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

Submitted by: Sandra Stajduhar

As the year draws to a close, I wish to take this opportunity to thank you for all that you do as Women of Peace and Hope, and to offer sincere wishes for a blessed Christmas season – followed by a new year of renewed enthusiasm for the work of the League!

Revisions to the National Manual of Policy and Procedure Appendix 1: Resolutions

On November 14th, at the fall meeting of the national executive, policies regarding resolutions were reviewed, revised and updated. The two major changes that will affect the writing of resolutions are (1) clarification of the use of parenthetical references and (2) revision of the Checklist for Reviewing Proposed Resolutions. The approved revisions are attached. The changes are designed to clarify and improve both the process and product of resolutions. Each level of the League will be responsible for passing on the new information and ensuring it is followed.

The study of revised policies and procedures will aid in understanding expectations and facilitate the resolutions process at all levels. Special attention to the revisions to the Checklist for Reviewing Proposed Resolutions is encouraged. It is hoped that the changes will make life easier, not only for the authors of resolutions, but for the reviewers as well.

Federal Government Visit

The government delegation is bound for Ottawa! National President Danielle McNeil-Hessian, National President-elect Velma Harasen, National Chairperson of Legislation Judy Lewis and National Chairperson of Resolutions Barbara Dowding will arrive on Saturday, November 28th with appointments scheduled through to December 1st. Please keep the delegation members in prayer as they bring the message of hope and peace to federal representatives. » Read the rest of this entry »

Submitted by: Nancy Simms

Report Forms

Due dates for annual reports are:

• Parish report to Diocesan – December 15th
• Diocesan report to Provincial – February 15th
• Provincial report to National – March 15th

If you have not received reports from your parish counterparts by December 15th don’t give up on them. Try calling them and asking the questions over the phone. What a wonderful way to make new friends while working towards 100% of councils reporting!

Membership

How successful were parish councils with the “Membership Challenge” put forward by Velma Harasen? I have enclosed both provincial and national membership stats for your perusal and as you can see BC & Yukon have a lot to be proud of, we have the highest percentage of increase in all of Canada! Let’s keep the enthusiasm alive and reach our provincial goal of 10,000 members for the year 2010!!

Remember, personal contact still remains the number one means of recruiting and retaining members. » Read the rest of this entry »

Submitted by: Jeanne Wilson

Thank you, to the chairs that have sent me copies of their communiqués.

Palliative Care

Last spring I asked the chairs to complete a survey on palliative care in their diocese.

I then made a report and sent it to Cecile Miller, National Chair. At the National convention at our luncheon meeting, Cecile reported that not provinces had sent in their surveys and she was not at that time able to write a full report on the palliative care situation in Canada.

We have to urge our members to take part in palliative care, even in a small way. If you do not feel that you can be a palliative care volunteer, find another way to help a family or person in need. First, start by asking someone from palliative care or hospice to give a talk or presentation at a meeting. Perhaps, have councils brain storm and come up with ways that they can help at hospice or with palliative care. There are a lot of little things that can be done. “We can do no great things – only small things with great love. ” Mother Teresa

Bursary

In the Fall 2009 League Magazine, there was a list of bursary recipients. There was not one recipient from B.C. or Yukon. Out of 29 members who applied, 24 received a bursary. Criteria and application forms are available on the CWL National website. Please make councils aware of the bursary. » Read the rest of this entry »

Submitted by: Carol Penno

Greetings to all! Your Provincial Table Officers and Executive had a wonderful midterm meeting at Seton House of Prayer in Kelowna October 22-25. Our days were full with various prayers , meetings, and Celebration of the Eucharist. Here we are with Communique #07. Terri Scott, National Chairperson of Spiritual Development has prepared her Communique # 04 which is dated October 28, 2009. Terri’s communiqué contains important information.

November is upon us and already we have celebrated two special days. The Feast of All Saints on November 1st honoured all the saints of the church, known and unknown. Only a few days ago the evening Mass for All Souls’ Day was celebrated in which we prayed for all the departed. Mary Pecora and I, read the names of our local departed CWL members from our Book of Life and these were left at the altar for the entire month of November. May the souls of our departed members Rest in Peace and may the Perpetual light shine upon them. Amen

While on the topic of the deceased would every council be certain you have notified National office of your deceased members for 2009. Each member has a new identification number and that is a now a necessary part of the report, along with the other information asked for. Please only use the form dated 2008 as it has the current information for submitting. You will note that you only need to send one copy and that is to National and they in turn will notify Diocesan and provincial chairpersons. You are also able to send the deceased information by email.

The Church year is coming to a close with the celebration of Christ the King and the following week begins the new liturgical year and the Season of Advent in preparation for the coming of Jesus. Encourage each other to prayerfully prepare your hearts for Christmas. Canada Post has now released the Christmas Stamps, they are truly beautiful, Be sure to thank Canada Post for choosing such beautiful artwork depicting the Nativity. » Read the rest of this entry »

Has been revised and updated for 2009. Please download here: Life Member Bursary and Form. It is also available in the sidebar under “Forms for Download”.

Submitted by: Sheila Quinn

Greetings,

Now that we are all in full swing of League meetings and activities has your arch/diocese fall meeting been held? If so and you distributed your communique at the meeting or prior to, please forward me a copy for my files, it is important that we communicate with each other. Thanks to one diocesan chair who has already shared with me. Sometimes we gain ideas from other so have you considered sharing your communiques with your counterparts in the other dioceses that make up our BC and Yukon province?

In relation to Resolution 2007.03 – Hospice Palliative Care: An Integral Component of the Canadian Health Care System -

The Hon. Sharon Carstairs in her address to the senators said “ Saturday Oct 10th is World Hospice Palliative Care Day, a day to hear the voices of people around the world who are living with life-limited illnesses- voices often silent because their entire focus is on remaining alive” and in her closing statement said “let us listen to the voices of young and old around the world as they demand their fundamental human rights to live well until the end with quality hospice palliative care”. Take time to read all of her meaningful speech found under debates Oct 8th on the government web site.

Encourage members to support this resolution by following the listed action plans posted on the national web site www.cwl.ca under resolutions.  Although the date has passed make a notation on your 2010 calendar. » Read the rest of this entry »

Submitted by: Barb Dowding

Dear Past Presidents,

First of all sincere apologies for the long delay in writing! Between the preparation for National, the convention itself, my son’s wedding, a new job at work and life in general, here we are into Thanksgiving season and October!

Most of you are seasoned CWL’ers and know what to do, but I’d like to acknowledge and thank Lorrilee J, a very new past president from the Kamloops diocese for her wonderful and complete communiqué – well done!

While I’ve been remiss, Lorrilee has hit the target, covered everything and inspired her parish past presidents. With her permission, I enclose a copy for your enjoyment and inspiration.

A warm welcome as well to Susan and Evelyn to this special role. While you will notice a big difference from being President, I am confident you will be just as effective, but in a different way, as you were when you were in the Chair. It is a big adjustment, and those of you who are in your second term, can attest to that I’m sure! Still, it is extremely important and you are a valuable asset on your council.

For those of you facing the nominations/elections process, I am taking the liberty of quoting myself!

Your involvement, enthusiasm and care for your diocesan council should prompt you to take the personal approach as much as possible. We all know that an invitation from one League Sister to another is the single best way to coax a reluctant or shy member to try. Letting one’s name stand for election takes courage but more than that it takes the support of others. We owe it to those members who have gone before and to the future success of our great organization to find and encourage women to step forward.  If you are on the nomination committee, be sure to include members that have experience in the League but who also know your members. Elections are a serious and important part of our League’s constitution and bylaws. Every effort must be made to follow the established procedure using the National Manual of Policy and Procedure (Article XV: Eligibility, Nominations and Elections, pages 85-93) as well as referencing your own diocesan policies. Be sure to work closely with your Secretary who is responsible for keeping the Register of Eligibility up to date.

I urge you to get yourself a copy of the Past President’s Handbook and Archives guidelines if you don’t have already – both available on the website.

Constitution and Bylaws

One of the duties we have as Past Presidents includes, according to our Executive Handbook, is “to encourage members to become knowledgeable about the Constitution and Bylaws and to respond to questions related to the interpretation of the Constitution and Bylaws.”

Lastly if anyone is planning to make amendments to the National Policy and Procedure Manual, those must be received before December 1, 2009 to National Office.

Thanks again to all for your dedication and love for our great League. Thanks for sharing with one another your successes and also your concerns. Communication is the best healer.

“Hold firm and take heart. Hope in the Lord!” (ps. 27:14)

Can now be viewed as a PDF. You will need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader to view.

Submitted by: Elaine Audet

Greetings

Another glorious summer has passed & with fall, comes yard & garden clean-up and resuming of our Catholic Women’s League work.

Welcome to all Diocesan Treasurers.

I have provided a list, at end of communiqué, & I encourage you to share your information and gifts with each other.  Also, please feel free to contact me any time.

Expenses and Receipts

National Secretary-Treasurer, Peggy Roche noted in her communiqué,  “Members should not be out of pocket for incurred expenses while doing League work.  Members should submit receipts & then should be paid in a timely fashion.  This keeps financial records in proper order for audit.”

Budget and Year End Reports

Get your records in order to report in a few months as it will be our year end.  Prepare a 2010 budget for presentation to the council executive for discussion and approval.  Refer to Guidelines for Treasurer, Page 6, Budgets and page 9, Sample Parish Council Budget.

It is also not too soon to start preparing for your annual financial reports – again refer to page 6, Reporting.  In order obtain accurate figures at the national level, please encourage treasurers at parish level to report to diocesan, then they to provincial – follow up with phone calls if necessary.

Guideline for Treasurers

The role of treasurer is very important – not only are treasurers responsible for handling the funds of league councils, they are also accountable.  Refer to Guideline for Treasurers which provides helpful hints and information.  It can be ordered from National Office or downloaded from the website.   » Read the rest of this entry »

Submitted by: Lois Charlebois

First of all, I hope everyone had a wonderful summer. The weather here has certainly been great. Now it is time to get back to C.W.L. and the Community Life Committee. I want to welcome back those who were Diocesan Community Life Chairpersons last year and I want to extend a special welcome to those who are new to this position.

While doing Community Life Communiqués and reports, I realized how many different communities we all belong to—our family, our social groups, our workplace, our neighborhood, our Parish, our Diocese, our Province, our Country and our World. Above all we are all Christians, people created by God, united with God, with Christ and with Holy Spirit. The “three – in one” guide us. So, how does this fit in with our work in this committee? First of all we must be women of Peace and Hope–guided by Scripture and prayer. Some simple suggestions for prayer for us to use are found in the new Kit “The Day of Prayer for Peace and Hope “. All Parishes should have this kit and there is a section in it for each Standing Committee—be sure to look at the Community Life section. The kit can be downloaded from the National C.W.L. Website.

I attended all 3 levels of Conventions and as always received much important information and renewed enthusiasm for our work. Our Resolutions were great and 3 of the B.C. & Yukon Resolutions were accepted by the National Convention and all 3 of them were passed:

Resolution 2009:01 Exit Strategies for Prostituted Persons

Resolution 2009:02 Legislate Protection and Support Services for Human Trafficking Victims

Resolution 2009:03 Repeal Section 13 of the Canadian Human Rights Act Regarding Hate Messages

Please encourage individual action such as letter writing on these topics and the topics of the other Resolutions passed at the Provincial Convention. » Read the rest of this entry »