CATH NEWS REPORT:
Liz Wiemers SGS with Meye Mulladad
---
Good Samaritan Sister, Liz Wiemers, admits that living and working in a remote Aboriginal community can be tough at times, but overwhelmingly, it’s a rich and life-giving experience, reports The Good Oil. “I derive enormous life and energy from my ministry which nourishes me spiritually, humanly and professionally,” she says.
Liz’s connection with the community began in 1999 when she started to make her annual retreats at Santa Teresa. It was from these experiences that her current ministry developed. “My coming to Santa Teresa was a clear call from thecommunity and my ministry is a response to that call,” she explains.Since 2009, Liz has been in full-time ministry at Santa Teresa (Ltyentye Apurte), a remote Aboriginal Catholic community about 80 kilometres south-west of Alice Springs, and home to over 600 people. There she lives with fellow Good Samaritan Sister, Carol Tomlinson, who works as a Pastoral Associate.
For most of her life Liz has known and worked alongside Aboriginal people. Born and raised in North Queensland, she was educated at St Joseph’s Atherton, Mt St Bernard College Herberton and All Hallows’ School Brisbane, followed by tertiary studies at the Good Samaritan Teacher’s College and the Queensland University of Technology.
Before joining the Good Samaritan Sisters in 1987, Liz worked as a jillaroo and then in her family’s business. After some time with the Sisters of Mercy in North Queensland, she took on teaching and religious education positions at St Peter Claver College in Brisbane.
In her 24 years as a Good Samaritan Sister, Liz has worked as a school counsellor at St Mary’s College Wollongong, Lourdes Hill College Brisbane and St Mary’s and Mt Carmel in Charters Towers. She believes her time at St Teresa’s College Abergowrie – a secondary boys’ boarding school with a 97 per cent Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander student population – prepared her well for her current ministry.
Comments