Immersed in the stories
Formation at the Heritage Centre
Pip McIlroy Group Mission Integration Manager, Formation and Ethics at St Vincent’s Health Australia
At St Vincent’s Health Australia (SVHA) we are committed to making sure that our staff have opportunities to appreciate how integral their work is to the Mission of St Vincent’s, that they can understand that Mission more deeply, and that they’re given the tools to lead our Mission through the work they do. All of this is what we call ‘formation’. It is a deepening of our understanding both personally and communally of our organisational identity, traditions and our responsibility in continuing the healing ministry of Jesus.
Our approach to formation has a focus on meaningfully connecting with the people it is delivered to as well as opening space for them to connect with themselves, one another, and the broader St Vincent’s story. It also aims to cultivate the capacity to reflect, with a specific focus on that which is central to the Mission of St Vincent’s.
The Sisters of Charity Heritage Centre is a fantastic place for these elements to come together in a special experience for staff. We feel very fortunate that it is available to us.
Since it opened, a wide range of teams from SVHA have been able to make visits to the Heritage Centre. Through the wonderfully curated exhibition, staff make powerful connections between the past and our work today.
As a formation leader, the Heritage Centre has been a wonderful resource for me personally to deepen my knowledge of the Sisters of Charity and their ministries. It has also been my privilege to witness my colleagues be immersed in the stories and objects included in the exhibition.
The Helping Hands object and object study video, which features the beautiful donation box originally displayed at St Vincent’s Private Hospital in Toowoomba, is a particularly engaging example of how pieces in the exhibition serve as a meaningful connection point between the history of our healing ministry, that of the Sisters and our leadership today.
As formators in the health and aged care ministry, we look forward to continuing to collaborate with the Heritage Centre to offer more of our staff the opportunity to experience the exhibition.