Catholic Women’s League of Canada | BC and Yukon Council

Submitted by: Pat Battensby

I have very much enjoyed working with the diocesan past presidents for the past two years. The single most Persistent issue that I have gathered from the reports is the withdrawal feeling. It has been difficult for some to move on and realize that our new presidents have ideas of their own and we have had our opportunities. I know that presidents will bear this in mind and occasionally ask their past presidents for an opinion. I myself, thanks to our president Barb, have been kept very busy and have enjoyed every minute of the whole two years. There was no lack of jobs to do and it was so great as always to work with such an innovative group of ladies. Barb has given me permission to depart from the usual report format, as this is my last report to you after 12 years on the provincial council. In fact her reply to me was: “You can do whatever you want to.” Wow! That’s a wide-open invitation isn’t it? I want to quote something from a national publication:

“The Catholic Women’s League is a sisterhood in perpetual motion. It is sisters working together at a common table for a common good. It is a wide variety of ideas, brought together and boiled down, like a good soup. It is prayer, and as we pray together, we know that God’s love and grace accompanies all our endeavors. It is love in its finest form, complete with agreements, disagreements, scraps, forgiveness, respect and understanding. It is business, for business demands order and order is the key to good organization. It is knowledge, ever growing and expanding within each member.

It is work, but a labour of love and the justifiable pride that comes out of a job well done. I t is fun and it is where our “Need to belong” is fulfilled. It is unity, for “in unity” there is strength, and each parish council is an important cog in the national council wheel and in the maintenance of its strength. It is love for our
Motto: “For God and Canada”.

The Catholic Women’s League of Canada has a very strong voice because it is a United voice….yes… even yours and mine. It is rather a nice feeling knowing you belong to a “big wheel.”

Thank you all so much.