Small gatherings like At the Well remind us how important it is to make time for one another.
Nothing fancy, nothing forced — just a relaxed and honest space where women of all ages and vocations can come together to reflect on faith in everyday life; an invitation to be still, to connect, and to realise we’re not walking this journey alone.
On Sunday 23 March, more than 55 women gathered in a quiet pocket of Western Sydney, at the Shrine of the Holy Innocents in Kellyville, for an At the Well Gathering – an evening of prayer, dinner and heartfelt conversation. In partnership with a local women’s ministry, ‘Women of St Clare’, this gathering offered something increasingly rare: a space where women could be heard, held space for, and honest about living as a Catholic woman in a secular world.
Three Women, Three Vocations, One Faith
The evening was shaped by the reflections of three women: Madeleine Carrington (married), Faith Estera (single) and Sr Anne Suman Lata SMSM (consecrated). Their stories were unique, yet all bore witness to a shared desire – to live with courage, conviction and compassion in a world that often misunderstands or devalues faith.
Madeleine Carrington, a wife, mother of four and co-founder of Fire Up Ministries, spoke about the early challenges of motherhood — the never-ending housework and the pull of her children’s needs. “I wanted to get things done,” she said, “but it felt like I was always being pulled away.”
Then came a moment of clarity: “It wasn’t my children interrupting my chores. It was the chores interrupting my time to be loving and present with my children.”
That simple reframing led to a profound truth: “interruptions are an invitation to love.” Love, she reminded us, is rarely efficient — it’s messy, it disrupts, and it asks us to be present, even when we feel scattered.
Madeleine Carrington, mother of four and co-founder of Fire Up Ministries. Image: Gelina Montierro/ Diocese of Parramatta
Faith Estera followed with reflections shaped by her time as a missionary with NET Ministries in Canada and her current work with Caritas Australia. Now discerning a path into counselling, she spoke about living intentionally as a single woman. Each day, she asks herself: “How can I love today? “How do I live my life as if I’m the only ‘Bible’ someone will ever read?”
Her words offered a renewed perspective on singleness — not as waiting, but as a vocation. In a sense, single people are uniquely placed to love everyone –embracing the freedom of time, energy, and availability to serve, to build community and to be present in the lives of others. In a world obsessed with romantic milestones, it was refreshing to hear singleness spoken of as a vocation rich with purpose and possibility.
Faith Estera, former missionary with NET Ministries Canada. Image: Gelina Montierro/ Diocese of Parramatta
Sr Anne Suman Lata SMSM, a Marist Missionary Sister, brought a deeply personal and global perspective. Raised Hindu in Fiji and now a religious sister of more than 20 years, her mission work has taken her from Tonga and Rwanda to France and London. “Stand firm to your choice,” she said, a quiet but striking reminder in a culture that often encourages us to keep our options open. Sr Anne’s calm presence and long service reminded us that there is beauty in commitment and strength in staying faithful to what God has begun.
Sr Anne Suman Lata SMSM, a Marist Missionary Sister, now based at Our Lady Queen of Peace Greystanes. Image: Gelina Montierro/ Diocese of Parramatta
Not Alone on the Journey
These testimonies resonated with the women in the room. As one participant shared: “It’s very hard in today’s world to be able to share so openly your experience with women who actually understand because they have the same faith… they’re able to give you Godly advice.”
With loneliness and disconnection becoming increasingly common, opportunities for women to gather in faith-filled community are not just meaningful, they are necessary.
While women make up the majority of active churchgoers in Australia, many still long for spaces where their faith can be nourished in meaningful ways. This longing is especially pronounced among younger women, with one Australian study finding one in four people aged 15–24 feeling lonely in 2022 — a significant rise over the past two decades.
In the face of such isolation, gatherings like At the Well become more than just events; they become essential spaces of connection, formation and belonging. There is both hunger and hope: women are showing up, but they are also seeking more. More places to grow, to be formed, to be heard. More communities that honour their voice, their experience and their gifts.
Participants at the ‘At The Well’ gathering. Image: Gelina Montierro/ Diocese of Parramatta
The feedback from the At the Well Gathering was loud and clear: we need more of this. Not just occasional events, but ongoing ministry — spaces for formation, encouragement and shared discipleship for women of every age and vocation.
Gatherings like this respond to the Diocesan Pastoral Plan’s call to “shift cultural blocks and adapt structures that honour the gifts of all the baptised, women and men, at all levels of leadership” (p.21), by creating space for women to lead, share, and grow in faith together.
The At the Well Gathering may have been small and casual, but its fruit was immense. It reminded us that the most powerful ministry is often the most personal — rooted in vulnerability, encounter and relationship.
(L-R) Sr M. Olivia, Schoenstatt Sister of Mary, Eleanor Bonwick, Interim Catholic Youth Parramatta Manager, and Madeleine Carrington, mother of four and co-founder of Fire Up Ministries. Image: Gelina Montierro/ Diocese of Parramatta
In the story of the woman at the well, Jesus saw not just her past, but her future. May our Church continue to do the same — recognising, honouring and investing in the wisdom, strength and spiritual leadership of women. Not as an afterthought, but as essential to the journey towards a more synodal and Spirit-led Church.
If you feel called to begin a similar initiative in your parish or deanery, the Mission Enhancement Team is available to offer support, resources and guidance.
You may also wish to connect with existing initiatives such as ‘Women of St Clare’, based in Kellyville, or the Catholic Women’s Network, an initiative of the Sydney Centre for Evangelisation (Archdiocese of Sydney).
