President Communique #5

Submitted by: Barbara Dowding

Dear League Sisters and Father Terry, I have just returned from the National CWL winter meeting and have nearly thawed out! No wonder they call it WINTER-PEG!

As you know I am going to be away, so wanted to touch bases on a few things before I leave:

• Contact info: If you need any assistance with League matters or have questions that can’t wait, please contact Pat B. who will be collecting my e-mails from National. Questions or concerns about the Provincial Convention, please call Sheila Q.
• Annual reports: Thank you for your prompt attention to this and for the interesting and varied information. I look forward to seeing your reports in the Provincial convention book and know they will make interesting and hopefully inspiring reading for our members. Doreen G. will be forwarding you the guidelines for submission and a deadline. Let us do our utmost to assist her as she so generously undertakes yet another extra job.
• Government Meeting: Please pray for the success of the meetings with Government on March 28. Sheila Q. has worked hard to coordinate this and has been able to secure a meeting with the Honourable Shirley Bond, Minister of Education as well as with Ms. Robin Pike who heads up BC’s Human Trafficking Response Initiative. Representing our Provincial Council with Sheila are Gloria G., Marilyn V. and Nancy S.
• Development Fund Applications for grants to travel to the Provincial Convention – deadline is March 15.
• Diocesan Conventions – Further to my last communique about the expected workshop from National, I am somewhat disappointed to report that there isn’t one as such. Instead, Danielle McN.-H. will be asking all diocesan presidents to undertake a process in or around the diocesan convention that involves two focus groups of 6-10 people.

After much discussion and serious thought, I believe we can make this work as a workshop as previously planned to incorporate dialogue, sharing and positive brainstorming. We want to include all members and we have all agreed that interaction is the best thing we can do. This is a heads up only; more information will be forthcoming from National Office. I will write directly to the Diocesan Presidents who are having the workshop with a Provincial Representative.

• Provincial Convention: The agenda is all but set and I’ll send out when I get back. In addition to Dr. Reeves keynote on discernment, we are going to focus in some ways on Africa as we strive to live out our commitment to WUCWO. Besides Fr. Brock’s presentation on Immaculee, we’ll learn of independent projects that have sprung up out of need to help build a library for a Catholic school in Kampala and the efforts of a parish to raise money to help children. Other items of interest include Bishop Gagnon on Evangelization, and a presentation about Depression. Your convention packages have been mailed so please be sure to register early.

Membership: Kudos to all! Once again, our membership in BC & the Yukon has increased and we are inching ever closer to our goal of 10,000. The best news is the number of reinstated members is up (391) so obviously our work to approach non-renewed members is helping. Another wonderful sign of growth is 746 NEW members! Alberta is the only other province with increased membership but we had a few more so I am proud to say we increased the most in Canada! Excellent work too in re-activating councils throughout the province – diocesan presidents can take much credit for this. It was their tireless efforts and patience that paid off – well done.
Let’s be sure to continue to contact our Sisters who have not yet renewed at the same time taking care to nurture and mentor the members we have.

Other items of interest from the Winter Mid-Term Meeting:

• National Convention Montreal – book soon. Double rooms are nearly all gone.
• “Finding Dawn” a produced-in-BC film by Faye Blaney will be screened at the UN Commission on the Status of Women on March 9. Please keep an eye out for this – it concerns missing Aboriginal women.
• Eucharistic Congress – June 2008. National Office has reserved 40 rooms in Quebec City on a first come-first serve basis. If you are interested, please contact Cecile M. for further information: c.miller@ns.sympatico.ca
• National Convention – 2015

It will soon be time for a diocese in BC & Yukon to offer to host the National Convention in 2015. While it is a long way away, the invitation from the host Bishop will have to be written soon. I encourage the Diocesan Presidents to talk to their executives and bring your ideas to the Pre-Convention meeting.

• WUCWO Regional Meeting will be combined with National in 2008 in Winnipeg. We are asked to talk this up and encourage support of the Voluntary Fund for WUCWO.
• National executive thanks and praise to Pat B. on her report to Rayleen DeL. concerning the Corren situation as it relates to a human rights issue – hopefully it will be featured in The Canadian League magazine – and to Marilyn V. for a great report on the Pro-Life Conference. Well done, BC!

Thank you so much for your support and encouragement. I will keep each and everyone of you in prayer while I’m away and in a special way when in Rome.

May Lent be…a renewed experience of God’s love given to us in Christ, a love that each day we, in turn, must “regive” to our neighbor, especially to the one who suffers most and is in need. (Pope Benedict)

Barb D…..