Provincial Convention 2009: President’s Oral Report

Submitted by: Marianna Caldwell

I have had the wonderful privilege of attending four Diocesan Conventions. I flew from Vancouver to Kamloops and on to Kitimat and two weeks later to Castlegar for the Nelson Convention in Creston then back to Vancouver and on to Victoria. Each convention is unique but the CWL members are the same loving, caring, faith filled women I am so proud to be associated with.

With such a tight schedule, I was only able to be in Kamloops for the beginning of their convention. I thank Nancy Simms for representing the Provincial Council for the remainder of the Kamloops convention and for going to Vancouver. Special thanks to Dodie for traveling to Whitehorse for their convention. You’ve already heard that Nancy is our brand new Life Member. I just want to let you know that if you are coming to St. John’s, you will be present to see Nancy officially installed in a very special and memorable ceremony.

The year of St. Paul is coming to a close. Councils have reflected on the writings of St. Paul and have attended special venues to receive a spiritual indulgence. The coming year is dedicated to our priests. Do you remember wearing an angel pin with a yellow ribbon? For the Year of the Priest, I challenge every council to once again wear this pin as an indication of your love and prayerful support for our clergy. You will be hearing more about this from Carol Penno over the coming year.

Last summer the national office hired Manifest Communications, a marketing research company, to identify the direction the League might consider in the future. Their report was an in depth study of “Where are we? Where do we want to be?; and How do we get there? A couple of recommendations were highlighted: that “faith, fun and fulfillment be a core strategic platform, and that the League foster a connection with Catholic women 50-65 as they have likely recently retired; have energy, skills and capacity; looking to take on a new adventure and they were most likely to still be actively attending Church on a regular basis”. For councils that have expressed that they are looking for younger members; this is something to keep in mind.

The BC & Yukon Catholic Women’s League is alive and well. I am very proud of the women who have come forward to fill vacancies on their executive, on both parish and diocesan levels.

On Thursday we were challenged by Councillor Cameron Stolz to set bold goals. Yesterday, Sean Murphy’s presentation also challenged us to take bold steps to defend our faith and stand up for our moral values. Jesus said: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life”. It is from God we receive our strength & courage.

Being women of Peace & Hope, may our Lady of Good Counsel help us to serve with Faith & Joy.