Saying goodbye: Sister Margaret Duffy gives a speech at her farewell morning tea with Fr Novie Lim presenting her with gifts on behalf of St Mary’s Parish.
Photo by
Oliver Shedden
St Mary’s Parish has held a farewell for a treasured member of the church and the wider community.
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The event was held on Wednesday, April 10 at 1pm to honour Sister Margaret Duffy, who has been in Echuca for the past 30 years.
She is a Brigidine nun and has taught English and worked in the library at St Joseph’s College.
Sr Margaret will be moving to Hawthorn, Melbourne, to enter residential care after a long stay in Echuca.
The farewell was held at St Mary’s Church, where many members were in attendance to wish Sr Margaret well and thank her for her service.
“To be honoured like this is not quite my scene, but I greatly appreciate what people have done,” she said.
“It just reminds you that when you are part of a community, there’s all that support and joy among people, even sometimes people you don’t know so well.
“Everyone is part of the community, and we all stand by each other; we make up the one body, so it’s been great.”
Great turnout: Many St Mary’s parishioners gathered to bid Sr Margaret farewell.
Photo by
Oliver Shedden
When reflecting on the change of scenery Sr Margaret is about to undertake, she is at peace with transitioning into the next phase of her life.
“You don’t realise that as life moves on, you don’t stop to think about what is happening; there just comes a time when you go and do something else or take up the next challenge,” she said.
“Now, it’s not going into a teaching job or anything else; I’m moving into a new stage of my life.
“I’m very fortunate that I can still move around and look after myself.”
St Mary’s parishioner Julie Moyle had high praise for Sr Margaret for all she had done for the Parish in her time there.
Ms Moyle was sure that Sr Margaret had positively impacted many local community members’ lives.
“She’s been a great contributor to our Parish,” she said.
“Sister Margaret has touched so many people that she probably hasn’t realised she has touched so many lives.
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