It was a wonderful day filled with great conversation, many laughs and shared family recollections.
Annette was born in Albury NSW and moved to Murphy Street in Yarrawonga with her late parents Vin and Shirley Schneider and grew up there with her four siblings.
Whilst completing her schooling, she was involved in many local groups such as the Mary’s Tennis Club, the Table Tennis Club and also the Girl Guides group.
Many local residents will remember meeting Annette over the years and often meet her in town now when she is visiting and enjoying her favourite local cafe catch-up conversations with family and friends.
On reflecting across these past forty years, Annette offered the following thoughts.
Since completing her schooling at Sacred Heart Primary School and Sacred Heart College before leaving Yarrawonga to undertake university studies in 1971, Annette has lived and worked in many places as a secondary school teacher and teacher educator.
These include Fitzroy, Shepparton, Black Rock, Mildura, Ascot Vale, Karachi (Pakistan), Ballarat and Essendon.
From December 2011 until December 2017 she was based in Sydney as a member of the leadership team of the newly formed Institute of Sisters of Mercy of Australia and Papua New Guinea.
During 2018 she has had some long service leave and has been assisting various people with short term projects.
As she reflected on the past 40 years, Annette remarked on the many changes which have taken place in education in our wider society, in religious life and in the church.
Many of the changes have presented great challenges as people of good will try and meet the needs of people around them in a just, merciful and dignified way.
While there are fewer sisters in active ministry these days, Annette is heartened by the large number of women and men who are taking responsibility for the leadership of a wide range of ministries still operated by the Sisters of Mercy.
These include education, health and aged care, community services, child and family services, community development, ecology and spirituality, parish pastoral work and advocacy for refugees and asylum seekers.
She looks forward to the next few years, doing what she can to make a difference in the lives of people who can benefit from her skills and experience.
She values the opportunities she has to come back to her local community of Yarrawonga from time to time to visit her family and to see the various ways in which the local area has grown and developed since she left.
In the coming days, Annette will leave for Dublin to undertake a research project at Mercy International Centre.
