STORY - "Sr Annie's Carrying the Banner"


“The governesses never stayed very long.”

If that reminds you of The Sound of Music, the comparisons don't end there. Although Newcastle Citizen of the Year Sr Annie Laurie's story doesn't include a baroness or a captain, it does feature convent life, an appreciation of favourite things and plenty of laughter and love.

Annie and three siblings grew up “in the bush outside Gloucester – we were wild!” The daughter of a Catholic mother and a Presbyterian father, she remembers thinking as a child, “I'm sure God doesn't have sides!” She saw much evidence of bigotry and it had a lasting impact. Correspondence school was adequate for a while although a passing parade of governesses didn't help, and eventually boarding school in Taree beckoned. Here the Sisters of St Joseph entered the scene, and Annie has always remained grateful for the doors that they opened.

Nursing at Lewisham Hospital followed, “a good basic Catholic training”. Like so many, Annie formed strong bonds with her fellow nurses. That experience was to stand her in good stead for her work with the dying and “Make Today Count” (MTC), but we're not up to that yet…

In Forbes, nursing brought a strong sense of mortality, with many young lives lost in accidents on country roads. The decision to enter the Sisters of St Joseph was not easy, although Annie says “I knew I couldn't just get married and live happily ever after. The choice of the Josephites was very much about their charism. I'd had time to look around at different religious orders. The day I entered was the worst day of my life, because I didn't really have my parents' blessing, my two sisters were OK and my brother didn't know what to think.”

She entered alone in 1970, and so there was a sharp change from the camaraderie of nursing. “It was a time of Vatican II in action, and there was great excitement.”

After further study in Canberra, Annie moved into infants teaching, and as she became more experienced, she realised the impact on children of the grief of what was happening at home – illness and death, struggling relationships and divorce. She became interested in the insights of Elisabeth Kubler-Ross and took various opportunities to develop her understanding of this field. “I did Clinical Pastoral Education at St Vincent 's, and worked with heart transplant patients, AIDS sufferers…. It was hard work, but it was good. I lived at Bondi in community with the Christian Brothers. It was a great year, the year of Halley's Comet, 1986, a year of moving to another ground…”

Since 1985, Annie has been working with “Make Today Count” (MTC) and with death and the dying, “and I think I'll stay with it until I can't laugh and can't cry….when I can't do that, I'll have to go and plant trees.”

MTC is a voluntary organisation which receives some government funding. It was founded because of the need to improve the quality of life for persons and their families who face serious illness, such as cancer, and to assist health care providers in caring for them. At the MTC cottage in Charlestown , there is an atmosphere of love, joy and hope that you might not expect among suffering and grieving people.

Annie says, “I've had a wonderful journey. Young people who are dying have taught me so much about what really matters, and what really matters is how we live today – how we speak to one another, how we care for ourselves so we can care for others; learn to love yourself so that you can love others, not make too many judgements. Being present to the moment – and that's what MTC's about - has encouraged me to live my religious commitment and to dare to be myself.”

A ‘sideline' that has developed through Annie's work with MTC is conducting funeral services for those for whom a Mass would not be appropriate, but who desire an acknowledgement of a life lived, and a life beyond. While she does not seek this role, there is a certain satisfaction in concluding the journey with the family of a person whom she has accompanied. “It's a wonderful thing to be able to do.” Some people, like Nelly (see box) remain with MTC long after their loved one has passed away, others find it too painful and need to move on.

Working with MTC is not easy, and for most people, it would be enough. However, Annie and friend and Josephite Associate Helene Hemphill engage in a ministry of hospitality based around a warm and welcoming household. Together they care for disabled young people to provide respite for carers, assist families living under difficult circumstances and generally live out St Paul 's injunction: “Do not neglect hospitality, for through it some have unknowingly entertained angels.” (Heb 13:2)

Their home is a place of sanctuary, but not in a closed sense. Artworks represent many different cultures, and outside there is a courtyard oasis where the sound of water is constantly heard, and sunlight filters through lush greenery. Many parties have happened here!

Reflecting on a life being lived to the full, with many different paths explored, Annie Laurie might well recognise the truth of the maxim, “When God closes a door, he opens a window.”

Tracey Edstein

“We came to Make Today Count to learn from others' experiences and for the support of the group. Annie was very very helpful, she was always there….she was involved in the service which was very special to us…” Mark, whose wife died in January “My husband died 24 years ago, and before he died I said to him, ‘What am I going to do on my own?' He said, ‘Stay with that group – you might be able to help somebody.'” Nelly, aged 83 “The laughter and the companionship are what really counts – and I think Annie's absolutely wonderful.” Jenny, diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's disease

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