custodians of this land, the Ngunnawal peoples, and recognise the capacity, strength and resilience of the Aboriginal peoples. We are committed to maintaining ongoing stewardship of the land and its peoples.

Margaret you have impacted the lives of so many in our Archdiocese through your faithful service and witness to the Love of God. We will be so much less without you working full time, but I trust that the connections will remain and that you will be able to continue to provide that prophetic voice of challenge and inspiration that we need so much as a Church.

I know I speak for the rest of the CatholicLIFE Team when I say that it is such a privilege to have worked alongside you and to be able to host this celebration for you tonight. Over the past few weeks it has been amazing each day to hear all the phone calls coming of people booking in for tonight….to the point where we reached capacity at 120 people. Margaret one of your great gifts is your humility and I know that being the centre of attention is perhaps not your favourite cup of tea…however, I pray that you are able to relax this evening and receive the love that we all have for you.

Once again, welcome to everyone and enjoy the celebration. I would now like to ask Fr Pat to say grace for us before we start dinner.

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Permalink Reply by Archbishop Mark Coleridge on January 25, 2010 at 10:31

Message from Archbishop Mark Coleridge

My greetings from Melbourne to all gathered to farewell Margaret. I would love to be there but family duties keep me down south a little longer. A farewell dinner is is some ways a very simple gesture. But the dinner tonight to farewell and thank Margaret represents a tide of gratitude from so many around the Archdiocese and far beyond. Last year we celebrated 150 years of the Goulburn Sisters of Mercy, and I was more conscious than ever that women have been the great teachers of the faith in this part of the world. In a different time and in a different way, Margaret has stood firmly within that tradition of service. In the time since the Second Vatican Council, Margaret has passed on the faith and led people more deeply into the mysteries of Christ. She's done this as a lay woman deeply conscious of her baptismal caling. Her teaching has gone far beyond what she has said - although she has said a great deal thourgh all these years! But it is her life, her spirit of tireless service, that has been a still more powerful teaching. Margaret has worked hard to become learned, and she is learned in the wisdom of the Church; she has had an unfailing sense of the Church, even a love of the Church which is so deeply and typically Catholic; she has been self-effacing in her service, and that kind of humility is always a sign of the Spirit of God; her energies have been astonishing, to the point where it's hard to imagine her retired. Margaret's contribution to the Archdiocese has been unique, as many of you know better than I; and there is no way that we will be able to replace her. My hope is that in another way we will be able to build upon her remarkable legacy, just as she built in her own way upon the legacy of all the teaching women who went before. My further and very sincere hope is that Margaret will not vanish from the scene totally but will linger gracefully as the wise woman whom others may consult.

Thanks for everything, Margaret, and may the peace of Christ be with you in all that lies ahead.

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Permalink Reply by CatholicLIFE Archdicoesan team on January 25, 2010 at 10:48

Message +Francis P. Carroll. Emeritus Archbishop of Canberra and Goulburn

I am deeply disappointed not to be able to attend this Farewell Dinner for Margaret who has served the People of God in this Archdiocese so well and faithfully over many years. I am particularly aware of her contribution over the past 12 years or so in the field of Adult or ongoing faith and spiritual education and formation. She has always given of her all and it would be difficult to over-estimate the energy she has expended and the extent of her achievements. At least some of you will remember the two Diocesan Synods held in 1989 and 2004. In both Synods the need for continuing faith education and spiritual formation for all God’s People but especially the Lay Faithfull was strongly and consistently emphasized. All needed to recognize and respond to the privilege and responsibility of Christ’s call given in Baptism Margaret was not only a passionate advocate for this aspect of Church life but made a unique contribution to its implementation in the fields of Theology, Scripture, Liturgy. and Spirituality. During the second Synod, it was quite remarkable how often her efforts were noted and appreciated by people from all parts of the Archdiocese. This affirmation
caused her no complacency but spurred her on to even more strenuous efforts in the following years.
I wish to thank Margaret for her generous and self-sacrificing spirit that put her considerable talents and seemingly inexhaustible energy at the service of Christ and his people. More personally I thank her as an ever loyal co-worker and a much valued friend.

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Permalink Reply by Tara Maree on January 26, 2010 at 15:25

All the best for your future Margaret, was great to see you yesterday, be blessed in your future!!! Love Tara xo

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Permalink Reply by Nicole Murphy on May 11, 2010 at 14:59

Thank you for this - Margaret Ryan was my teacher at Padua in the 80s and it's delightful to see she continued to keep having a wonderful impact on people for years to come. I had hoped to contact her to tell her a dream I had during those years, a dream she helped nurture, is coming true so if someone could pass my email address - nicole@nicolermurphy.com - on to her, I would very much appreciate that.

Nicole Dunkley

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Permalink Reply by CatholicLIFE Archdicoesan team on May 11, 2010 at 15:59

Hi Nicole, you can contact her directly via this online community. She is a member and active on a few of the groups. Just search for her name in the list of members and use the "send a message" function.
Regards.
Shawn

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Permalink Reply by Nicole Murphy on May 11, 2010 at 16:10

Thanks, much appreciated :)

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