Whitehorse: President’s Report 2008

Submitted by: Nicole G.

The Whitehorse Diocesan CWL Councils have had a fairly busy year and as I write this report the Diocesan Convention has just been held in Whitehorse and was a tremendous success.  We were pleased to have been joined by 3 members from Fort Nelson who made the long journey as well as Barb Dowding from Vancouver.  I would like to touch on a few highlights from the two Parish Presidents’ reports for the past year.

Our Lady of Sorrows Council in Fort Nelson remains a small but intact group.  They were saddened to have to say goodbye to Fr. Dave Daws last fall as he needed to go south for medical care and prayers are with him for improving health.  They have enjoyed having Father Gary in their parish since October, but he is leaving this spring and so they are hopeful that prayers for a permanent priest will be answered soon.

They were unable to organize some of their annual activities this year as the group is just too small, but they did, however, support their charities which include the Esk OMI Missions in northern Canada and Mary our Help Mission in India.  They collected again for their annual Baby Layette, and as usual members were very generous.  The council also supports the First Communion and Confirmation classes each year with a small gift and cake to help celebrate their day.

Sacred Heart Parish Council in Whitehorse saw the installation of a new executive and their membership remains the same at 25 members.  This year they enjoyed active participation in parish life and also enjoyed working with other parish groups such as the Knights of Columbus at their yard sale and the annual “Welcome to Winter Ball” as well as assisting the World Youth Day group in their fundraising.
In followup to an earlier resolution to educate women on the risk of ovarian cancer, an open information session was held with an invited healthcare professional.

This year the council’s goal was to present themselves to various levels of government and make themselves known and to be involved in decision making to uphold Christian values.  Two members met with the Minister responsible for the Women’s Directorate and also with the Justice Minister.  These meetings resulted in invitations to participate in consultations on the Protection of Children Act and the Corrections Act.  The CWL was present at a meeting about a food bank in Whitehorse and two members were invited to a meeting of Yukon Advisory Council on Women’s Issues.  This was a great opportunity to inform other groups of the CWL’s role in the community and find out how they can support other women’s groups in Whitehorse.
At one meeting, Ione Christianson, former Senator for the Yukon, spoke about how we can influence government decisions and how to become informed voters.

All in all a very successful year was reported.  I am proud of our members in such a large, but sparsely populated Diocese and I look forward to the coming year.