My New Year’s prayer for our six hardworking secretaries at Diocesan level is that you may have another rewarding year working for our League, keeping records up-to-date, compiling accurate minutes, attending to details, making smooth transitions to new computers and computer programs, and, last but not least, enjoying a year that is free of email problems! I also hope that we can all meet up at the Whitehorse convention, June 13-17! Please let me know if you plan to attend so we can arrange some time together.

Diocesan Annual Reports (Due February 15th)

Four of you have already sent in your annual reports. I know that those of you who are dealing with more than thirty parish councils need those two months to collect, collate and summarize the annual reports. I appreciate the hard work involved in sending reminders and making extra phone calls to collect the necessary information. All of these efforts will result in a more accurate picture of the state of secretarial work in our parish councils, and also help me meet my deadline to National. Thank you!

Parish Registers 2012

Another word of thanks to the parish secretaries who have already sent me their complete 2012 parish registers. Many of these arrived here in hard copy by regular mail. A number of parish councils may not know that provincial officers and chairpersons can be reached by email through the address on the provincial website: http://www.cwl.bc.ca Go to the top ribbon on the Home Page. Click on ABOUT for the drop down menu. Click on CONTACTS. Click on the position, and the relevant email address will pop up, e.g. secretary@cwl.bc.ca . Both ways have advantages. The former saves on our ink, the latter saves on parish council postage.

A number of parish councils did not hold their elections until February, so I hope all the lists will be in before the end of this month. See the enclosed 2012 register form which I hope you will circulate to all the councils who have not yet checked in. Before doing so, as Diocesan Secretary, you will need to add your name, email and postal address to the footer. In the case of vacant positions, simply give the title and print “vacant” beside it. If any of these councils are without an email connection please names them and I will mail a hard copy to them. To avoid duplication of requests, I will send to each Diocesan Secretary a list of registers received up to February 13th, 2012.

Provincial Convention Credentials

Credentials for the Provincial Convention have been printed and will be mailed to all Parish Presidents shortly after all registers are received. Each parish can send one accredited delegate. For these, two signatures are needed: Spiritual Advisor and Parish Council Secretary. Please ensure that your president (or her designate) remembers to send the top copy to the provincial secretary no later than May 15th, and to carry the back copy of her credentials to present on arrival at the provincial registration desk.

The credentials, one Voting and two Accredited, will be given to the Diocesan Presidents at Mid-term. The former needs to be signed by the Diocesan Secretary and Diocesan Spiritual Advisor, the latter by the Diocesan Spiritual Advisor or Diocesan President and the Diocesan Secretary. There are so many things that delegates have to remember prior to leaving for convention, that a gentle reminder from the secretary to the delegate can save a lot of bother and possible embarrassment.

Life Members’ credentials will be signed by the Provincial President or Spiritual Advisor and the Provincial Secretary before being mailed. At one recent diocesan meeting, a Life Member requested that the required signatures for the Diocesan Convention also be handled in this way that is with Diocesan signatures. I hope you will consider this courtesy for your Life Members, that is, if it is not already your diocesan policy.

Re Call to Action (posted on our website)

If you have received any replies which may be useful background material for a Resolution addressing responsible broadcasting/protection of our faith beliefs and traditions, please contact me.

Before closing, I wish to thank you for all your prayers which have helped sustain us both during my husband’s illness. Several years ago a wise Diocesan Spiritual Advisor prepared quotations from St. James’ Epistle for his new executive. This is what I received, and what I heard again in today’s readings:

“You will always have your trials, but, when they come, try to treat them as a happy privilege; you understand that your faith is only put to the test to make you patient, but patience too is to have its practical results so that you will become fully developed, complete with nothing missing.”

May the example of Our Lady of Good Counsel inspire us to greater efforts for God and Canada.

1. Much concern has been expressed recently about the treatment of sacred faith tenets in some recently aired television programs. So I am appealing to all secretaries to use your skills in defense of our faith to newspapers, television networks, and the Canadian Broadcasters Standards Council (CBSC), whenever the need arises, remembering to use your council’s official letterhead only if you are writing on behalf of your council.
2. At your next parish or diocesan meeting request permission of your president to share the contents of a letter you have written. Preface the reading of your letter with reference to one of the 5 steps in our league’s Personal Letter Writing Guide and ask members to critique your effort.
3. Perhaps suggest that a workshop on “letter writing” be included in your next convention, or that a guest speaker on the topic be invited to your annual luncheon.
4. Some members of our councils may be diffident about expressing themselves in written form, so personally invite one or two to join you when you compose your letter. New immigrants would find the social and educational aspects of these one-on-ones very useful.

May the graces of our Advent spiritual preparations imbue our family Christmas traditions, and also our CWL responsibilities which keep us on our toes this season and all seasons!

~ Evelyn

Yes, Fall is even reaching the balmy Sunshine Coast. Two days ago while walking with a friend I marvelled at the annual phenomenon of salmon returning to their spawning grounds. As we watched the fish fighting their way upstream I recognized that this contained a lesson for me, and possibly for you: “Whatever the odds, get your work done.” So here I am, working to complete another project while others continue to pile up!

Thank you

I want to begin by thanking you for informing me promptly about parish and diocesan changes. You will have noticed that I have adopted a numbering system for emailed register changes. This helps me keep track of those who have acknowledged receiving them, and is hopefully a help to you too. When you notify your president of any changes, simply cc me rather than send another email.

Postage Stamp Supplies

Recently while in the Post Office I spotted the notice about this year’s issue of religious Christmas postage stamps, and came home in an excited frame of mind that Resolution 2005.1 is alive and well. The 2011 issues will be out November 1st. As secretaries we can really support this resolution, so head out soon to refresh your annual stamp quota. The permanent domestic rate stamp shows the angel appearing to St. Joseph. For your personal Christmas mail the international rate stamp shows the Epiphany ($1.75), and the U.S. stamp with the Nativity scene is ($1.03). No doubt some of you are emailing Christmas Greetings, but you might consider using traditional ways of greeting your scattered family and friends, thus underlining the true reason for the celebration.

Perhaps you have toured the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Kingston, Ontario and studied its collection of stained glass from which these postage stamp images were taken. If not, you can visit the parish’s website as I did, and view the rest of its collection depicting the salvation story.

I suggest that you write a short letter of appreciation to Canada Post for these stamps and encourage your parish secretaries to do the same. It would be beneficial to express appreciation for the U.S., and international denominations which were not available last year on this theme. Before leaving this topic I would be interested in knowing if any of you have a diocesan policy which includes the sending of Christmas greetings to Life Members, and, if so, which chairperson is attending to this.

Other Mailings

In an effort to keep provincial convention packages under 100g, and with the help of a diocesan secretary, I investigated how many items could go in a brown envelope (30.5cm X 23.5cm/ 9 X 12in ) to qualify for the minimum mailing charge. A package up to 100 grams presently costs $1.25 and can accommodate 18 sheets of computer paper. Over 100g and up to 200g the cost jumps to $2.06, and over 200g to 300g is $2.85. I would be interested to know what method you are using to send packages to councils that are unable to send a representative to your meetings. The answers to these and any other queries in this communiqué could be placed in your annual reports. Speaking of which…

Annual Reports

You will soon be receiving annual reports from your parish secretaries. If any don’t materialize by the December 15 deadline, try a friendly phone call. I can attest to the fact that a phone call is much appreciated especially when circumstances prevent the deadline from being observed, and together you can work out some mutually satisfactory way to compile the required information. This can also be a good opportunity to check up on any changes to positions or addresses. The deadline for your report to me is February 15.

Computer Expertise

I would also be interested in knowing if any of you have enrolled recently in college or university computer courses, and how many of you prefer to rely on the help of family or friends to solve computer related problems as they occur. Please recommend to your parish counterparts that they investigate what training is available in local communities, and encourage members to use it. Remember too that help can be found at local community or seniors’centres, usually for a small fee.

A Secretary Remembered

On September 16th I had the privilege of delivering the eulogy for Margaret Inkster, who served as Vancouver diocesan secretary 2001-3. She held many positions during her long years of membership in the league, mentored many new members, and served at two levels with dedication until ill health caused her to curtail her activities. Margaret was one of the first recipients of the Bellelle Guérin award. May she rest in peace.

Through the intercession of our patroness, Our Lady of Good Counsel, and of Sts. Catherine of Alexandria and Genesius of Arles, may we ask the Lord for the necessary patience and joyful willingness to improve our skills and perform our secretarial duties to the best of our ability.

Summer update

By mid-May all 6 diocesan conventions were completed, with several electing a new executive. I would like to welcome our new Diocesan secretaries: Susan S (Prince George), Barbara W (Vancouver) and Monica L (Whitehorse), and to welcome back Dorothy H (Kamloops), Lorie D (Nelson) and Agnes G (Victoria).

Note for New Secretaries

If you did not receive my first three communiqués from your predecessor, please let me know and I will send them on to you electronically. Provincial communiqués and convention Oral Reports are usually posted on the B.C. & Yukon website but it is temporarily down for maintenance, and of course, the above names and addresses would not be shown.

Provincial Convention

We had a wonderful convention with 4 resolutions passed and several informative presentations. Since no Diocesan secretaries were able to attend this year, please read my oral report on the Provincial website. I would also like to share with you some of my secretarial experiences from that time, because it is possible that at some future convention you may be in this role.

At our Pre-Convention meeting, two others from our group were appointed to a Minutes Review Committee with clear instructions to take note of the movers and seconders. It was a great comfort to have this kind of back up, and both members proved really useful after the convention with their corrections and suggestions when I was preparing the minutes for circulation.

My secretarial duties kept me busy throughout and even cut into break times as I ensured that each segment was recorded on my flash drive. Even with all my precautions e.g., setting up my equipment half an hour before commencement, there was a nasty moment on the first day of the business session when my screen went black. A power plug had dislodged from its outlet just after I had set everything up to start. Fortunately there were a few minutes to spare, in which our technician taped it in position, and I was able to restart my program without further mishap. Next year I will ensure that the connection is securely in place before starting up!

I used my personal laptop to record the minutes, and we used the provincial printer and computer and various flash drives for the Resolutions Committee meeting, some presentations and all resolutions discussions during the business sessions. Because I was recording the progress of the resolutions, it was decided to have someone else do the tracking and reviewing of the amendments which were projected on two screens. I was grateful to have our Past President and President-Elect, both former provincial secretaries, take care of this task. Perhaps Dorothy can let us know how the resolution debates at the Kamloops Diocesan Convention were handled.

If you are interested in any of my notes of the presentations, please let me know and I’ll prepare a summary for you. The presentations were:

• “Centred on Faith and Justice” by Velma Harasen, National President
• ‘Vocation and Medical Mission Story” by Father Tien Tran
• “Social Justice in BC” by Evelyn Vollet, Vancouver Archdiocesan Co-ordinator of Social Justice
• “The Gleaners” by Betty-Jo and Steve from Okanagan Gleaners
• “Archiving” by Marie Cameron, Honorary Life Member
• “Encouraging your children and grandchildren in the faith” by Deacon Paul Simms

 A Prayer Request

Please keep Prince George Secretary Susan Steiner and her daughter in your prayers. Both will be undergoing surgery in late July. May Our Lady of Good Counsel intercede for them.

Before closing I would like to mention St. Mildred, Abbess and Virgin whose feast it is today. Living in the 8th century she “was merciful to widows and orphans, and a comforter to all the poor and afflicted”, indeed a fitting role model for our national and provincial themes.

How many of you here today have served as secretaries? At the parish level? At the diocesan level? Well thank you to those who have done, and to those who presently serve at either level.

As secretaries we are expected to be so many things: It may be the warm voice on the end of the telephone line responding to a distress call about a lost credential; the sender of an email with an answer, immediate and concise; the composer of reports and letters; the resource for addresses and up-to-date lists which never seem to stay the same for more than a month at a time; the one who stocks up on thank-you cards and buys the stamps; and of course, the one receiving most attention now and for posterity, as the compiler of minutes.

In formal terms there is the basic list of responsibilities listed in the Constitution and Bylaws.

• Record minutes of all meetings and conventions and retain as a permanent record.
• Be a signing officer.
• Have charge of all papers and records of the council concerned.
• Be responsible for reports as required.
• If there is no corresponding secretary you may also be asked to attend to correspondence as required.
• Further details appear in the National Manual of Policy and Procedure pages 59-62 .

But for those taking on this position for the first time, or those contemplating it, there are helpful hints just a reading session away, most notably the League publication”Handbook for Secretaries”, and for those who like to read around their subject, a book put out by the National Parliamentarian’s Association in their Pathways to Proficiency series, entitled: What was Done at the Meeting- a Guide to Minutes. Minutes, are not only timely reminders for members preparing for their next meeting, but they also contain the history of your council.

Like many of you I have been struggling to keep up with tasks and technology; not only a new computer program but also a new computer, which doesn’t lie as friendly under the fingers as my own trusty laptop. If you have any questions or concerns, or if there is any way I can help you as a secretary, at whatever level you serve, please seek me out during the convention. I may not have all the answers at my finger tips, but I’ll find one and convey it to you as soon as possible. In closing I would like to commend all our Diocesan Secretaries for submitting their annual reports on time, for keeping me abreast of changes in addresses and positions, and for buying those Christmas religious stamps in bulk (Resolution 2005.1). You are the “wind beneath my wings.”

A big thank you from a sunny but chilly Powell River to all our hard-working diocesan secretaries for submitting their annual reports on time.

Patience is a virtue and at this time of year the patient secretary is a jewel in the crown of her council. Our diocesan and parish presidents are receiving so much paper concerning instructed votes, credentials, and requests for forms and reports that they, and especially incoming presidents, can feel overburdened. Let

Greetings from Powell River on the Sunshine Coast, now covered in snow, and expecting another dumping!

Annual Registers

1. We do need to have the Annual Registers of Officers and Chairpersons submitted by every council. The forms are available on the website under Forms for Download, but you will need to add the address of your Diocesan Secretary to the Parish Register form. This task is important because the information is essential to the setting up of complete records and will also aid the Past President as she works on her election procedure.
2. My experience with requests is that I usually receive three-fifths of the required information without any problems, but the rest of our councils need that extra email reminder or even a phone call. Also the forms sometimes have been mislaid, so be prepared to resend!
3. When I was parish council president I often wondered why these forms had to be filled in each year, regardless of elections. But since then I have learned that changes can occur before terms are completed… And, of course, with electronic messaging now becoming the norm it is not the chore it used to be.

Elections 2011

The dioceses of Kamloops, Prince George, Vancouver and Whitehorse will be holding elections in 2011, and so will many parish councils.

This is a gentle reminder that on January 1st an Elections Register must be prepared/updated by the diocesan secretary and, in an election year, given to the Chairperson of the Nominations and Elections committee. In most cases this is the past president, but there may be situations where this is not the case, so you should confirm this by checking with your president.

The Eligibility List for Diocesan Level

• Names of all current diocesan council officers and chairpersons
• Names of former diocesan officers and chairpersons whose third term of eligibility does not expire in 2011
• Names of parish council immediate past presidents who became past president in 2010 or 2011
• Names of parish council past presidents who served as president in the two terms before the current past president.

Personal Development

Well… my computer course finished last week. While we were not able to cover everything in the Word 2007 program, we did learn a lot. All of my classmates wanted to continue exploring the program, so we are requesting a follow up with the same instructor. Of course there is an updated version, Word 2010, but as long as the earlier version is programmed in the provincial computer I will continue to work with it. I am interested in hearing from you about the programs you are using, so please let me know your current favorite and why.

Resources-Part Two

While seeking inspiration for this communiqu

In this my first communiqué as Provincial Secretary I wish to thank my League sisters for giving me the opportunity to serve at this level and in this position.

My Journey in the League

This has been both exciting and fulfilling, with experience in Communications, Legislation, Spiritual Development, and Organization standing committees. As you can imagine I feel some trepidation since my secretarial experience is very slim compared to that of my predecessors, consisting of a two year term on my Parish Education Committee in the mid-eighties (the dates, not my age!), various occasions as a substitute secretary at local Pro-Life and CWL meetings, and service on minutes review committees.. Through the intercession of our patroness, and mindful that I can rely on the support of my League sisters, I hope to meet the greater challenges demanded by this position, while enjoying some faith, fun and fulfilment on the way!

Challenges

The most immediate challenges are familiarizing myself with the provincial laptop programs, updating the comprehensive lists of officers, compiling accurate election lists, and keeping orderly files, all the while juggling these with my responsibilities as Past President and head of the League Development Team in the Archdiocesan council of Vancouver. I am sure many of you also shoulder extra responsibilities. There is something about secretaries that attracts requests for help! May we place our trust in God that all will be accomplished with a willing and cheerful spirit. Why not make a list of the challenges facing you, (at the moment mine is rather long) and tick them off when each one is overcome?

Resources

New secretaries may not be aware of all the helpful resources provided by our League. The duties of secretary: are well outlined in the Constitution and Bylaws, National Manual of Policy and Procedure, Executive Handbook, and more recently, Handbook for Secretaries (2004). Every secretary, at every level should have a copy of the latter and be familiar with its contents. If your council has separate positions for Corresponding and Recording Secretaries, each should also be given a copy.

Developing One’s Talents

Nowadays many parish council secretaries are comfortable using computers, and quite a few bring them to meetings to record the minutes. This is not a requirement for the position at the parish level, where the traditional method of pen and paper can still suffice. But I would encourage those of you who are using pen and paper, to think about trying the other. There are always members with expertise willing to help you get started. Many communities with a Senior Citizen’s Association include a computer component in their educational programs. For example, in my town, weekly sessions are offered for Beginners, Raw Beginners, Intermediate and Advanced learners at a cost of $2.50 per session for registered seniors. There are also courses offered by your local university or college whose brochures will be circulating about now. Classes are usually small so the individual is usually well served. In my case I was able to receive a series of half hour lessons in our Catholic School courtesy of a kind computer teacher.

National Convention-Secretaries’ and Treasurers’ Lunch

Not too many attended the lunch for Secretaries and Treasurers, possibly because it is usually presidents and president-elects who have their attendance at conventions financed by their councils. To encourage better attendance at such events, I think the instructional time should be set apart from the meal which is often expensive and subject to logistics problems: slow elevators, buffet service etc. Also secretaries and treasurers would benefit from separate sessions. The informal discussion at our table did produce some useful advice, but the time was too short to cover all issues. It was recommended that minutes for regular meetings should be no more than two sides of a page, with written reports of chairpersons attached. It is important to record action taken, so the wording of motions must be recorded. Quite a discussion ensued about whether names should be listed beside mover and seconder. Some parliamentarian procedures do not stipulate this, but the CWL does. See Handbook for Secretaries, Sample Minutes, p,15. We were provided with a handout which listed the duties of the Recording Secretary from an earlier edition of Executive Handbook, but the 2010 edition carries the same information (pp,15,16).

Patron Saints

Did you know that secretaries have two patron saints?

St. Catherine of Alexandria, Virgin and Martyr, whose feast day is November 25th. Venerated since the time of the Crusades, she was a woman of great erudition.

St. Genesius of Arles was an early fourth century martyr. His feast day is August 25th. Butler’s “Lives of the Saints” describes him thus:

“…he was able at a single stroke to take down words, and by the speed of his hand to equal the rapidity of the discourse of an orator, and to render word for word abridged notes, the pleadings of counsel, the deposition of witnesses and the answers of the accused.” – and all on a wax tablet!

Finally, congratulations to our new National Secretary-Treasurer, Judy Lewis, whose executive profile can be viewed on the national website.

May Our Lady of Good Counsel intercede for us all.

Marianna extended our time for reporting to you today, asking that we make this a teaching opportunity, and to be informative, light, and fun. I will attempt to cover all three, hoping that my enthusiasm for the role of Secretary will shine through!

Information for my brief presentation today will be taken from the Constitution and Bylaws and the Executive Handbook with a few personal tips thrown in! How many members have been Secretaries at some time or another? OK, I will highlight the suggested activities of a parish council Secretary which can include the following:

Signatory:

You are a signing officer for official documents for your council.

Correspondence:

It is important that a record be kept of correspondence both sent and received. Sometimes, the president will ask you to draft letters on her behalf and you would usually send congratulatory cards, thank you cards, etc.

Notice of Meeting:

You should always send out a formal Notice of Meeting, either by Email or in your church bulletins. One parish council I know very well, places a large sign on a tripod in the vestibule the Sunday prior to the meeting inviting all interested ladies.

Agenda:

Assist the president in preparing the agenda for both executive and general meetings – making sure you bring forward any unfinished business from the previous meeting.

Roll Call:

Have a sign-in sheet available for members at your meetings. I would advise you to definitely do a roll call of your executive, using the full name and position titles so that members become more aware who has which standing committee.

Minutes:

Minutes should accurately record the decisions made at each meeting and I’m not saying that you have to record everything that is said by everyone at the meeting! They need to record the issues and actions agreed upon. Some of us, and I’m probably as guilty as anyone, try to record too much, especially if you have the privilege of taking minutes on a laptop computer!

I personally like to include the full names of members making suggestions, etc. Don’t forget that you are actually acting as the historian for your council and in the future, members can look back and actually understand the decisions made many years previous.

Because minutes quite often contain action items, please ensure their timely distribution – either by Email, postal or other method as agreed by your council. The minutes will be approved at the following meeting by the members in attendance and signed by yourself and the President. You must keep a permanent record of the edited, final, signed minutes for your archives.

It may be helpful to keep the minute binder with you at meetings for reference purposes.

Annual Reports:

The secretary can help facilitate the annual report process by having the minute book available at an executive meeting especially called for this purpose. She will keep hard copies of all standing committee annual reports for the president to use when compiling her parish council’s annual report.

Elections Register:

The secretary should keep an up to date elections register. A sample can be found in the National Policy and Procedures manual Article XV. Also, as I requested in my final Communique, please keep track of your past presidents to help facilitate the diocesan and provincial elections process.

On-Line Membership Registration:

I would also like to encourage all parish councils to register for the on-line membership system on the national web-site. This may be the role of the Treasurer, or your Organization/Membership chairperson or possibly the Secretary. I was asked by Marianna to do a short demonstration of this system later in the convention.

As you can see, the position of Secretary could easily be a shared one. In fact, you could have an assistant that you would be training for the job!

It is important that you are not intimidated by this position. We may look very professional, with our laptop computers, printers, projectors and screens, but you don’t need to do all of this. Most parish council Secretaries just take hand written notes at meetings and type them up later, and that’s the way it’s been for many years. And always remember, God never gives you a task that He doesn’t provide the Holy Spirit to help you with.

As I complete my term as provincial secretary, I look back on the past two years which have just flown! I have enjoyed my role very much, being very busy and sometimes challenged! This is a role I really enjoy and will miss. Thank you so very much for your faith in me, allowing me to serve as your Provincial Secretary for the past two years.

Dear Diocesan Secretaries,

I am taking the opportunity to send you one last Communiqué with a request to all diocesan Secretaries.

It would be extremely useful if diocesan secretaries would keep an up to date label list of the past-presidents of their dioceses. The reason is so that, in an election year, they may send that list to the provincial secretary in order for her to keep the elections register up to date. There is the possibility that some of these members may have moved and therefore, the letter inviting them to run at the provincial level may not reach them.

This would possibly involve the parish council secretaries letting you know when a past-president moves and you might consider asking them for the same information. A past-president is eligible for three elections following her term as President (or 6 years).

I know one diocese honours its past-presidents by including them in the roll call at general meetings and sending minutes and notice of meetings to them. It’s a good way of staying connected. After all, they have put in many years of service at that level and we are very appreciative!

Thank you very much for your kind consideration of this request, and for your cooperation. I know the new BC & Yukon Secretary will be very grateful!  I am looking forward to seeing all of you at the convention!

I am writing with a reminder that I definitely need to receive registration forms from each and every one of the 131 parish councils in the province. To date, I have only received 54! Less than half! This is one of the tasks that must be completed every year without fail.

Those who are not having elections, please send one to me anyway – just to confirm the information we have for your executive is current. I know you understand that with 131 parish councils it is impossible to keep up with who are having elections and who are not!

Please double check all the information with the incumbent to ensure it is correct. If possible, a typed copy would be best. I can’t tell you how many of you have Emailed changes to me throughout the year – especially to Email addresses, and I thank you for that. This information is needed by both the provincial and diocesan councils in order to confirm the accreditation for the conventions so that you can vote! These records also go into our provincial archives.

If you have any questions, need a copy of the form or if I can help you in any way, please do not hesitate to call or email me.

Thank you so much for your Annual Reports that were absolutely excellent! You are such a gracious and hard working group. It’s a pleasure to work with you. I am really looking forward to seeing all of you at our upcoming convention in Richmond.

Now that the wonderful season of Christmas is over, it is time to get busy with CWL again, and I am writing to you with a request. I am a bit late in sending out the parish register forms for 2010! Somehow, in the busy-ness of the season, I just forgot I had to send them out to you! Mea culpa! Therefore, I really need your help in distributing this form to all your parish councils immediately. I notice that some parish councils are already sending them to me, so you wonderful secretaries are obviously doing your job by making edits to last year’s form! Thank you so much for that.

Attached to this Email are the Parish Council Registration form and the Diocesan Council Registration form. I am sending them by Email for convenience and expediency. Once your diocesan elections are complete, please send in the new diocesan registration form. Those who are not having elections, please send one to me anyway – just to confirm any changes in information for your executive.

I know most parish councils have had their elections by now, and I would ask that you return a copy of the parish registers to me as soon as you can. Please double check all the information with the incumbent to ensure it is correct. If possible, a typed copy would be best. I also ask that any changes that occur during the year, be sent to me – Email is fine – and I thank you for keeping me informed about changes throughout the year.

This information is needed by the provincial council in order for me to send out the convention packages which I am currently preparing, and so that the registrations for the convention can be confirmed. These records also go into our provincial archives

I am looking forward to working with my League sisters in Richmond, part of the Vancouver Archdiocesan Council, to help prepare the groundwork for the upcoming convention there May 27-29 at St. Monica’s Parish.

I hope all we Secretaries can make an opportunity to meet at the convention! In my opinion, you are the ‘silent heroes’ in the League, keeping records of everything that goes on and I thank you for your diligence! If you have any questions or if I can help you in any way, please do not hesitate to call or Email me. Please remember to send me a copy of your Communiqué if you write one.

Just a friendly reminder that your Annual Report is due February 15th. If you have yours ready, please forward to me at your earliest convenience.

Wishing you all a very happy new year in the Catholic Women’s League of Canada.

With much love and all of God’s abundant blessings.

When I started to think about what to put in this oral report, I was stymied. Then I thought of all those wonderful ladies who have accepted this – what can sometimes be a challenging role, and all of a sudden, thoughts came streaming in! Times are changing. Most secretaries are now very computer literate and doing a great job. I very much enjoyed reading your annual reports.

I wonder if you realize that you hold the key to the history of your Council? In the minutes of your meetings, you are recording events and providing an historical reference for your parish and diocesan councils.

In regard to what to put in the minutes, be sure to recognize people by name for the good work they are doing. Not only do people need and deserve recognition, this information may come in handy in the future. Remember to have the original minutes signed when they are approved at the next meeting. May I suggest that you get a binder for all the minutes of your meetings, divided by year. You could have the executive list at the beginning of each year thereby making it easy to pass on the information to the past president for archives at the end of your term.

One thing I can’t emphasize enough at the parish council level is taking care of correspondence. Others on the executive may help take care of this, but it is so important that we send out thank you letters, letters of congratulations, get well and sympathy cards, etc. to all our parishioners for milestone occasions, reminding them we are praying for them. The best thing we do as CWL members is pray. We will be recognized as gracious, loving and welcoming women.

If there is anything that I can help you with, please see me at any time during this convention; I would love to meet you!

As this is my first Communiqué as Secretary of the BC & Yukon Provincial Council, I would like to introduce myself.  To give you a bit of background, I am a happily married (45 years) mother of three and grandmother of eleven.  Two of my children live in Calgary with their families and my husband and I visit there at least every 6-8 weeks so that our grandchildren will know us!  We very often spend Christmas in Calgary and experience the great outdoors, ice skating and tobogganing – a real old fashioned Christmas.  This year we were happy to be staying home with my eldest daughter and her family.  She just donated her kidney to her 15 year old daughter and they are still recovering (very well – thanks be to God!).

I became a member and Founding President in my own Parish Council at St. Pius X Parish in North Vancouver in January, 1995 with 60 members signed up.  Talk about jumping in with both feet! I moved on up to Secretary on the Vancouver Archdiocesan Council and then to President-elect and then President.  While President, I was Secretary of the Planning Committee for the national convention held in Vancouver in 2005.  It was a difficult decision to move on to the Provincial level, but I do love the League and the sisters I have met over the years.  We share so much and I would miss them terribly if I wasn’t carrying on.  So here I am, a Secretary again.I work part time at the Archdiocese of Vancouver Chancery Office and administer the Mission Appeal Program.  I absolutely love my job!  I often get called upon to help to organize the many events that happen in the Archdiocese – most recently, our 100th Anniversary celebrations.

As provincial secretary I hope I can do something to make the road a bit smoother for all of you, but realize that you all have so much experience that you could probably teach me a thing or two!  Anyway, we will all work together to ensure that the records of our various levels are kept in an orderly manner following the guidelines laid out so beautifully in the national handbooks.

One thing that I learned by being Past-President, is that the Archival material is very important and that it all starts with the Secretaries!  I learned that the materials that you collect over the year have a certain way to be filed.  For instance, The Handbook for Past President page 5 says: all material pertaining to each standing committee should be filed together and the file clearly marked with the name of the chairperson and years.  The annual reports of the president, secretaries and treasurer should be similarly filed.  Names of officers and years in office should be marked on the outside of each file folder.  I assume this means all Communiqués and attachments and oral reports, etc. as well. 

Now, I wonder who is filing in this manner?  Wouldn’t it be a good idea to start doing this as Secretaries and then be able to pass on the records to our Past-president in the proper format.  When I was the secretary for diocesan, I filed by meeting.  What are you doing?  Should we all try to file this way?  There are a couple of reasons why it is a good method.  It would certainly make the job of Past-president easier when she receives all our material to archive.  I think it also makes sense, because if you are discussing a subject around the table, you might remember that Mary Smith presented something when she was Chairperson of …. Standing Committee, but you certainly wouldn’t remember the meeting.  Therefore, you would simply go to the file of that chairperson and look it up very easily.  It might also be a good idea to include some pictures with that chairperson in them.

Let me know by return email what you are doing in your diocese and if you might like to try this method.  I am going to attempt to do this for my term as provincial secretary.  I’ll let you know how it goes!

I know some parish councils have had their elections and I would ask that you return a copy of the parish registers to me as soon as you can.  Please double check all the information with the incumbent to ensure it is correct.  If possible, a typed copy would be best.  I also ask that any changes that occur during the year be sent to me – Email is fine.

We have just purchased a new laptop computer for the provincial council and have been assured that it is powerful enough to do all the presentations that we require at the conventions and has lots of memory.  If only the one to be operating it is the same!!!  I will do my best.  We are in great shape now with a laptop and a printer.  The only thing we don’t have is the projector required to show presentations on the screen.  We will have to rent or borrow one at the site of the convention.

I am looking forward to working with my League sisters in Prince George to prepare the groundwork for the upcoming convention there.

Please note our new national and provincial themes at the top of this letter.  If you have any questions or if I can help you in any way, please do not hesitate to call or Email me.  I also look forward to meeting with each of you at the convention!  Please remember to send me your Communiqués if you write one.

Wishing you all a very happy new year in the Catholic Women’s League of Canada.

As Secretaries at all levels we find ourselves in the middle of all the activities of our councils.  It is up to us to ensure we have all the information at our fingertips or know where to get the information in the event we are asked by our Executive, or a member of our council or parish community.

On our National Catholic Women’s League website there is a Handbook for Secretaries that can be downloaded, printed or ordered through our National office.  In the Handbook you will find a job description for secretaries, our roles and responsibilities, information on how to set up agendas, what to include in your councils minutes, and how to address dignitaries at various levels of government as well as the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops.  This is a must for every secretary including those with experience as it contains a wealth of knowledge and information.

On the completion of the secretary’s two year term, she should write a brief job description and an index of all files in her custody, together with files given to the archives and deliver them promptly to her successor.

The Election Register is a very important component of a secretary’s responsibility.  On January 1st of each year, an Elections Register must be prepared/updated and given to the chairperson of the nominations and elections committee.  The register contains the names of all current and past executive members in accordance with Article XV, of our Constitution and Bylaws 2006.  These records have been updated on the Provincial level.

Should a council take the time to read aloud the minutes or not?  As stated by our National Secretary-Treasurer Peggy Roche – in many councils it is a general practice to read the minutes aloud at every meeting.  At times this can prove to be very time consuming depending on the length of the minutes.  To read aloud or not, can be answered by referring to the National Manual of Policy and Procedure, page 42, Section 4 Secretary(s) which states,  “Distribute copies of minutes prior to the meeting if possible.  Otherwise, be prepared to read the minutes at the meeting.

What should you include in your council minutes?  Once again Peggy Roche refers to the National Manual of Policy & Procedure, which gives a checklist to follow on page 42.  Also refer to pages 43 & 44 Sample Minutes. This will provide an idea of format as well as content.

I thank you for giving me the privilege to serve as your Provincial Secretary over the past two years.  God Bless all of us as we work together to serve God and Canada.

Dear League Sisters and Father Terry:

As we are approaching Advent and we prepare ourselves to celebrate the birth of Jesus, I encourage you to take time to discern where you are in your spiritual journey. Often we find ourselves caught up in the hustle & bustle of the materialistic world and often forget to thank God for the many blessings we have received in the past year. Ask ourselves if there is something we would like to do now or in 2008 to deepen our spiritual life. Is there a retreat we would like to add to our Christmas wish list? Have we reached out to someone in need?

I would like to thank our Diocesan Secretaries: Dianne (Kamloops), Lynn (Vancouver), Betty (Victoria) and Carol (Whitehorse). Welcome to Paulette (Nelson) for stepping up to the plate and filling in for Carmella who moved out of the province. A special welcome back to Laura (Prince George) for filling in for Karen who had to take a temporary leave of absence for health reasons. Please keep both Dianne and Karen in your prayers as they are both undergoing treatment for breast cancer. Both Dianne & Karen have great positive outlooks and Karen is looking forward to returning to an active roll with the CWL after Christmas. Dianne is doing her best to continue as Diocesan Secretary in a limited capacity. God willing we will see both of them back in active roles soon.

For your information I’ve attached an updated list of our Provincial Executive, as well as our Comprehensive Register. Please take the time to review and advise of any corrections. I am in the process of updating addresses for our 2008 convention packages and therefore soliciting your help. I require the following:

1. email to me the name of each parish council president in your diocese, their name, addresses, phone number, and email address at your earliest convenience; and
2. in order to have current parish council executive members addresses, I’ve attached a form for you to send to all of your Catholic Women’s League Parish Council’s and have them complete and return to me. For councils having elections have the council complete and send to me as soon as their elections are complete.

As part of our responsibilities as Secretary it is up to us to update the election’s register for your Diocesan council. This should be done annually that way any changes are captured. In another area we are to maintain all the records updated and made ready to pass onto the Past President to be archived.

2008 is going to be an exciting year for the Kamloops Diocese (my Diocese), as we will be hosting our Provincial Convention. We look forward to seeing everyone in Williams Lake, BC for our 61st Annual Convention from Thursday, May 29th to Sunday, June 1st, 2008.

Our president Barb Dowding reminded all of us to purchase the nativity stamps, which you will have to ask for specifically. Also she reminded us to encourage all of our parish councils to complete their annual reports and send them to their Diocesan counterpart. Please remind your secretaries there is a report form for them to fill in as well.

I thank all of you for your help, and cooperation this past year. As this was my first year as your Provincial Secretary, words cannot adequately express my appreciation for the support you have given. Together we have worked as a team to answer everyone’s many questions and concerns. Also I appreciate the hard work you do to keep all of the addresses current and up to date. Keep up the good work as we move forward together for God & Canada.

To you and your families I wish you a very Spiritual, Safe, and Happy Christmas and all the best of good health in the New Year.

Love & prayers

Doreen G……,