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 Maureen
Andrews
What do I do?
I am a Social Worker. I deal with problems such as sexual abuse, domestic
violence, broken relationships, financial hardships and accommodation.
The list is endless! For some years I have been a member of the
Goondiwindi Health Services Management Team. I am a member of the Centacare
Board in Toowoomba and also the Delamore Retirement Community Board.
Where do I carry out my ministry?
I work in the towns of Goondiwindi, Texas, Inglewood and Yelarbon.
As Goondiwindi is located on the border of New South Wales I also see
clients from the following towns in New South Wales: Boggabilla, Toomelah
and Yetman.
What values underpin how I minister?
When Francis spoke about his way of life he said in part – “The
Lord has called me to be a new kind of fool in this world.” This
quote still holds a fascination for me. It is filled with simplicity,
charm and depth and calls me to desire to be a fool for Christ.
Perhaps I am foolish for I see the world is not divided into the sick and those
who care for them but that we are all frail, wounded, vulnerable people and we
all contain in our hearts that love which is for the healing of people. So my
clients in some ways become my teachers – as the leper taught Francis so my clients
teach me. We give each other courage to give love away.
Sometimes when I experience terrible pain and impotence I feel like
admitting that I have nothing more to give. Slowly as the years go by
I learn the importance of this powerlessness. The secret is not to be
afraid of it as Francis showed when he met the leper – I must not
desert my clients. Being there, simply being, is in many ways the hardest
part of my work.
PS. I could not continue in this work without the ecstatic welcome
from Charlie, the silky, each day and the time in the garden, which
heals me from the concerns I have for many of my clients.
“The sisters and brothers are called to heal
the wounded,
to bind up those who are bruised, and to reclaim
the erring.”
Third Order Regular Rule of St Francis
Ch IX #30
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