Dear Sisters in the League and Fr. Tran,

Membership

January is membership month. However, the recruiting process should continue throughout the entire year! What is your parish council doing to invite new ladies to join the League? Many women are just waiting to be asked. I challenge every League member to step out of their comfort zone and ask someone in their parish to join the CWL. As our national organization chairperson, Velma Harasen states, “Every woman in the parish community deserves to belong to The Catholic Women’s League of Canada, and it’s our responsibility to make sure that happens!”

The latest figures I have from December 15th is that our membership for BC/Yukon was at 9,263 for 2008. So far this is an 81 member increase from 2007 with a possible few more coming in before the year end. Let’s keep up the incredible effort and before you know it we will have surpassed our goal of 10,000 by 2010!!

Our very own BC/Yukon webmaster Rebecca Gebeshuber from the Vancouver Arch-diocese developed recruitment postcards that national office has now approved and will be distributing with the second membership remittance package in sufficient quantities for each unpaid member. Each parish council will receive a new remittance form, list of unpaid members and recruitment postcards, list of paid members and permanent membership cards for each.

Director of Development

A director of development has been hired at national office to develop a marketing strategy to assist in membership recruitment and retention and to enhance the League’s image. We look forward to exciting days ahead!

National & Provincial Themes

Please take notice that both the national and provincial levels have new themes for the next two years. The national theme is Women of Peace and Hope. The national executive has asked us to translate these words into action by focusing on two main areas: palliative care and reaching out to women of other cultures and background. I know we can accomplish this request through our new provincial theme; Serving with Faith and Joy.

The Feast of Our Lady of Good Counsel

April 26th, the Feast of Our Lady of Good Counsel, has been declared as CWL Day of Peace and Hope. All members across Canada are asked to pray and act for peace and hope. A kit with user-friendly ideas for parish councils and members to live out this theme and take concrete action will be available from national office on February 14, 2009. Activities could range anywhere from a prayer service to serving lunch to our homeless, or? I’d love to hear what your parish council did ~ Let me know! Encourage councils to take part in this important day and to use this opportunity to showcase the League.

Process for Recording Deceased Members

Velma Harasen informs us: “The most recent Form for Reporting Deceased Members, dated 2008, requires that parish councils send only one copy; that copy is to be forwarded to national office. One staff member is responsible for inputting these forms into the database and then she will make two copies of each. When a number of forms have accumulated, copies will be sent to the appropriate provincial and diocesan chairpersons for their own Book of Life. Providing that parish councils are diligent in sending in these forms, this system should prove to be more accurate.”

Annual  Reports

Diocesan chairpersons should have by now received all parish annual reports (due date was December 15, 2008). If you are still missing reports from some of your parish councils, or received blank reports stating “No Chairperson”. Please take the time to phone these parishes and explain how important their work in the League is to developing a complete story of The Catholic Women’s League of Canada. If you have to, get the answers to the report over the phone. Let’s work to 100 % reporting throughout our province! I look forward to receiving your diocesan reports by February 15, 2009.

Dates to Remember

• January 1, 2009 – Membership lists with per capita fees are due and payable to national office.
• February 1, 2009 – Completed Life Member Nominee Questionnaire must be forwarded to national office with the $100 fee.
• February 1, 2009 – The completed nomination form for the Belle Guerin Award, submitted by a parish, diocesan and/or provincial council, must be forwarded to national office, along with the $75 fee.
• February 15, 2009 – The deadline for submitting diocesan chairpersons’ annual reports to the provincial chairperson.
• March 15, 2009 – The deadline for submitting provincial chairpersons’ annual reports to the national chairperson.

Happy New Year to the Spiritual Development Chairpersons at Parish and Diocesan Levels.  It will be up to Diocesan Chairperson to ensure that  the Parish Spiritual Development Chairperson receive this communiqué so they can begin  implementing this most important work to ensure the  membership  get the best spiritual growth and encouragement they possibly can.  There are wonderful programs in place to help you do just that.  Thank you to the parish councils that submitted their reports to their diocesan counterpart in a timely manner.  It is through the annual reports that your work and ideas are shared and your good works acknowledged.   Terri Scott, National Spiritual Development Chairperson has sent her second communiqué. I will use excerpts from her report and to view it in its entirety visit the National webpage. It will be posted shortly. It is filled with inspiring ideas that can be used by every parish to enhance spiritual growth. 

Jubilee Year of St. Paul the Apostle: June 28, 2008, to June 29, 2009

The Ontario Provincial Spiritual Development Standing Committee has compiled a package on The Pauline Year. The file includes a comprehensive overview of the life and mission journeys of St.Paul, ways to celebrate the Pauline Year, hymns and prayers. In short, if there is anything you wish to know about St. Paul, it is there. Please check the website: http://www.cwl.on.ca/PaulineYear.html The Holy Spirit was  at work.

49th International Eucharistic Congress

The Congress, which was held in June 2008 in Quebec City, was experienced by most as, “a great moment of faith and fellowship.” From this website link: http://www.cei2008.ca/en/accueil you  may read about highlights of the week, or order a souvenir  album or DVD. Terri looks forward to hearing about your faith  adventures in your annual reports for 2009.

Catholic Missions In Canada (CMIC)

The League has been supporting the CMIC since 2001 through a national voluntary fund. In 2003 it was voted to make the fund permanent.       In over seven years, $150,000 was generated to help the missions. At a recent national executive meeting, it was agreed that the following six missions supported by CMIC would receive funding from the CWL:

• Office of Catechetics: Youth Ministry (Diocese of Grand Falls)
• Catechetical/Youth Ministry Office (Diocese of Corner Brook and Labrador)
• First Nations Lay Ministry Formation Program (Diocese of Thunder Bay)
• Rural Catechetical Program (Diocese of Prince Albert)
• Native Catechetical Ministry Team (Diocese of Nelson)
• Religious Education and Youth Ministry (Diocese of Keewatin-Le Pas)

Prayer for All Vocations

Someone sent Terri  this lovely prayer that includes all vocations. You may wish to keep it handy and say it often:

Prayer for All Vocations

God, our Father, in baptism You called us by name, making us members of Your people, the church. We praise You for Your goodness, we thank You for Your gifts. We ask You to strengthen us to live in love and service to others after the example of Your son, Jesus. Father, look upon Your church with love and bless Your people with generous single men and women, with loving husbands and wives, with understanding parents, with trusting children, with dedicated priests, sisters, deacons and brothers. Help us to see our vocations as a journey toward You. You have called us, not to set us apart, but to bring us together with others who need our love. Make us faithful signs of Your presence in their midst.  We ask You through Christ, our Lord. Amen

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity: January 18-25, 2009

“In order to unite with one another, we must love one another; in order to love one another, we must know one another; in order to know one another, we must go and meet one another.” These words are the impetus for this annual event and are taken from the Testament of Cardinal Mercier. The week of prayer, actually eight days in all, began in 1894. The 2009 theme is That they may become one in your hand, and the chosen text is Ezekiel 37.15-28.  You are encouraged to participate in your parish events to pary for unity.

Women’s Inter-Church Council of Canada (WICC)

The March 6th World Day of Prayer service was written by the women of Papua, New Guinea, with the theme, In Christ there are many members, yet one body.

Once again take part in the Service offered in your community.

Shorter Christian Prayer

Lay persons are encouraged to pray the Liturgy of the Hours.  A user friendly format is Shorter Christian Prayer, the four-week Psalter of the Liturgy of the Hours  that contains Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer, with selections for the entire year. This official prayer of the Catholic Church will bring blessings and comfort to you. Week 1 begins on January 12th.  Father  Tran told us an easy way to find which week you are on is to divide whatever week of ordinary time you are on by 4,  the remaining number is the week.

One in the Spirit program patterned on the popular Spirituality, a day of Discovery

In my last communiqué I mentioned checking out this program which is found on the National website under programs.  This program provides an opportunity for members to become more aware of their individual spiritual preferences and may enrich their relationship with God and others. It can be done in three hours, 

Women of Peace and Hope

By now members are preparing for diocesan conventions and have been studying the new theme that will be in effect for the next two years. A hymn you may want to consider to compliment the theme is “Peace” (Weston Priory), with text and music by Gregory Norbet, OSB. It may be found on page 478 of Breaking Bread. Before any hymn is copied and circulated for use, please ensure that permission is sought from the publisher.

The Feast of Our Lady of Good Counsel, celebrated annually on April 26th, has been newly declared CWL Day of Peace and Hope. Each national standing committee chairperson submitted concrete ideas to form a kit to help members pray for peace and hope with two main areas, 1) palliative care  and 2) “Welcome, Friend!” with which to promote this special day. National office is compiling the kit to be released by mid-February to help councils prepare for April 26th. It is a call for action that will make members more visible in their parishes as women who are working for peace and hope.

Reporting Deceased Members for 2009  

It is very important to submit the names of your deceased members to National Office very soon after their passing on to their heavenly reward. Don’t wait for months or years. When you hear the Book of Life being read at the Provincial Convention in Prince George you may be amazed at some of the dates being reported.   Please use the 2008 revised report form which advises you to send one copy to National Office.  This form can be found on the National Website under form and is the very last item. 

Apparently National is going to advise Provincial and Diocesan chairpersons periodically so the Provincial and Diocesan Books of Life can be compiled.  Watch for more information. 

May Our Lady of Good Counsel  guide your efforts as you live the new theme for the next two years.  God Bless You.  Keep the National Executive,  Provincial Executive, Diocesan Executives. Life Members and the members in your daily prayer.   A blanket prayer would do to cover all that we may be seen as women of Peace and Hope—  Serving with Faith and Joy

Dear League Sisters and Father Tien,

A brief note to wish all of you a blessed New Year, with the hope that 2009 will truly be a year of peace and hope.  I have received a communiqué from our national chairperson, Barb Dowding, and I quote her introduction:

“To be Women of Peace and Hope, we must first be women who love and are loved.  Remembering who we are in God’s eyes and His plan will enable us to reach out, affect change and help each other believe in ourselves. One of the many aspects of feminine leadership comes in the form of confidence, not necessarily self confidence, but rather the confidence that comes from trusting in God. The quote attributed to Nelson Mandela, “As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fears, our presence automatically liberates others,” reminds me to use Jesus as the ultimate model of leadership. Called to love and be loved in this world, I must lead with my heart, trust my informed intuition (feminine genius?) and make manifest the glory of God. As Women of Peace and Hope, we cross all barriers when we extend a hand, a hand of comfort and welcome, of friendship, understanding and compassion. Resolutions: Shining our lights as Women of Peace and Hope, how blessed are we?”

The entire communiqué will soon be on the national website – please take the time to read it.We continue to be unsuccessful in setting up meetings with either the provincial or federal governments.  Provincially, we are hoping for a meeting near the end of March and will continue to work toward this.  Please pray with us.

Two reminders at this time:

Annual Reports – thank-you to Mary for her report, and I look forward to receiving the others by Feb. 15th at the latest.

Resolution Titles – please send the titles to me by January 31st.  And, if there will be resolutions presented at your diocesan convention, form your resolution review committee now and keep them informed as the resolutions progress.

In my next communiqué, I will outline the process of submitting resolutions to the provincial convention – in turn, you can review the process for your diocesan review committee.

Our provincial website now includes the resolutions that are directed to the Provincial government.  Please review BC 2008.01: Ban The Use of Cell Phones while Driving  and work with your Communications chairpersons to encourage action on this.

May Our Lady of Good Counsel continue to guide us in our work as we serve with faith and joy.

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.

Happy New Years everyone.  I hope you all had a blessed and wonderful Christmas.

I am sending a quick communication to remind everyone to please adhere to the reporting deadlines.  Diocesan Treasurer’s to report to Provincial level by Feb 15/09.  Please strive for 100% reporting, if any parish has not responded, maybe try following up with a phone call.

The higher number of responses, the more accurate the reporting.

Also remind your parish treasurers to complete the Voluntary Funds report form.  You will have received this from National, but it is also in the policy & procedure book, appendix 3 – page 27.

Remind your parish treasurers to work hard on remitting the per capita by the February 28th deadline.  Our province is doing very well with membership; to the end of November 2008 we had 9263 members, up 81 members over 2007.  Great Job!

I will be out of touch for a couple of months, so please hold your emails until after March 3 or 4th, 2009. May Our Lady of Good Counsel continue to guide us in our work for God & Canada.

All the blessings of the advent season as we prepare for the coming of the Lord in our midst.

A quote from Pope Benedict XV! Advent address:  “Advent is the spiritual season of hope par excellence and in this season the whole church is called to be hope for itself and for the world.”  He adds,” The whole spiritual organism of the mystical body assumes as it were the ‘color’ of hope.”

A website I enjoy using is www.CatholicGreetings.org; there you will find Catholic greetings for Advent and the feast days that fall within the season.

The Catholic Missions is Canada would be grateful for donations to help the Missionaries in their work  in the mission churches across Canada.  In a letter I received October 29^th, 2008 the work of Sister Shelley Grant, C.N.D. is mentioned.  Sister Shelley ministers to 155 parishioners at St. Jude’s Catholic Mission in Carmacks, Yukon.  Sister Shelley received a grant of $10,000 which kept this mission open.  It covered heating, electricity, phone, wood, church supplies, gas, fuel for the stove, food, etc.  Let us be mindful of the Missionaries in our own BC & Yukon area.

All Parish Presidents recently received the mailing from National Office.  Terri Scott, National Chairperson  of Spiritual Development had a MEMO included.  If perchance you didn’t receive the report you can find it on the national website  www.cwl.ca, click on  “Recent Updates”, October 28,2008,  item No 6 is the memo from Terri.

Resolution 2005.01 Christmas Postage Stamps is being supported well I am sure.  Please remember to thank Canada Post for this year’s religious stamp. 

In a few weeks time the Diocesan Chairperson should be receiving the Spiritual Development reports from the parishes as I note they have December 15 as their due date.   I look forward to your report to Provincial in a timely manner. 

Deceased Members:  Please note that I must receive notification of all your deceased members for 2008  early in the New Year.  Only the names I have received by January 15, 2009 will be included in the National Book of Life.  Be diligent in keeping up to date with these important reports. 

And still speaking of deceased members take care  to use the 2008 Deceased Members form and to include the council code found on your Canadian League Magazine address label. National needs this important bit of information to ensure the removal of the right name from the magazine mailing list. 

And if you would like to add your voice to many other voices you could write to:

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation,  P.O. Box 500, Station “A”. Toronto, ON M5W  1E6 and ask them to  air Pope Benedict XVI  Christmas 2008  message as well as the Easter Message for 2009. 

During this blessed season of Advent may you find many meditations and readings that will help you prepare your hearts for Christmas

In our parish I brought an “Advent Bowl” for  each family.  It’s a rose bowl and in it are slips of paper with different suggestions. Children will draw a slip out each day of advent and do the suggested activity.   For example, sing your Mothers favourite Christmas Carol,  or do a good deed for a neighbour,  phone your grandparents and tell them you love them,  read the Christmas story.  It is patterned after the advent calendars where a child opens a  door  each day and gets a chocolate except this is more in line with getting ready for Christmas by helping others.

To close I would share this

CHRISTMAS NOVENA

V:  Let everything within us watch and wait,: 

R:  For the Lord our God is near.

LET US PRAY:

Father, all-powerful God, your eternal Word took flesh on earth when the Virgin Mary placed her life at the service of your plan.  Lift our minds in watchful hope to hear the voice which announces His Glory, and open our hearts to receive the Spirit who prepares us for his coming

 We ask this through Christ our Lord.  AMEN     (taken from Sisters of the Precious Blood)

May our Lady of Good Counsel inspire us as we strive to serve our God and Canada  and please accept my best wishes to you and yours  for a very Merry and Blessed Christmas and a New Year filled with Peace, Joy and Happiness.  God Bless you all.

Dear League Sisters and Father Tran, 

Hello again to all of you!  I hope you all received Communique #1 sent out in early September. Since then the Provincial Executive Fall Mid-term meeting took place in Kelowna      

October 23^rd to 26^th . To begin our few days together, Father Tran gave an excellent Spiritual presentation about St. Paul. The we began our very busy and “fruitful” few days as we had much business to attend to. I sent  all of you a copy of my “Report to Mid-term Meeting” and hope you received it.  

In my report, I mentioned the Vancouver YWCA Research project titled “Mothers Without Legal Status”. Mary Nordick-National Community Life Chairperson replied to me wondering if someone might make a Resolution on this topic. Is there any one who has knowledge about this and/or access to materials regarding Immigration and/or Family Law which would pertain to this topic?

Also, at Mid-term, I received information on BC & Yukon Resolution presented by Kamloops Diocese at our Provincial Convention and passed. It was 2008:07 – Protection of Human Trafficking Victims, a Priority. The National Resolutions Committee did not recommend accepting this Resolution for this years Convention. In November, I received information that this matter was being addressed through Bill S-218 “An Act to Amend the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act”.  It had passed 1^st and 2^nd readings but was referred to the Human Rights Commission-and I have not heard if  it did proceed any further. If it did not proceed further, we would like to re-work this Resolution and present it again this year.  If anyone has information about these matters, please send it to me. I would welcome any information and/or assistance with these two matters as soon as possible-as titles of Resolutions must be submitted in January 

I would remind all Community Life Chairpersons that you should soon be working on your Annual Reports, as Diocesan Reports must be submitted to me by January 15^th, 2009. Please share your Communiques or reports to your Councils with me and with the other Diocesan Chairpersons. My preferred means of communication is by e-mail, but I will gladly send paper copies if you need them. I also wish to thank all of our Community Life Chairpersons for the work you are doing.  

As we begin this Advent season, and prepare ourselves, with our families, and with our Church Communities for the coming of our Savior at Christmas—I send warm wishes to all of you for a joyful celebration of the birth of Jesus. I also extend to all of you my best wishes for a healthy, happy year ahead in 2009.  May Our Lady of Good Counsel bless us all at this special time of the year.

Dear League Sisters and Father Tran,

Report Forms

Enclosed are the diocesan annual report forms, please distribute the appropriate forms to your corresponding diocesan chairpersons. I pray that you have distributed the parish annual report forms and have encouraged all councils to submit their reports.

Due dates for annual reports are:
Parish report to Diocesan – December 15th
Diocesan report to Provincial – February 15th
Provincial report to National – March 15th

Development Funds

This is just a reminder that there are both Provincial and National Development Funds available.

Provincial Development Funds

• Development Fund #1 (Travel Fund) – An unspecified amount (interest earned) is available to assist delegates with travel expenses to the Provincial Convention.
• Development Fund #2 – $1,000 is available once in a two year term for a Diocesan President to attend the National Convention.

I have scanned these forms and enclosed them. If you are unable to print them out clearly just contact me and I will fax them to you, or your Diocesan President will have them in her BC/Yukon Policy & Procedure Manual. The deadline for both applications is March 31, 2009.

National Development Fund

National funds are available from National office to promote League leadership training and League development workshops. Councils may apply twice in a given year; for the period of January to June and from July to December. The guidelines and application form are in the National Policy & Procedure Manual, pages A3 20 – A3 25 and can be downloaded on the CWL website, www.cwl.ca.

Membership

Annual membership in the League is from January 1st to December 31st; therefore councils are encouraged to start collecting membership fees before January 1st and complete their per capita submission by February 28th. “For enlisting or renewing past memberships, personal contact is the most effective method. ASK THEM – one to one; personally inviting a woman to join the League has been proven to be effective time and time again.” (Handbook for Organization Chairpersons page 8 ).  Also, remember to invite associate members into the League. An associate member is a non-Catholic woman 16 years of age or over, with voting privileges, but without eligibility for office by election or appointment.

TOGETHER LET’S ACHIEVE OUR GOAL OF 10,000 MEMBERS IN BC/YUKON!

Bellelle Guerin Award

This is just a reminder that this award is available through National office for members who do not qualify for life membership, yet demonstrate a love of the League and an availability and willingness to continue to serve. The criteria for this award can be found in the National Policy & Procedure Manual page 29 and the nomination form is on pages A3 8 – A3 9.

Communiqués

Thank you for the communiqués I have received from all Diocesan Organization Chairpersons, each of you is doing a wonderful job in your work for God and Canada! Keep it up and please continue sending me your communiqués. If at any time you have any questions or concerns regarding one of my communiqués, or regarding the duties of the Organization Standing Committee do not hesitate to contact me, I would love to hear from you!

This will be my last communiqué to you before Christmas, I therefore would like to wish all of you a very blessed Christmas Season with the joy of Christ overflowing in your hearts!

While the Lord’s coming is getting ever closer. It is also the time for reports. The dates are:

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

Looking forward to seeing what your areas have accomplished in your Diocesan report.

Please encourage your parish Christian Family Life Chairpersons to look to their local and Catholic Newspapers etc of items of importance and to present them along with other items of interest at their meetings for discussion.

While I was growing up divorce was not so common, abortion was illegal, same sex couples where not mentioned and I never heard of assisted suicide, and the idea of a marriage was only between a man and a women and for sure I don’t remember ever hearing any one talk about embryonic cell research. How the world has changed…Where did the morals and God’s teachings go? We must protect our faith and stand by it.

It is great to live in a free country is it not? We are so blessed to be able to practice our faith and that we should be faithful to the teachings of Christ and our Church. We must keep our families strong in our Catholic faith and respect the authority of our Pope. We have a lot of outside influences and that makes it difficult for us to remain faithful with the various pressures all around us. This is why it is so important to put prayer first in our lives and within the family because prayer gives us time to be still and silent. Not only does it help us to rest with our Lord Jesus Christ it gives us time to really listen to what he is saying to us.

Our faith binds us together as family…So with that I wish you my family the Blessings of Christ on this Christmas Season. Keep Christ in Christmas and in your family. Peace be with you all.

It is my privilege to serve you for a second term as treasurer on Provincial level. Be assured our Provincial council will strive to continue to be good stewards of your money. Welcome to all Diocesan Treasurers.

Expenses and Receipts

National Treasurer-Secretary, 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.” A bit of a reminder for all members.

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 2009 budget for presentation to the council executive for discussion and approval. Ensure that all records are prepared for review or audit.

Guideline for Treasurers

New treasurers will find Guideline for Treasurers a helpful tool. It can ordered from National Office or downloaded from the website.

National Voluntary Funds

At the 88th annual national convention, a motion was approved to extend the MaterCare International Inc. National Voluntary Fund to 2010.

I thought you may be interested to know the following amounts were collected through national voluntary funds as of June 30, 2008:

Catholic Missions in Canada: $26,598
Coady International Institute; $28,318
Canadian Catholic Organization for Development & Peace: $77,161
MaterCare International Inc. : $36,766
National pro-life : $10,771
World Union of Catholic Women’s Organizations: 8,329
49th International Eucharistic Congress: $17,676

That totals $205,619 – a very big Thank you to all our members for their generosity and concern. The National Voluntary Fund Remittance Form is attached. Please use this form when making your remittances, indicate which fund the money is for and make cheques payable to The Catholic Women’s League of Canada.

Thank you everyone for your dedication and hard work. May Our Lady of Good Counsel continue to be our guide.

Welcome to a new season of the CWL! Some of you are into your second term as organization chair and some are new to the position, as I am. If you have any questions or concerns that you may need help with, please do not hesitate to contact me and I will try to help in any way possible.

A suggestion to help us in our work as organization chairpersons is to review both the Handbook for Organization Chairpersons and Leading the League. I have also enclosed Danielle McNeil-Hessians oral report from the National Convention in Winnipeg as it is filled with wonderful ideas and information.

The organization standing committee’s main responsibilities are the recruitment of members, maintaining membership, and leadership development. Our province’s total membership for 2007 was 9094. My goal for my two year term is to increase our membership to 10,000 by 2010. This calculates to 906 new members, which may sound like a large amount, yet when we divide it by our 126 parish councils it breaks down to approximately 7 new members per council which is very attainable. I invite you to encourage each parish council to make this their goal and if they get more then 7 new members wouldn’t that be awesome! Our new National Organization Chairperson, Velma Harasen reminds us of some important points for recruiting members. Velma states, “When recruiting, don’t put the emphasis on the need to attend meetings; some women may only want to help with a single project or not be active at this time. Contact every Catholic woman in your parish community, including those who may not be attending mass. You may be the connection they are looking for! If your first contact is not positive, keep in touch, try again. If health, age, time or any other deterrent prevents active participation, they can pray for the good works of the League. Every member added to the membership roll is powerful for advocacy purposes, when letters are written and government visited.”

To keep track of members I have enclosed a Tracking Form that should be sent to all parish councils with their annual report forms, all parish organization chairpersons need to complete this form, return it with their annual report and in turn, each of you as Diocesan chairpersons need to compile the totals and send your form to me with your annual report.

Attached you will also find the annual report forms for every parish council position and standing committee. The parish president’s report is to include what the parish president has done as president.  The other reports will include all the works of the council broken down by position or standing committee. Also attached is a “suggested process” to assist councils in completing their reports and a report form for council donations to be completed by the treasures.

It would be appreciated if parish councils would destroy any report forms used in previous years and reply using only the enclosed forms for their report. Please note that the date reports are due is December 15th.  This takes the pressure off Presidents over the Christmas season and allows her to report on her term prior to elections.

This process is not intended to be long and arduous.  Encourage councils to have fun with it and enjoy reviewing their achievements.  As you are aware it is very important to report all our successes to the next levels of the League as they eventually make their way to government to let them know of our good works.

Lastly, I would encourage you to remind your members that until recently the Provincial Council was keeping the stories submitted by members over the age of ‘90’.   However, about two years ago, it was decided to return the records to each Diocese so that the information could be more readily enjoyed and shared with their members. Therefore, each Diocesan Organization Chairperson should have a binder with submissions of the stories of your over ‘90’ members that could be displayed at your general meetings and conventions. If your Diocese has not started this binder encourage your councils to submit their stories to you so that you can all share in this wonderful source of our League history!

It is my prayer that each of us joyfully proclaims the wonders of the League with all our Catholic sisters as we continue to Walk Humbly with Our God and Love One Another.

Greetings,

Now that clocks have sprung forward next comes March 20th which heralds the first day of Spring, a time of spiritual awakening, a time of new life, trees blossoming, flowers starting to bloom, baby goats and little lambs frolicking around and hopefully sunshine and warmth.

Spring is also the time we think, plan and look forward to our diocesan conventions, a time of learning, sharing and meeting new and longtime League sisters…

Congratulations and thanks to the six diocesan resolutions chairs for their annual reports!

Exciting news – to date two dioceses are currently working on several proposed resolutions, a combined total of eleven.

The following guidelines must be adhered to:

1. resolutions are accepted by a majority vote at diocesan conventions
2. checklist for Reviewing Proposed Resolutions, one checklist must accompany each resolution
3. one copy by e-mail in ‘Word’ format
4. a hard copy by snail mail
5. official letter of adoption by a majority vote at diocesan convention
6. a one page brief
7. Parenthetical reference
8. Have a broad spectrum of backup material, not just from one source and certainly not only from newspaper clippings and Wikipedia, go back to the original source
9. Action plan suggests effective things that all members can do to act on resolutions

Please note – resolutions to forwarded to me as soon as possible after your diocesan conventions and no later than Monday, May 12th.

Betty Anne Brown, National Resolutions Chair states in her recent communique that:

Draft the Bridging Clauses has been inserted into the National Manual of Policy and Procedures, Appendix1, page A1-5 (which I previously sent as an attachment to you) in the hope that it will help to avoid disappointment from having resolutions submitted that really do not belong at the national level.

Perhaps some issues could be strictly provincial in nature, or they may only require education or study by a standing committee. Please make sure you have this Appendix, and checklist, if not contact me. It is important that councils preparing resolutions are aware of the new guidelines.

Provincial council is given the responsibility to decide where to direct the resolution.

Government Meeting

On March 5th the Provincial delegation had a very successful meeting with both the Liberal and NDP caucus members to present, discuss and answer questions on our resolutions, a more detailed report will be given at a later date. Your prayers were very much appreciated.

No doubt you are all aware of the good news – Bill C2 Age of Consent has been raised from fourteen to sixteen. Letters, e-mails, phone calls and prayers have made a difference. This shows how important it is to follow the action plans suggested on resolutions not yet resolved.

Continue letting your fingers be your voice through letters and e-mails, stating your concerns and please encourage parish council to do likewise. There is strength in numbers! Most importantly don’t forget to -

P ray

U til

S omething

H appens

Last year at provincial convention I had the opportunity to meet a few diocesan resolution chairpersons, this year at Williams Lake I hope to connect more names to faces.

May your Holy Week be one of prayer and reflection as you companion Jesus on his last journey and may Easter be a time of peace and blessings.

Your League Sister,

Sheila

An Irish blessing in honour of St. Patrick -

May good St. Patrick bless you

And keep you in his care

And may Our Lord be near you

To answer every prayer.

Dear League Sisters and Father Terry,

Velma Harasen, National Chairperson of Communications, sends “love and prayers as we continue our Lenten journey, and look forward to Easter, the festival of life and our celebration of hope!” With the Lenten season so early upon us this year, some of us may be searching through the dregs of winter for those signs of new life – but as we trust in the promise of green grass and flowers, may we place our trust and hope in the Risen Lord and share the Good News.

Highlights from Velma’s communiqué (please refer to national website):

World Communications Day

The theme for the 42nd World Communications Day, to be celebrated May 4, 2008 is The Media: At the Crossroads between Self-Promotion and Service. Searching for the Truth in order to Share it with Others. The complete text of Pope Benedict XVI’s message for World Communications Day can be found on the Vatican website.

Catholic Websites

You Tube and facebook, networking sites, have Catholic content, including podcasts by Archbishop Thomas Collins, of Toronto. The article warns that inappropriate content and clips from anti-Catholic groups and individuals may appear because there is no formal screening process. Other websites that you might find interesting: www.catholic.com, www.catholicgoldmine.com , www.catholic.net , www.catholic.org . Simply keying in the word “Catholic” will provide significant links.

Pornography is Nothing New!

The League has adopted resolutions pertaining to pornography, dating back to 1957. Check the League’s website for resolutions you might want to continue working on. Websites that might also be useful are www.blockchildporn.ca and www.cybertip.ca .

Annual Reports

To date, I have received only 2/6 Diocesan Annual Reports. Although many find the reporting process difficult, it can be useful as a tool in evaluating the work of your councils – and the sharing of reports is an excellent way to share ideas, give incentive to others, and reinforce our Mission Statement “calling its members to holiness through service to the people of God”. I look forward to reading all of the reports and celebrating the amazing work that is accomplished each year.

Provincial Website

Our updated provincial website is now fully operational. I hope that you are referring to it often. Register and give your feedback on site or email us with your comments. Thanks and blessings for Rebecca for all of her work.

Newsletters

Thank-you for sharing your diocesan and parish newsletters. I hope every diocese has a way of communicating with the parishes. The deadline for submissions to the next Provincial Newsletter is March 10, 2008. The newsletter will be available in time for diocesan conventions.

During this Lenten season, may we ‘communicate’ effectively in our prayers and open ourselves to receive the many gifts God offers; and, in thanksgiving, may we share our abundant gifts with all people, and let them experience God’s love through us.

Love and prayers to all for the hope and joy that Easter brings,

Sandra

It is Ash Wednesday today and the beginning of Lent.  May this holy season  bring us closer to God and give us  a greater awareness of our duties to God and  neighbour.  Help us to be aware of those who are suffering materially, physically and spiritually throughout the world.  May we be in solidarity with them with our Lenten sacrifices.

I am pleased to report that I have received two annual reports to date and look forward to receiving the other four by the deadline February 15.  Please email your reports asap.

Would the Diocesan Chairpersons please note that I send a copy of my communiqués to the National Chairperson so she knows what I am doing.  Despite my pleas, I have not received copies of diocesan chairperson’s reports to their parish councils; this is with the exception of Vancouver and Prince George.  I have no clue of what the other Dioceses are doing. It is simply a matter of clicking  an email button and I would have it. I hate to keep harping on this but it is important.  Share with other Diocesan chairpersons too.

Dr. Rayleen De Luca, National Community Life Chairperson sent Communique #07 a few days ago.  Rayleen is speaking about events from 2007, nevertheless she has some interesting statements. I am not taking any liberties by putting her remarks into my own words.  Regarding Poverty, there appears to be momentum building for a Canadian poverty reduction strategy. KAIROS has reported that progress has been made across Canada on poverty issues. For example, Newfoundland and Labrador renewed its poverty reduction strategy, Ontario ad Nova Scotia are developing strategies and there are indications of strategies being developed in Manitoba ad Prince Edward Island.

KAIROS stated that Canadian churches are doing their part.  The Canadian Council of Churches  relased a newletter, visit www.ccc-cce.ca/english/home/nov26_2007.htm to read a copy of the letter sent to Prime Minister Harper.

Over 75,000 Canadians rallied against poverty at over 500 events on October 17, 2007, the United Nations International day for the Eradication of Poverty.

Campaign 2000′s new 2007 Report Card on Child and family Poverty  can be accessed at www.ccb.ca. After reaching this page, scan the listings on the right hand side and click on National report Card Nov 2007.  I had the whole address typed in here but it wouldn’t open so this was the easiest way.  Very interesting articles here.

She (Dr. De Luca) thanks everyone for their wonderful letters advising of the children that parish council are sponsoring/adopting.  The League is really making a difference for many children, remember, councils can fight child poverty – one child at a time.

During meetings with the federal government, the League delegation made up of National President Lorette Noble, National Chairperson of Resolutions, Betty Anne Brown and Dr. Rayleen De Luca, National Chairperson of Community Life emphasized the critical importance of a national strategy for poverty reduction.  Members writing letters to their MPs would undoubtedly help.

Government funding for Police Records Check

Betty Anne Brown reported that the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada Rob Nicholson welcomed League concerns about police records checks. It seems that police records checks are currently considered a municipal and provincial matter but the delegation addressed its importance in today’s society and asked him to consider a future budgetary allocation.

From Pain to Hope

The CCCB has published a document of Orientations to assist catholic dioceses in Canada in updating diocesan protocols for the prevention of sexual abuse.  More info is available at www.cccb.ca/site/content/view/2555/1214/lang.eng/

Sub Committee Reports from Mary Ryan

(a) The United Nations has proclaimed 2008 as International Year of the Planet Earth to have decision makers and politicians focus on the need to use scientific knowledge related to our planet to promote sustainable development. They have also proclaimed 2008 as International Year of sanitation.   This was a Millenium goal to have basic sanitation by 2015.  In addition 2008 has been proclaimed as International Year of the potato focusing the world’s attention on the importance of the potato in providing food, security and alleviating poverty.

(b) The Afghanistan Reference Group (ARG) is a network of NGO’s including the CCODP. It has made three submissions to the Independent Panel on Canada’s future role  in Afghanistan.  The ARG is calling on the federal government to change its top priorities in Afghanistan to peace building and sustainable development and is urging Canada to separate military operations from the importance of humanitarian and development efforts.

(c)  This year is the 60^th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.  Dignity and Justice for all of us was the theme for UN Human rights Day 2007.  The Council of Canadians and other groups worldwide are campaigning to ensure that water is enshrined as a human right.

(d)  Begun 10 years ago, the Global March Against child labour is a movement to mobilize worldwide efforts to protect and promote rights of all children.  Another website to visit:  www.globalmarch.org  Happy reading everyone.

On a happy note, I am pleased to report that Beverley Reid of Coming Home Films is back in Africa and they are very busy with the Ugandan Library Project.  Work is coming along and the major work has been completed.    Thank you everyone who supported this project.  They had money left over so were able to add some windows and a heavy door.

I did not attend the winter meeting at Rosemary Heights Jan 25-27 but I did provide a report to the meeting.  E. Audet mentioned a  $15 donation to Plan Canada to pay for a birth registration in Sudan. Apparently this would help in the problem of trafficking. While a worthwhile project, we are advised to support our Catholic organizations.

A member from Castlegar BC has put on the trafficking of women and children program with material from my files.  It is good to see grassroots members getting enthused.

The postcard campaign to  let your Member of Parliament  know where you stand on the issue of decriminalizing brothels is still ongoing.  Click on the following website and follow the directions.  www.CanadaCan.blogspot.com

There is a wealth of information on this page.  Please read the 10 reasons for not legalizing prostitution.   Susan Schembri, Vancouver Community Life Chair has been working overtime on the Trafficking issue and 2010 Olympics. I don’t believe she shared her report with other Diocesan Chairpersons and her first communiqué September 22 had information that would be helpful to others.  To quote Susan:

“Dignity and Rights of Persons:   “We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10)

This is the topic I will be focusing on during my term among other topics. With the hosting of 2010 Olympics come many issues and concerns about Human Trafficking.

Getting educated about this topic should be our main objective. The federal government is taking a serious look at trafficking and introducing new measures. These new measures are meant to help assist victims of human trafficking brought into Canada from abroad. The new measures extend the length of the temporary resident permit (TRP) for victims of human trafficking to 180 days up from 120. This extension allows victims to apply for a work permit – an option not previously available. Other measures involve assistance with health care benefits including medical treatment and counselling services under the Interim Federal Health Programme. The fees for these initial resident and work permits, which normally cost $200 and $150 each, will be waived. In addition to these measures, and depending on their particular circumstances, a number of other avenues may also be pursued by possible victims of trafficking.”

A reminder to protect yourself from Identity theft, be careful and shred papers with your personal information on it.  I have to find out how to get information about me removed from google. My daughter in Sicamous told me about googling yourself.  I was shocked to see the BC CWL website pop up when I clicked on an item about the CWL under my name and even  my Arizona mailing address was listed.   Google states that a “spider” robot crawls the web searching for links. I sent an email requesting removal but haven’t had an answer back.   I believe this is something to be greatly concerned about especially when we write about sensitive issues common to our faith and morals. Of course I have used google to get information myself but that was typing in important peoples names, who would think that ordinary people would get featured.

In my report to the Winter Meeting I mentioned :  “An item of current interest is the issue of Nursing Homes and making them safer.  This could be a potential resolution for an enthusiastic parish.  Society is getting greyer and greyer as the pre baby boomers are now over 65 and the next onslaught of the real baby boomers are only a few years behind.” Will there be sufficient facilities for care?” A news article I read on poverty stated that the flood of immigrants is causing  a strain on Canada’s largest cities, namely, Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal.  These immigrants are coming from China, India, Philippines and Pakistan.  It sees the immigrants prefer to live in cities where there are great services, language training, social housing, libraries, community recreation, public health and schools.  The rural communities have room to take immigrants but lack facilities to help care for them.  How can immigrants be encouraged to take up residence in rural communities? In closing I ask God to bless your work to help those needing it most in our communities. May Our Lady of Good Counsel smile upon you.

Greetings on this blustery Shrove Tuesday,

First of all I share with you the exciting news, to date I have received titles of nine proposed resolutions from two dioceses.   Should the other four dioceses be contemplating submitting a resolutions(s) the titles must be sent to me right away so that they can be forwarded to National by February 15^th.

New Criteria

From my last communique (with enclosures) you would have received the updated check-list and guidelines for resolutions being presented this year which I trust have been forwarded to parish counterparts.  Parish council committees working on resolutions  must  have these guidelines to follow in order to avoid disappointment and frustration when resolutions are not accepted.

National Resolutions chairperson reminder ‘background material and research must be from original sources, not from newspaper clippings, opinions or website information.   Material cannot be plagiarized and credit must be given to the originating sources’.

Annual reports.

Thanks to the five diocesan chairpersons who have already sent me their annual reports prior to the deadline date.   Well done!   There is still time for the sixth diocese to meet the deadline date of February 15^th, so please share your resolutions news with your League sisters, not only in our Province, but across Canada.

Possible Resolutions Titles

National Chairperson, Betty Anne Brown’s communique received to-day states that  the  following titles of possible resolutions have been received  from Ontario Province:

• Human trafficking
• Strategy to end poverty
• Speedometers and limiters
• Unborn victims of violence
• Aging in place and senior friendly communities
• Informed consent
• Tax Discrimination: married couples, stay-at-home parents
• Violent videos/games: classifications, labeling, laws to protect

Please note that if your diocese is working on a similar topic, or if you have useful information to strengthen theses possible resolutions, the suggestion is to contact me and then contact will be made with Marlene Pavletic, Chair of Ontario Resolutions.

March 5^th as previously mentioned is the day the Provincial delegates present our resolutions to both government parties, please pray for the success of our visit.

To coincide with this visit make March meetings a time to focus on resolutions and follow the action suggested on previous resolutions or at least on one.

Action speaks louder than words!

If you are about to finish your term now is a good time to start cleaning out and preparing to pass on files or boxes to the next chairperson.   Provincial executive have a policy re files/boxes with a list of items to leave in them which is a useful guide.

Rev. Martin Luther King said “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter”.   Resolutions are a way of expressing our faith in the way of justice.

Communicating between levels of the League is important so please send me a copy of your mail out including any feedback you received from parish councils.

May we experience God’s love and presence every day of our lives and May Our Lady of Good Counsel guide us in all that we do.

Your League Sister,
Sheila

Hello once again;

I pray all is well with you and your families, and that the weather is kind to you all.  It is really cold here!

Reminder:  To the Diocesan Spiritual Chairpersons to send me their annual report by February 15^th, of 2008.  Thank you to those who have already sent them.  It looks from the reading I have done so far, your diocese is busy and loving the League.

Encyclical Letter:  Pope Benedict has written another encyclical letter, Spe Salvi (saved through hope).  I received a copy from our Provincial President and have started to read it.  The opening of the letter tells us where SPE SALVI comes from.  Pope Benedict says that “In hope we are saved” he also said “Man is redeemed by love, which makes one’s personal and social life good and beautiful.  This is why the great hope, the full and definitive one, is guaranteed by God who is love, by god who has visited us and has given us life in Jesus, and who will return at the end of time.  We hope in Christ, we await him!  With Mary, his Mother, the Church goes to meet her Spouse: she does so with work of charity, because hope, like faith, is demonstrated in love.”  Does that not make you want to get the letter and read it.  It is another gem.

World Day of the Sick:  Pope Benedict’s message for World Day of the Sick has also been released. The theme is The Eucharist, Lourdes and Pastoral Care for the Sick. This year is the 150^th anniversary of the Apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Lourdes.  This prayer is also linked with the 49^th International Eucharistic Congress which is been held in Quebec City, Quebec in June 2008.  Pope Benedict writes “a remarkable opportunity to consider the close connection that exists between the Mystery of the Eucharist, the role of Mary in the project of salvation, and the reality of human pain and suffering, is offered to us”.  I also mentioned in my last communiqué of great book written by Vinny Flynn called “The Seven Secrets of the Eucharist”, it is an awesome read.

Lent 2008-begings Feb. 6^th with Ash Wednesday:   Look to our past resolution 1986.03, Love of Preference for the Poor states “That the national council of the Catholic Women’s league of Canada, renew and extends its commitment to love of preference for the poor with the League and its standing committees as an ongoing continuous commitment expressed through pray, social awareness, witness, leadership, social advocacy, involvement and action.”  This would be a great start for us to reach out to those in need.

Prayer suggestions for Lent:

• www.americanacatholic.org try these (Saint of the day and Minute Meditations)
• www.dailygospel.org has daily readings and short reflections.
• www.sacredspace.ie/en meditation daily

Fasting for Lent:

• What will I give up for Lent
• How can I help the poor
• Be positive about life stop complaining about life, the list is endless

Almsgiving:

• What contribution can you give to help the poor?
• Help Development and Peace (they have a calendar out with ideas to help them check it out)

A request:  I asked in my last communiqué for prayers for “Married Life” to be submitted to me so I can submit them to national.  This request if from National Christian Family Life Chairperson Ann Doucet.  They have moved the deadline date to February 15th 2008. As I didn’t receive any from our Province I am putting it out there once again. Would you like to ask your ladies to come up with a prayer regarding Married Life and I will submit it and maybe it will be chosen by Nationals Chairperson for Spiritual and Christian Family Life and be placed in a new version of League Prayer Card.  Please be sure to put name of council, name of submitter as well as your diocese.  Send submission to me and I will send them on.

Wouldn’t it be nice to see you prayer in print for all to pray?

New Prayer Books:

• “We Dare to Say “Praying for Justice and Peace. The book has five themes: justice-making, ecology, peace, women and other spiritualities and each theme has four components: prayers, liturgical celebrations, meditations and hymns. Book available at Novalis Publishing Inc., (800-387-7164) cost $18.95 plus shipping and HST.
• Fellowship of the Least Coin. The latest issue of the Women’s Inter-Church Council of Canada (WICC) has an insert with twelve concerns (one for each month) which have been chosen as their prayers for 2008. You can get the information by phoning (416) 929-5184 or e-mail wicc@wicc.org .
• World Day of Prayer (March 7^th 2008) was written by women of Guyana. The theme this year is God’s Wisdom Provides New Understanding. A new resource this year is a CD with service music and other choral songs from Guyana. There is also a DVD and videotape of a slideshow focusing on the people and country of Guyana. For more information contact WICC.
• Women’s Inter-Church Council of Canada-celebrating 90^th Anniversary. They have chosen a theme “Widening the Circle” for their celebrations. They are inviting groups to plan their own celebration by reaching out to and “widening” their own circles. Materials will be available, and grants of $250 in seed money offered to any group that would like to organize “a service of celebration, a birthday tea party, or any gathering that fits the theme. For more information contact WICC
• One in the Spirit: a new spirituality workshop, “One in the Spirit” is now available from national office and on the website. It will help us to discern what prayer types we are and at the same time learn some more about our beautiful saints. We did a condensed version of the workshop at our Provincial Mid-Term. Copies were given to the Dioceses of BC, ask your Diocesan President. You can do the complete workshop in 3 hours. I personally think this is a great workshop for Regional meetings.

Still need our Help

49th International Eucharist Congress Temporary Voluntary Fund:

• The total amount donated so far (Dec. 31^st 2007) is $14,335.00 a short fall of $24,000.
• Could you ask your councils to consider a donation to this worthy cause…? It won’t be long before it is happening. (Read your fall League Magazine for more details)
• If you are planning on attending you can contact our Provincial President Barb Dowding and she will give you the name of the contact person.

The Catholic Missions In Canada: is celebration 100 years of Mission (1908-2008) they are inviting us to help them celebrate this awesome event.   I am putting this out there once again as I think that this would be a great event to have and celebrate either at a special function or even our Diocesan Conventions.

Their Mission today, as it has been for the past 100 years, is to foster and extend the blessings of the Catholic faith throughout the mission dioceses of Canada which cannot financially support their local church and its ministry.  In 2007, Catholic Missions In Canada has committed over $4 million to support the needs of 600 missionaries working in 26 Canadian mission dioceses, and serving 1.2 million Catholics across Canada – from Newfoundland to British Columbia to Nunavut.

Six critical areas include the support of:

• Missionary priest, sister, religious and lay leaders;
• Teaching of religious education programs to children, youth and adults;
• Building and repair of churches, rectories and religious centers;
• Ministry to our First Nations’ peoples;
• Education of seminarians

Here is our challenge: (let the people know of this great happening and what they do) Very few people know that the Catholic Missions exist in Canada, and ever fewer support it.

Our challenge to each Provincial, Diocesan and Council across Canada is to help us raise awareness of Catholic Missions In Canada in our community through an event of our choosing.  Whatever the event, be it a faith breakfast, a luncheon, a dinner or a gala, the focus should be to educate and communicate the immense values and need of the work being done by our Canadian missionaries today.  They will assist you by providing educational materials, including, whenever practical, arranging to have missionary speakers at you event.

If the event includes a fundraising component, you wish to send the proceeds to National to support “The Catholic Women’s League of Canada’s National Catechesis Endowment Fund”.

To find out more about this, contact Anne Hanley of The Catholic Missions In Canada at (614) 934-3424, EXT. 227 or toll-free @ 1(866) 937-2642

Deceased Members Form:

I am going to try and get permission to somehow incorporate the “Deceased Members Form” into our BC & Yukon web site.  Each diocese would have a link to go to.  The form would be on the link and who to send it to and when, would also be included on it.  It would be kept up to date as names are changing every two years with elections etc.

Note:  When you send me in the names of the deceased in your diocese please put your council code on the form (you will find your code on your mailing address label on your League magazine).  When a Spiritual Advisor passes on only send the name to National if the advisor is a female.  But by all means send both male and female to you Provincial and Diocese, that way they will all be recognized.   Thank you for understanding.

I am sending to you in this communiqué a Novena for struggling councils; please pass it on to your councils so that all councils can pray for them

May the season of Lent give you time to ponder and hold dear those close and far from you.  May you continue to be more like Our Lady of Good Counsel each and every day.  God Bless

Dodie Bond

Greetings and Happy New year to everyone. I hope you had a wonderful Christmas, a white Christmas for many this year, very different from the warm sunny days in Australia.

Provincial Development Fund

Fund #1 – Applications for subsidy to travel to the Provincial Convention in Williams Lake are now being accepted.
Assistance to send Delegates to the Provincial Convention will cover 2/3 maximum of the bus fare to the Convention site. The actual total amount of the grant available will be determined by the funds available this year. Other expenses such as hotel, meals and registration are the responsibility of the individual, the Parish or the Diocese.

Fund #2 – Diocesan Presidents are reminded that $1,000 is available for assistance to attend a National Convention if their Diocese cannot afford to send them. This grant is available once during a Diocesan President’s two year term.

Applications for both subsidies must be received by March 15th. Please send the completed forms to the Provincial Organization Chairperson, address below.

National Development Fund

All levels are encouraged to take advantage of the National funds available for education and training. Please remind parishes that they too can apply. Forms and information are available on the CWL website.

Recruitment & Membership

A new year and membership drives should be well underway. We came very close to reaching our goal of 10,000 members last year – more than last year but still falling short by approximately 900 members. A good try and maybe next year we can make it happen. Did any of the parish councils try something different this year that worked well for them?

Annual Report Forms

Reports from parish council organization chairpersons should all be in by now. In the event some are lacking try to follow up to see if you can assist them in some way. This is a great opportunity to see what is happening in some of the smaller councils, especially the ones that may be struggling.

Reminder: Diocesan annual reports due February 15th to Provincial
Provincial annual reports due March 15th to National

Provincial Development Workshop – “Leadership & Public Speaking”

The workshop is intended to help members, active in their councils, but feel they lack the necessary skills or confidence to take on a leadership role.

It is very important that we as Catholic women and as Canadian women, learn to communicate. We may be intelligent, we may be experienced in many fields, but if we cannot express our thoughts clearly, if we cannot pass our ideas on to others, our talents are wasted. This workshop will give a good working knowledge of the League and teach the skills to stand before a group to express ideas clearly, simply and effectively.

The Provincial Council is prepared to travel to each Diocese and extend an invitation to present a Development Day in their area. To date three dioceses have accepted our invitation and we look forward to hearing from the others.

Service Pins, Awards & Certificates

Councils should encourage their members to wear their League pin to all CWL events, particularly their monthly meeting. They might even consider having a supply of the League Insignia Pin on hand so that they may be purchased by members or, if councils choose, for presentation to new members. The League pin should be worn on the left side as a symbol of service “For God and Canada”.

As stated in the National P&P, “Councils are encouraged to make the presentation of all League pins and awards a special occasion”. There is something very special in being recognized for your contribution to the League and your council in particular.
If you have several pins to choose from, wear the one you select with great pride.

Bellelle Guerin Award

Information on the Bellelle Guerin Award has been sent to all Presidents by National Chairperson of Organization, Danielle McNeil-Hessian. Briefly, the award which was announced at the annual national convention in August is to be given to “an exemplary member of the League, who served at more than one level and does not and will not meet the qualifications for life membership. She can be nominated by her parish, diocesan and/or provincial council. The pin is a pewter stylized Madonna with the League crest overlaid. Nomination form for the Bellelle Guerin Award is available on the National website.

• Life Membership is presented to members who have been nominated by a diocesan and/or provincial council and who meet the established criteria.
• The Maple Leaf Service Pin is available for presentation to members who have served the League in an exceptional or meritorious manner. The member nominated for this award is not required to serve on more than one level of the League.
• Certificate of Merit in recognition to anyone, League member or not, Catholic or non-Catholic, male or female, who has aided the work of the council generally or with a specific project for faithful and exceptional service.

The full criteria for each award listed is outlined in the National Manual of Policy & Procedure, see page 19 and page A3-6.

May Our Lady of Good Counsel bless all your endeavours.

Your Sister in the League,

Marianna

Dear Sisters in the League,

I pray everyone had a blessed Christmas! During the Christmas season I received an email from the Ministry of Education regarding new curriculum that is up for review, therefore I am passing it on to you to as per my last communiqué of December 4, 2007.

Dear Colleagues:

The Sustainable Resources 11 and 12 Response Draft (2007) curriculum is currently available for review and response.

http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/irp/drafts/welcome.htm

The British Columbia Ministry of Education is interested in receiving feedback on the Sustainable Resources 11 and 12 Response Draft (2007) from education and community partners. Please feel free to share this link with anyone you feel would be interested in providing feedback on the draft document. Feedback can be provided to the Ministry of Education by completing the online Response Survey. This Response survey can be used for either individual or group feedback.

Please complete the Sustainable Resources 11 and 12 Response survey BEFORE February 12, 2008.

THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO PROVIDE FEEDBACK ON THE SUSTAINABLE RESOURCES 11 and 12 RESPONSE DRAFT

Waël Afifi

Education Officer
Sustainability Programs Unit
Learning Management Division, BC Ministry of Education

wael.afifi@gov.bc.ca
Phone: (250) 387-4428

I believe by reviewing this curriculum we will be not only understand our education system better, but also be learning about our environment.

Bursaries:

Please encourage members to apply for the National and Provincial bursaries. The National bursary deadline is May 31, 2008 to be postmarked and sent to the National office. The criteria and application forms are on the national website under form and supplies. The Provincial Molly Boucher Bursary criteria and application forms can be found on our provincial cwl website and the deadline for all applications to be sent directly to me is March 31, 2008.

Annual Reports:

By now all Diocesan Chairpersons should have received the annual reports from all parish councils. If you have not received a report, just call the council and give them a gentle reminder that you are still in need of their report. I am positive every council in our province has done some work in regards to education & health that is in need of reporting. Once you have received all reports, please compile them and send your report to me as soon as possible. The deadline to have your report into me is February 15, 2008.

January & February:

January is Alzheimer Awareness Month. You will find a treasure of information regarding Alzheimer disease at www.alzheimer.ca. Share this website with everyone as we work together to grow in understanding how to give help for today and hope for tomorrow.

February is Heart & Stroke month. Here is how to recognize if someone is having a stroke and possibly save their life. Sometimes symptoms of a stroke are difficult to identify. Unfortunately, the lack of awareness spells disaster. The stroke victim may suffer severe brain damage when people nearby fail to recognize the symptoms of a stroke.

Now doctors say a bystander can recognize a stroke by asking three simple questions:

S * Ask the individual to SMILE.
T * Ask the person to TALK and SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE (Coherently) (i.e. It is sunny out today)
R * Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS.

If he or she has trouble with ANY ONE of these tasks, call 911 immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher. NOTE: Another ‘sign’ of a stroke is this: Ask the person to ‘stick’ out his tongue… If the tongue is ‘crooked’, if it goes to one side or the other, that is also an indication of a stroke.

May God Bless you as you continue your work for God and Canada.

Nancy S.

Greetings and Happy New Year,

The start of a new year brings with it a time for making resolutions which off times are never fulfilled however we can make our resolutions a reality by careful planning, preparation and following the guidelines.

I am forwarding recent attachments received from National for the National Manual of Policy and Procedure as well as an excellent report on resolutions talks with the government which will be in the next issue of the Canadian League should you be unable to open it.

1. Checklist for Reviewing Proposed Resolutions (replace pages 5 & 6)
2. Resolution Section (replace pages 17 – 19b)
3. Parliament Hill Revisited (keep scrolling down till it appears)

While the pages may at first glance look similar it is important to note the additions/changes in order to follow the correct procedure for resolutions to be acceptable at all levels. .

The next three articles are taken from Betty Anne Brown, National Resolutions Chairperson’s December communique.

Parenthetical Referencing – What is it?
In a brief, this is the easiest way to identify the source of statistics, direct quotes and ideas. Immediately after they are quoted or referred to, the name of the source is put in brackets e.g. (Tremper), then another item of back up, perhaps another source might have been quoted e.g. (Zummach). If Zummach is quoted again, immediately afterwards, the brief would have been (Ibid), meaning the same source. Then at the end of the brief, those sources are listed alphabetically according to the author. It would be printed:

References
Tremper… identify the names of collaboration, the name of the article, where it appeared
Date
Zummach …

An effect of a Resolution
In an effect to be authentic, after the acceptance of Resolution 2007.02 Global Accountability for Canadian Registered Mining Companies, the national executive voted to divest the League of all investments in mining companies with overseas operations in developing countries.

How are Things Connected?
Prior to the national convention in August 2007, the federal government contacted the League inviting its input on their planned pre-budgetary consultation across Canada. During the convention, National Chairperson of Legislation, Mary Nordick and Resolutions Chairperson, Betty Anne, seized the opportunity to review all past resolutions in this fiscal light. A brief was produced which was forwarded to the government committee by the deadline. National president Lorette Noble appeared before the pre-budget consultation in December when it was held in Montreal. Yes, our voices are being heard through resolutions, it is important that we continue to follow the action plan for resolutions still requiring action.

Good news!

Bill C-2 An Act to amend the Criminal code (also known as Tackling Violent Crime bill) includes Age of Consent passed the House of Commons on November 28. This bill is currently before the Senate having passed the second reading on December 12 and has now been referred to the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee. If passed by the senate, C-2 will raise the age of consent from 14 to 16.

Bill C-484 An Act to amend the Criminal Code injuring or causing the death of an unborn child while committing an offence) is a private members bill sponsored by MP Ken Epp. It was moved by him that the bill be read a second time (anticipated date Feb 29th) and the expected vote date on whether it is referred to Justice committee or dies, is March 5th. During the League delegation visit to Parliament Hill, Secretary of State, the Hon. Jason Kenny requested the support of League members in sponsoring this bill as he feels it is pro-life as well as pro-choice as the mother has chosen to give birth to her child. Please encourage members to write to their MP’s to vote in favour of this bill now.

Titles only of proposed resolutions from your diocese should reach me by the new date of February 4th and as previously mentioned councils can still be working on resolutions up till your cut off date, Please emphasis that the rules and criteria for resolutions must be adhered to in order to eliminate any misunderstandings and avoid hurt feelings should a resolution be rejected.
Offer your assistance and invite a Life Member in your diocese to assist.

Goals
Will I reach mine of at least one resolution from every diocese? With your help and encouragement to parish councils in your diocese it can happen!

Hoping that you have received a good response to the annual reports and I look forward to receiving yours by February 15, in order for me to compile mine for March national deadline.

May 2008 bring peace, joy and hope and may Our Lady of Good Counsel guide and bless us each and every day.

Your League Sister,
Sheila Q….

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2008 EVERYONE: May Our God bless us with every blessing that we need to lead good and holy lives. May Peace Joy and Happiness fill your homes. We leave for AZ in a few hours, 5 AM January 03.

I expect that the Diocesan Chairpersons of Community Life are starting to work on their annual reports due February 15, 2008. Please email the report to me at communitylife@cwl.bc.ca.

Dear Ladies would you kindly send me copies of your communiques that you send out to your parish councils. I requested this and only heard from one person. Thank you Shirley.

Dignity and Rights of Persons
Dr. Rayleen De Luca prepared her Communique #6 December 03, 2007. It was nearing Christmas and I didn’t see that it contained anything too urgent to pass on to you immediately as I had communicated with you a month earlier. I did send out a notice that Rayleen had a new communique out and you could read it on the National website I was pleased to see that Rayleen acknowledged the concrete action taken by British Columbia CWL Councils in their fight against Human Trafficking particularly with the postcard campaign.

Some highlights from her communique: National executive members, President Lorette Noble, Resolutions Chairperson, Betty Anne Brown and Community Life Chairperson, Dr. Rayleen De Luca visited Ottawa the week prior to December 03, 2007. They met with MP Joy Smith (Kildonan-St. Paul, CPC). Mrs. Smith has been instrumental in bringing forward human trafficking to the forefront of government business. Her initial motion read, “That, in the opinion of the House, the trafficking of women and children across international borders for the purposes of sexual exploitation should be condemned, and that the House call on the government to immediately adopt a comprehensive strategy to combat the trafficking of persons worldwide.” In speaking to her motion Mrs. Smith stated, “For years the international community has been aware that vulnerable people have been tricked into believing they could find a better life in North America, only to become the victims of a cruel and horrendous deception and land up as prisoners in the sex trade against their will.”

Rayleen provided a website where you can print your own postcard. I opened this site and it contains wonderful information. Please visit www.CanadaCan.blogspot.com.

Rayleen continues on with statistics about water. We all know to do our part in conserving our water resources. Try not to use bottled water as it is detrimental to the environment. The one fact that tap water is on average 500 times more economical than bottled water should be enough to deter us from bottled water.

Development and Peace
In British Columbia we are making an extra effort to provide more funds for Development and Peace to help countries in Africa deal with the many problems created by the AID/HIV pandemic. I wrote about this at length in Communique #6

We have a project where we can now fund raise in a manner that is not against our morals and faith. See Dr. De Luca’s article in The Canadian League Fall issue page 10.

Resolutions
In the Fall issue of The Canadian League the two resolutions that come under Community Life Chair are listed. You are encouraged to work on these in your parish councils.

• 2007.01 GOVERNMENT FUNDING FOR POLICE RECORD CHECKS. Follow the action plan.
• 2007.02 GLOBAL ACCOUNTABILITY FOR CANADIAN REGISTERED MINING COMPANIES. Follow the action plan as well.

Remember Darfur in your prayers and charitable donations. The stories coming from there are horrendous. Really is there anyplace in the world that doesn’t need help in one form or another. Pray for Peace in the World. Pray for the safety of our troops in Afghanistan especially in this volatile time after the assassination of Benazir Bhutto in Pakistan.

Do you remember the little article I wrote in the spring issue of the Provincial Newsletter about the word counsel or council? I notice that some continue to use the word in the wrong context. I was gently correcting a Diocesan Chairperson about the misuse of council and she said she had copied the spelling directly from the Provincial chairperson’s report. So there you go. It is Our Lady of Good Counsel and the other spelling is, I am a member of Sacred Heart Parish Council.

Thank you for all your good works promoting social and economic justice, helping the recent immigrants, upholding the dignity and rights of persons, donating to Development and Peace and your work with developing countries. The world will be a brighter place. I await your reports with great anticipation. Let’s make this a wonderful reporting year. I would like to have 100% participation from the parish councils. A suggestion: If you haven’t heard from a parish, it is acceptable to telephone or send an email asking about the missing report.

May God bless you and keep you. May our Lady of Good Counsel guide us in this wonderful work of Community Life.

Your sister in the League,

Carol P….

Greetings,

During Advent let us try to set aside time from our busy lives to pray, reflect and focus on the true meaning of Christmas, the birth of our Lord.

Resolutions 2007.02 Global accountability for Canadian Registered Mining Companies The D & P card given out in parishes recently asking that we sign and send to the Prime Minister is a great way to show further support for this resolution and D & P. I sent a copy of this resolution to the Social Justice co-ordinator in my diocese, please consider forwarding it to the contact person in your diocese mentioning that it will be including in the resolutions presented when both national and provincial levels of the League meet with Federal and Provincial governments.

All 3 resolutions passed at Montreal national convention appeared in the fall issue of the League magazine and it is important that members follow the suggested action plan not only on these three but also on previous resolutions which can be found on the national web-site www.cwl.ca. One suggestion for council resolutions chairpersons could be to set a goal of getting members at meetings to follow action on at least one resolution a month. Action speaks louder than words!

Now to proposed resolutions for 2008, titles only from your diocese should be submitted to me by January 31 in order for me to forward them to my national counterpart Betty Anne Brown. Please remind parish councils they can still be working on and perfecting their resolutions which hopefully meet the criteria for acceptance by diocesan resolutions committee before being presented on the convention floor and don’t forget to offer assistance if needed.

Can we reach my goal – at least one resolution from each diocese?
Yes, we can by encouraging councils to air their voices on the many issues and concerns we feel strongly about in the form of a resolution.

Environmental news – Paper or plastic? Recent articles in papers and magazines state the good news that some grocery stores offer plastic bags that are bio-gradeable also provide recycling bins for returning plastic bags which are recycled into plastic siding for new home construction as well as offering 3 cents for each bag returned. Another grocery chain is the first major grocery retailer in BC to go plastic-bag free, they sent householders in the area reusable bags made from 85% recycled water bottles, while yet another chain store has a program “Bags fund trees” the 5 cents charge on single use bags are donated to Trees Canada to fund tree planting. All of this helps reduce the number dumped in landfills by a billion a year. You will have noticed as you Christmas shop that many stores have displays with their material bags for sale. Check with stores you shop at, commend them if they are doing something positive for the environment and if not make a suggestion for them to consider.

On that note I wonder how many councils/parishes have discontinued the use of styrofoam cups and plates, perhaps you could check in your diocese and send me numbers of councils who have.

National President, Lorette Noble wrote to Prime Minister Harper expressing disappointment re Bill C22 after reaching the 2nd reading. This is now Bill C2 and is included with a number of other bills and name changed back to “age of consent”.

Some new guidelines for resolutions will be coming from national regarding submissions of resolutions which will be forwarded to you as soon as I receive them.

The League’s national delegation meeting with the government was hopefully to take place late November, news of this will be shared when available.

Exciting news flash! A date has been set in March for our Provincial CWL delegates to meet with both the Liberal and NDP caucus in Victoria to address and discuss League resolutions.

Hopefully your mail box will be full of parish annual reports by Dec 15th !

As we await the coming of the Christ Child let us give thanks to God for our many blessings. May the peace and joy of Christmas be with you and your families and may 2008 be one of good health, happiness and loving one another.

From your sister in the League,
Sheila

Dear Sisters in the League,

Now that we are into the Advent season it is my prayer that each of us will take time out of our daily busyness to remember the hope, love and joy with which Advent bestows on us.

“Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.” Is. 122

Bioethics: I recently received the below email from our past national president Marie Cameron and found the recommended website to be an excellent source of information on bioethics and the church’s position on these crucial issues.

“This was sent to me from one of my CWL friends and I am forwarding it as I find his articles very informative. Fr. Tad was here in Calgary at St. Mary’s University College this weekend for some seminars. Marie

Fr Tad is a respected and well known US expert ( Ph.D at Yale and post doctoral work at Harvard) on bioethics and an advisor to the American Catholic Bishops. He writes weekly on Bioethics issues. His writing is absolutely consistent with the magisterium of the Catholic Church and is a good source of formation for you and for me on these very topical and important issues That’s why I am sending you his website. Please read some of his articles. They are short and clear. http://www.ncbcenter.org/makingsense.asp

In case you want to know more type Father Tad Pacholczyk into Google.com,  you will get quite a bit to read.”

Ministry of Education: At our provincial fall executive meeting we discussed the fact that the ministry of education will from now on be informing the provincial Education & Health Chairperson on any curriculum that is up for review and requesting possible feedback on each curriculum. It was decided that it would be too extensive a job for the provincial chairperson to review and respond to all curriculum drafts. Therefore, when I receive notice of a new draft up for review I will immediately pass the information on to all diocesan Education & Health Chairpersons who in turn should contact their Catholic School Superintendent requesting if they have been informed of the draft and for any feedback they may have. If the Superintendents see areas in the curriculum that we as a League need to be addressing to the Ministry, the diocesan chairpersons should then be informing me as the provincial chairperson so that I can inform all members of BC/Yukon to take the appropriate action.

I just received the below email late last week. I know that the deadline for feedback does not give us much time, but let’s do what we can.

“To Education Stakeholders:

The British Columbia Ministry of Education has posted two draft Daily Physical Activity documents for public review and response.

The Draft Program Guide for Daily Physical Activity: Kindergarten to Grade 9 and the Draft Daily Physical Activity Resource: Kindergarten to Grade 9 are available on the following Ministry of Education web site:

http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/irp/drafts/welcome.htm

The Ministry of Education is interested in receiving feedback on these drafts from education and community partners. Please feel free to share this link with anyone you feel would be interested in providing feedback. Feedback can be provided to the Ministry of Education by printing the Response Forms, completing them and then faxing them to the location listed at the bottom of the form. The Response Forms can be used for either individual or group feedback.

Please complete the Response Forms and mail or fax them BEFORE January 15, 2008

To: Daily Physical Activity Project
Ministry of Education
PO Box 9183 Stn Prov Govt
Victoria BC V8W 9H9

Fax: (250) 356-2316

THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO PROVIDE FEEDBACK ON THE DRAFT DAILY PHYSICAL ACTIVITY DOCUMENTS.

Thank you.”

Social Justice 12 Curriculum: Thank you to all members that worked so hard to review this curriculum and let their voices be heard. I believe the resounding concern for all members is to continue to find the balance in society to respect our neighbours while still upholding our values that are rooted in Gods Word.

Bursaries: Encourage members to apply for both the Molly Boucher Bursary (deadline for application forms to be mailed to me is March 31/08) and the National Bursary (deadline application forms to be mailed to national office is May 31/08). Both application forms can be obtained on their respective websites. Let’s encourage our members to apply!

Annual Reports: Diocesan Chairpersons you should now be receiving annual reports from all parish councils. I would strongly recommend that if you have not received reports from all councils by the 15^th of this month to just call the parish in which you have not received and give them a gentle reminder. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to make 2007 the year of 100% reporting??

Reading Group: Did you know that there is a program on our national CWL website that is a guide to starting a reading group in your council as a method of spiritual education and personal growth? Check it out and start one in your council!!!

December is The Christmas Seal Campaign: Over 3 million Canadians cope with one of five serious respiratory diseases – asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), lung cancer, tuberculosis (TB), and cystic fibrosis. These and other respiratory diseases such as influenza, pneumonia, bronchiolitis, respiratory distress syndrome and sleep apnea affect individuals of all ages, cultures and backgrounds – from children to parents to grandparents.

National Communique: I have enclosed Judy Lewis’ last communique. Please read and take the suggested action on resolution 07.03 Hospice Palliative Care: An Integral Component of the Canadian Health Care System and on the three proposed resolutions. Judy also has some interesting information on MaterCare which reminds us to continue in our efforts to help this worthwhile cause.

May you have a holy Advent season and a blessed Christmas as you continue your work for God and Canada.

Nancy S….

Dear League Sisters and Father Terry,

As we wind down another Church year and look forward to Advent, I write with a number of things for your consideration.

First and most important is our 2008 mid-term meeting that was scheduled for Feb 28-March 1. There is a conflict with the National Spring meeting in Montreal so we’ve had to change not only the date but the venue and I am hoping the new ones will work for everyone.

Secondly, I’ve attached my summary notes from the meeting last week in Winnipeg. I’ve included almost everything so you’re completely up to date! Please note where I’ve asked for input or action. It seemed easier than writing a separate communique.

It was a good meeting with lots of interesting discussion. The ad hoc committee working on the marketing for our League has a big job ahead of them. Let’s keep them in prayer as they work to help us market our awesome product in a way that will make it as attractive to others as we know it to be ourselves.

Don’t forget to purchase the nativity stamps – you’ll need to ask for them specifically. And speaking of which, with Christmas around the corner, annual reports on the top of parish council lists next to nominations and elections, I encourage everyone to help one another stay positive and affirm each other wherever you find yourselves, especially at your parish council meetings.

Like last year, I’ve ordered the Magnificat Advent Prayer book for each of you, but so far it hasn’t arrived. Please know it will be to you ‘post haste’ upon its arrival here. With that I offer you my heartfelt and sincere wishes for a most blessed Christmas time. Let’s get these few things off our CWL list so we can focus on Advent and all that comes with it. I am ever so grateful to each and everyone of you for your love and support and look forward to an amazing 2008 as we put our thoughts and words in to action – it will be a teaching and learning year, one that will help us all grow in love and charity for God and Canada.

Merry Christmas and a happy and blessed New Year!

With love and prayers from your Sister in the League,
Barb

Dear League Sisters and Father Terry,

Fall is fast approaching! The cooler mornings, the mist and fog, not to mention the spider webs everywhere tell me its time to get back to work.

I can see your Provincial Executive have been busy and thank them for the fine communiques filled with great pearls of information and ideas for action.

You will be receiving reports from Sheila Q…., 1st Vice President and Marilyn V………, 2nd Vice President on their view of the National Convention in Montreal. I can tell you that you will think you were there after reading the reports!

I was a very proud Provincial President when our three new Life Members were “inducted” at a moving and very meaningful service. Congratulations again to Marianna C, Sheila Q and Marilyn V.

While I was pleased that so many members from our province were in attendance, some accredited for their dioceses but many on their own, it made me think, once again, that we need to find ways of getting all our diocesan presidents to all the National Conventions. It is such a great learning experience and an important base for League growth. But there is another even more important reason and that concerns the election of national officers. If diocesan presidents have never even seen or heard of the women running for office, it makes for very difficult choices when it comes to nominations and knowing the people we want to elect.

RESOLUTIONS:
We were all disappointed in the number of resolutions that came to the convention floor, but in the end it was a great learning experience. Further, at both the pre and post convention meetings, as well as during the Presidents’ roundtable discussion, the topic of resolutions came up. Presidents called for more consistency in applying the criteria when it comes to accepting or rejecting resolutions. It was noted that this must begin at the parish level. Dioceses must not accept resolutions just because a group worked hard on them or because feelings will be hurt. We have to teach proper adherence to rules and criteria to ensure success at the next level. In this regard I urge every diocesan council to commit to one workshop in the coming months on resolutions. It doesn’t have to be a long one, but there are many to choose from and many qualified provincial and diocesan executive members, as well as Life Members, who would be willing and able to do this. Our League is known for its work through resolutions; this year we have little to show. Let’s all make an effort to help Sheila reach her goal of putting BC back on the resolutions map!

NEWS FROM NATIONAL:
I’m really excited about the manual for Organization Chairpersons that should be ready soon. We’ve been pressing our National Council to revamp and review our training materials and I’m pleased to say it has come to be. I think you will really like it and I am sure it will inspire all Organization Chairpersons, particularly those at parish level. It might even encourage a member to take on this standing committee!

You will also hear more about a new pin designed to recognize service on diocesan and provincial levels when a member doesn’t qualify for or is not able to accept a Life Membership. The details will be clear and you might be surprised to find there are members in your parish councils who actually qualify…. Wait and see! (I will attach the draft criteria, but its for your information only at this time).

WUCWO:
Agnes Bedard reported that the voluntary contributions to WUCWO were up by 75% this past year. Plans for the Regional meeting next August are going ahead well and will be in conjunction with our National Convention. I am sure Pat Battensby will be getting and sending updates as they are available, but want to remind everyone to start thinking about the possibility of attending both parts.

FOCUS GROUPS RE STANDING COMMITTEES:
I’ve attached a power point presentation that was made by Danielle McNeill-Hessian at the convention. Most of it is self explanatory, but if you want any more information or details, please do not hesitate to contact me. The end result is that there are no pending changes to the Standing Committees at least for the time being. The great news, however, is that a special committee consisting of Lorette Noble, Danielle McNeil-Hessian, Velma Harasen and Kim Scammell has been struck to develop a strategy/marketing plan for the League.

Almost everything else new or coming out of the convention is being covered in the Standing Committee Chairpersons’ communiques. Please encourage your parish council presidents to eliminate the ‘no report syndrome’ at their monthly meetings. Teach them how to make reporting interesting and to help them remember that the League is about looking out in to the larger community and world as much as taking care parish needs. We need a good balance and with some creativity, enthusiasm and preparation, this can easily be achieved.

LEAGUE DEVELOPMENT DAYS:
Marianna C…….. will report in her Organization Communique about the Provincial Council’s commitment to provide opportunities in every diocese for education and training about our League and how it is relevant in today’s busy global world. I am asking each diocesan president to find one Saturday that can be dedicated to League Development. This will be a full day, from 9 to 3 and will be presented by members of the provincial council. You may find it interesting to note that the Kamloops Diocese has already booked three such days! Please contact me directly with your date as Marianna will be away for two months.

ANNUAL REPORTS:
Special appreciation to Marianna Caldwell and her hard working committee for fine tuning (once again) the report forms. Please accept them in the spirit with which they are sent – helpful tools to achieve our reporting goal – and encourage all your councils to strive for 100% reporting!

MID TERM:
Thanks again for your cooperation in sending your reports in advance and any suggestions or items for the agenda. We will have a working retreat this year with emphasis on working! Unfortunately, Father Terry can’t be with us, but I know Dodie B… will help us ‘retreat’ well and keep us spiritually on track as we prepare for another busy CWL year.

I look forward to hearing from all of you, particularly the diocesan presidents, as you communicate with your councils and plan your year. Remember, its not about us individually, but rather about how the Holy Spirit works with and through us to serve His people!

With love and prayers from your Sister in the League,

Barb

Dear League Sisters and Father Terry:

Attached you will find reports for every parish council position and standing committee. The parish president’s report is to include what the parish president has done as president. The other reports will include all the works of the council broken down by position or standing committee.

It would be appreciated if parish councils would depose of any report forms used in previous years and reply using the enclosed forms for your report. They have been amended and reformatted. Please note that the date reports are due has been changed to December 15th.

As you are aware it is very important to report all your council’s successes to the next levels of the League for their reports as they eventually make their way to government to let them know of our good work. We would be interested in hearing your comments on this updated process so we can continue to improve.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me.

God Bless all of you as we work together for God and Canada.

Marianna C…..

Suggested Process:
September: Copy the forms for each position & standing committee to have ready for your October meeting. Two copies per position should be adequate. One copy as a working copy and one for a good copy. Parish President to call a meeting of your executive including your standing committee chairpersons and co-chairs to be held in October. Ask everyone to bring their Constitution & Bylaws (C & B) and have a copy of the Executive Handbook available to review.

October: Start the meeting with a prayer asking Our Lady of Good Counsel to guide you as you complete your Annual Reports. Have each chairperson read their respective roles as noted in the C & B to refresh everyone on the responsibilities in each standing committee. Have the Secretary read the highlights from your parish council’s meeting minutes of everything your council accomplished from Jan. 1, 2007 to the current date. As the secretary is reading each person is asked to write down what applies to their respective standing committee. Keep in mind an item or action may fall under more than one Standing Committee and it is fine to include an item under more than one standing committee. Use the Parish Activities report form to list all the parish based social gatherings and functions such as Funeral Receptions, First Communion etc., your council organized on behalf of your parish family. List ALL the accomplishments and success stories of your council.

November: Update reports with any outstanding items. Type your report using the bullet format similar to a grocery list. Make sure your council name, contact name, address, telephone #, email address and position / standing committee are at the top of the page in the same manner as shown. Attach your completed report sheet to the report form sent to you from your Diocesan Council. Three copies are required of each report. One copy for the diocesan counterpart, one for the parish president, and one for their respective files. All reports must be mailed to the diocesan counterparts by December 15, 2007.
December: Parish President – from all the reports received from your parish council standing committee chairpersons, compile the information on the Parish Council Report Form to be given to your Diocesan Organization Standing Committee Chair to be used for your Diocesan convention book.

Congratulations!!! Your council has completed your annual reports prior to the deadline. As well, it is complete before a new parish president and executive assume their new roles in January in an election year. These reports are a wonderful history of your council and should be kept in your Archives.

Under the strong leadership of my predecessor, Pat Deppiesse, the Catholic Women’s League in the Vancouver Archdiocese continued to grow. Our four joy-filled General Meetings featuring topical presentations were regularly well attended. Members and priests enjoyed the Priests’ Appreciation Dinner with many councils generously sponsoring guest priests. Although on that night we were supposed to be the hosts, we received our fair share of appreciation in the gracious words of Monsignor Lopez- Gallo.

During her term Pat had installed two extra councils and witnessed the start up of a third. Two other councils were re-invigorated and gained full executives. A League Development Team was formed to be available on request for the training of councils, whether new, experienced or struggling. One of its first presentations dealt with Standing Committees, demonstrating their potential to bring alive and continually restate the mission of our League. By October we had aroused enough interest in our members to hold a two day Training Workshop with a Registered Parliamentarian, John Noonan, who took the fear out of Robert’s Rules of Order. Those present became better educated about efficient ways to run meetings and had a lot of fun doing so. Several council presidents began applying these principles in their own councils to good effect. In the New Year we anxiously awaited the return of the revamped annual report forms. While the number of reports did not improve dramatically, the quality and organization of the contents did. More recently we learned that we could add one more name to our list of Life Members, that of Marianna Caldwell.

These concerns about the well-being of our League did not overshadow our concerns about the needs of those at home and abroad. We responded generously to a request from the Sisters of Atonement for sheets and clothing for the homeless in Vancouver. We helped promote the play Lost In Traffic, an attempt to educate the Canadian public about the trafficking of women and children. We supplied the orphan children of Uganda with dolls and balls, and also expanded this collection with school and church supplies.

Three weeks ago when I was installed as Diocesan President at Westminster Abbey, Mission, B.C. some of my goals were clear, and since meeting with my talented new executive I have been able to devise a fourfold plan. First and foremost I aim to encourage my executive and our fifty councils in all their endeavours for God and Canada. Second, I will support and promote the work of the League Development Team entrusted to the capable leadership of its founder, now contentedly equipped with our recently purchased power point projector and happy in the knowledge that the funds returned to us from Vancouver’s 2005 National Convention may be accessed for the furtherance of this project. Third we intend to persuade the thirty+ pastors without CWL councils in their parishes, that the presence of our League in their parish will not only ensure that our synod’s proposition # 34 will be truly adopted, for the CWL has an strong tradition of time, talent and treasure stewardship, but also that legislative concerns will be addressed. And finally, we need to investigate better ways of serving our smaller councils e.g. by reducing the paper trail.

Inspired by the example of our Archbishop, Raymond Roussin, the care of our Spiritual Advisor, Father Craig Scott, and fortified by our new Diocesan theme, “Let Your Heart Take Courage”, Vancouver Archdiocesan CWL can face the future with much hope.

May Our Lady of Good Counsel guide us.

Evelyn R…. (Vancouver Archdiocesan President)

My prayers and best wishes to you as you begin this New Year and as the days of 2007 unfold for you, may God’s peace encircle you and all those you hold in your heart.

Changes
The newly appointed Nelson diocesan life member liaison is Pollyanna K. On behalf of all life members, I welcome Pollyanna and thank Bev Watson for her years of service and may Our Lady of Good Counsel guide and direct these generous league sisters in all their endeavors.

Annual Reports
January is the beginning of the new membership year and the time to evaluate and report on the previous year’s activities. This is also required of life members.

As in previous years, the following information would be appreciated in your report to me, which I would like to receive as soon as possible. I must have my report to national liaison by March 15th, preferably sooner if possible.

• the number of life members in your diocese
• the number of new life members during the past year 2006
• how you kept in touch with your life members and how often
• how many of your life members are working on parish, diocesan, provincial or national councils and in what capacity
• special projects of your life members
• other interesting information you would like to share

Life Member Lists for 2007
Thank you to those who have sent changes to their life members lists, however, I would still like a complete updated list from each diocese. I will see that everyone receives copy of complete list when I have it completed. Perhaps you could include “birthday”~ and anyone wishing to could send greetings, just an idea, how do you feel about it?

Provincial Newsletters
National life member liaison Joan B. wrote in her recent communique “thank you to those who send me a copy of their newsletters. It is important to keep in touch with life members, especially those who are confined to their own homes.”

And I would like to thank Shirley A. ~ Vancouver Liaison for her “full of news, informative, creative and always full of enthusiasm” newsletter called “Life Members Now and Then” and Pollyanna K. ~ our newest Liaison from Nelson diocese for copy of her 1st Communique sharing information from their diocesan convention and in particular the Life Members Luncheon. Well done Shirley and Pollyanna!

The national theme for 2007 is Love One Another – especially appropriate for those who are shut-in and yearn for companionship and contact with their League sisters. We must never underestimate the joy that a card gives to the receiver! Perhaps they would enjoy copy of Newsletters.

Prayer Requests

• Bruce G., husband of Life Member and Ontario Provincial President Shirley G., passed away on January 2, 2007, after 37 days of hospitalization.
• Honorary Life Member Joan C. (1996-1998) had double by-pass heart surgery just before Christmas. The surgery was a success and she is recuperating well.

Notes to me
Please continue to send me prayer requests and any suggestions how I can make my communiques more inclusive of all life members.

And remember to pray that we as life members have the courage to deliver our ‘words of wisdom’ when the time is right and to learn when to keep silent and ‘listen’ to other League members.

“A golden thread connects life members across our country, a thread of service done and continuing “For God and Country”. This thread is one of love, of union in prayer and purpose.” Sylvia Smith ~ 2002 National Life Member Liaison

Blessings,
Ann D.

Dear League Sisters,

Happy New Year to you all!

Annual Reports – I trust by now you are working toward collecting the annual reports from your parishes. As the reports filter in you will be amazed at what is going on and has happened. I am confident that the new forms will generate really interesting reports that will enable you to also paint a brilliant picture of the activities and well-being in so many of our parishes.

Please be sure to adhere to the deadlines (parish reports are due to you January 15 and your reports to provincial by February 15). If at all possible contact those parishes from which you don’t hear. While this may be time-consuming and somewhat tedious, it is so very worthwhile – you’ll be amazed what you find out, and the fact that you called will go a long way toward encouraging responses.

Membership drives and February 28 deadline – please continue to focus and assist Organization Chairpersons and Treasurers at this important time. As previously mentioned, membership is going to be a topic for discussion as well as a possible per capita increase over the next months. I look forward to hearing how you are going to react to the challenge of tracking membership in your diocese (see last communique if you’ve forgotten!).

While this is the time to ‘market’ let’s keep in mind our target audience – those dedicated and loyal members we already have who need to be nurtured; those who have left the League and then ALL the rest – Catholic women everywhere who haven’t heard about the League, who deserve to belong. We need to preach the good news of the League – using words only when necessary! It’s up to each one of us.

Associate Membership – don’t forget to tell your members about this and consider offering gift memberships to non-Catholic friends or relatives. The National Manual of Policy and Procedure states that a non-Catholic woman 16 years of age or over may become an associate member, with voting privileges, but without eligibility for office by election or appointment.

Provincial Development Fund – applications for subsidy to travel to the Provincial Convention in Victoria are being accepted now. Please be sure everyone has the new forms – we won’t accept applications on the old ones.

National Development Fund – All levels are encouraged to take advantage of the National funds available for education and training. I trust you all have a copy and will remind parishes that they, too, can apply. Forms and information are available on the CWL website.

Standing Committee Restructuring – this will be the topic of diocesan workshops throughout Canada. More information will be forthcoming after the national midterm meeting March 1. I hope the response to Danielle’s survey was good. Do you have any further thoughts that you want me to take forward?

Pin Protocol – Danielle McN.-H. has asked that parishes talk about pin protocol. She states: The fact that the question of pin protocol on the death of a member was asked indicates that it should be an item on the parish agenda in order to inform members that they should be indicating their wishes to other League and family members.

Provincial Registration Packages and Parish registers – Please encourage Organization Chairpersons to work closely with the Secretary at parish level to ensure that all registers of the elected officers and standing committee chairpersons are mailed to Doreen G. immediately following parish elections or by February 1 at the latest.

You are doing a wonderful job in your dioceses – keep up the great work, excellent communications and lively enthusiasm for our League. I love to get your communiques and hope you are sharing with each other. If there is anything I can do to assist you in any way, please just ask.

If you need anything [while I am away], please contact Pat B.

Teach, Evangelize, Animate and Motivate!
Barb D.

Merry Christmas!
May the baby Jesus bless you and your family with peace and joy as you welcome him into your home and into your heart.

We have begun Year C and we are well into Advent and Christmas is upon us. I would like to share with you some information that I have received from Cecile Miller, National Chairperson of Spiritual Development:

New theme: Love One Another
Beginning January 2007, the League will launch its new theme Love One Another. How can members bring this theme to life? I encourage each of you to reflect on ways the members in your province can respond to this question. Please let us share with one another any ideas which you give/receive. Here are some of mine:

• Study and reflect on Pope Benedict’s XVI encyclical letter Deus Caritas Est (God is Love), especially part two which is entitled Caritas: The Practice of Love by the Church as a “Community of Love.” How can we respond to the invitation extended by the Holy Father in his letter, “To experience love and in this way to cause the light of God to enter into the world…”? What are we doing now? What more can we do?
• Reflect on scripture passages which call us to Love One Another.” Some of these are: 1 John 4:7; John 15:12; and, Matthew 22:36-40. How can we extend the sharing we do at Christmas time to those who are in need at
• Say “Merry Christmas!” Share your joy wherever you are: whether at home, at work, or during recreation; while shopping, baking, decorating or doing any of the other activities which need to be done at this time.

The Ark of the New Covenant
The itinerary of The Ark of the New Covenant is posted on the Congress website. The Ark will be in Quebec until January 14, 2007, and will begin its tour in Ontario on January 15th. Encourage all members to do all they can to make this tour the best success it can be.

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity
The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity will be held January 21-28, 2007. The theme is Be Opened. School and parish materials can be obtained from: Novalis, 10 Lower Spadina Ave., Suite 400, Toronto, ON M5V 2Z2 ; tel: (800) 387-7164; facsimile: (800) 204-4140; or, visit the website www.novalis.ca.

Important dates
January 1 – Feast of Mary, Mother of God, World Day for Peace
January 21-28 – Week of Prayer for Christian Unity
February 4 – World Day of Prayer for Consecrated Life
February 11 – Commemoration of Our Lady of Lourdes , World Day of the Sick,

World Marriage Day
February 21 – Ash Wednesday

Annual Reports
You have all receive the newly revised annual report forms. Hopefully, Parish Spiritual Chairpersons will find them user friendly. You are encouraged to contact parishes that do not send in their annual report to see if they are having problems with the report form.

A reminder that Diocesan reports to Provincial are due by February 15th, if there are any questions please do not hesitate to ask..

Wishing you a Happy New Year

May 2007 be filled with new hope, new joy, new beginnings and many blessings.

Marianna C…….

Greetings,

Winter storms just keep coming our way these days! I hope your home has not been damaged and that you have not had too many power outages. Here is a short update before the end of the year.

An excellent report regarding the presentation of our resolutions (passed at National convention) to the federal government can be found on the national website – www.cwl.ca – under Dec. 8th report by Betty Anne Brown, National Resolutions chairperson. If you have not as yet read this, please take the time to do so and make a note to share with members the exciting news that the League has been invited to nominate a representative to the national council on seniors and aging.

Deadlines are drawing near for receiving annual report forms which have been revised this year and are hopefully easier to complete. If they are not forthcoming, follow up with a call or e-mail to see if they need assistance; or if the resolutions chair is vacant, encourage the council to have someone complete the report.

I look forward to receiving your annual report by February 15th in order to complete mine for the National deadline of March 15th.

Please also remind parish councils that the subject and titles of proposed resolutions from their diocese should be submitted to Provincial level by January 31st, leaving lots of time to work on the resolution before diocesan conventions.

As we prepare for the miracle, the birth of the Christ child, may the gift of peace, joy and love of this blessed season be with you and yours this Christmas and in the New Year.

Sheila

Enclosure: “Stir a new Spirit of Enthusiasm” by Dodie B…, provincial sub chair for membership – enjoy. Thanks Dodie!

Dear League Sisters,

One of the most effective things Organization Chairpersons can do at this time in our League year is generate enthusiasm for membership. Encourage parish councils to do something different in an effort to raise awareness about membership in the most amazing women’s organization in the country (world!). It is so important to find ways to remind Catholic women of the many reasons they should be interested in and part of our League.

I challenge each of you diocesan organization chairs to find a way to track membership in your diocese. Ask the parish councils to assist and report to you their progress. All councils know how many members they have, how many they had and how many are brand new! Let’s see if each diocese could recognize one parish council for significant growth – either the most lapsed members returning, the highest percentage of new members or whatever you think is interesting and worthy of note. We will recognize these at the Provincial Convention in a special way. I leave it up to you, but now is the time to get thinking as memberships begin to pour in.

On the same note about membership, we all must be aware that our numbers across Canada are not increasing. We are still on target to get our 10,000 members in BC & the Yukon, but if the trend continues, there are consequences. If we are to continue to serve our members properly, we need to find more members or consider a per capita increase. I know everyone flinches at the thought, but it’s been a long time, 1993, in fact since the last increase nationally. Alternatively we can each take on the responsibility to bring one new woman to the League. Why wouldn’t we? It’s the best organization ever – how much do we care?

Don’t forget to share your communiques – I’ve seen awesome work and you will be enlightened and inspired by each other’s great work!

Development Fund:
New application forms will be out to you shortly for travel to conventions. Don’t forget to promote the National Development Fund to members who want to sponsor workshops and leadership days. All the information is available on the CWL website as well as in the National Manual of Policy and Procedure.

Annual Reports:
It’s that time and I know you all know, so I won’t nag. However, I do encourage you to look for the new or unusual, specific examples of success and/or ideas that touch you in some way. Doreen Gowans gave clear information on this in her communique. Again I thank her for that and for her part in getting the new forms to you. Please adhere to the deadlines.

Standing Committee Restructuring:
Every parish council was sent a survey on the Standing Committees and various aspects and circumstances relating to their own parish council. Danielle McNeil-Hessian, National Organization Chairperson says: “The standing committees are being examined in order to determine if the current structure meets the needs of members at the parish level.” She asks further that parish council responses reflect actual practice in the council at the present time. Unfortunately there was no return date – it is imperative that we get as many councils to reply as possible and as soon as possible.

I can’t say often enough that our Organization Standing Committee is much more than membership. Certainly without members we will not exist – but we owe our members so much if we are to be true to our mandate: “Calling our members to holiness through service to the people of God.” As we educate, lead, affirm and pray as one, we are able to recognize and accept the many gifts we’ve been given. Thank you for all you do to empower your League sisters through your dedication, example and love.

And finally, Christmas greetings, blessings and prayers to each of you and your families. I pray that your Advent is special and focused and that Christmas is a time of peace, joy and much happiness.

I look forward to 2007 as we prepare to embrace our new National theme: Love One Another and the Provincial sub theme: Walk Humbly with Our God.

Teach, Evangelize, Animate and Motivate!

Barb D.

Stir a new Spirit of Enthusiasm – from Dodie B. (BC & Yukon Membership sub-chair)

If we could all follow the League Calendar outlined in the “Leading the League Manual” we would all be on the same wavelength at the same time. What would we be doing together? We would be promoting all the things in life that are important; i.e. hospitality, openness, charity, generosity, strengthening our own personal faith both individually and collectively. At the same time we will be helping to make our own church stronger as well as our society.

It is up to each and every one of us to promote the League. Before we can do that, we must know and understand what the League is all about. I suggest that a time be set aside for training of new members. Then they will know what the League is all about. Our aims our purposes.

I have seen over the years members who bring members on board – get their dues – no training no explanation and guess what? We don’t see them again. It is one thing to pass out a welcome kit to the member who is new but I believe that when they get the kit it should go with some form of orientation.

When we buy a house, we look it over and if its what we want we buy it – because the people selling it took the time to find out what we wanted and they went about making it so – and they sold it. Maybe we should change the way we do things – first sell the prospective member by getting the present members to get a program together that is interesting and then rehearse until they know it inside out. Then have a lunch with a program and sell it to prospective new members.

We all have the words and tools at our fingertips. All we need to do is look to our League manuals and then just do it! Baby steps at first. Be excited about the League let the excitement show at what ever you do. This goes for all members, young, recycled, Catholic, Non Catholic. We must be proud members if we plan on attracting new members. We must be proud to belong to an Organization Rooted in Gospel Values.

We are people of faith bound by our faith, to welcome all women into the Catholic Women’s League.

We need to go back to our roots – we need to have present members educated and enthusiastic about the League in order for us to gain new members. The best way of getting new members is personal invitation. I can’t stress that enough. Be excited about sharing our faith.

By doing this we will have created a New Spirit of Enthusiasm!

Dear League Sisters,

Thank you for your patience as we work our way around the unusual situation of working without an Organization Chairperson on the Provincial level. For the time being we are going to share the duties the best we can.

Membership: Dodie B., recently “retired” from the provincial executive has generously agreed to take care of the membership side of this committee. Dodie will be working on a membership initiative and will communicate with you directly. We are grateful to Dodie for her help and look forward to working with her to attain our goal of 10,000 members. Wouldn’t it be awesome to reach that number by our 60th anniversary as a province in Victoria, 2007??? The national goal is 100,000 – we can help!

Dodie will be reminding us of the importance of keeping members up to date with their memberships and getting the fees in well in advance of the February 28 deadline. This is critical as each level depends on its per capita to function. We’re hoping to continue to focus on those members who have not renewed first by identifying who’s missing from our councils and secondly by making a call or a visit to find out why.

Development Fund: Elaine A., provincial treasurer, will look after the Development Fund applications. She works with a committee but ultimately gives out the money, so I am grateful to Elaine for adding this to her already full portfolio.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Development fund money will no longer be available at the provincial level for workshops. It was agreed at the provincial post convention meeting to discontinue this part of the development fund, partly because it was so underused and restrictive, but largely because the National Development Fund is available, easier to access, and offers better funding.

There is good news – more funds will be available for getting our members to provincial conventions. The last two years have seen an amazing increase in the number of applications and we’ve been sorry to have turned some down and in many cases given only a small portion of the costs. An ad hoc committee, struck at the post convention meeting, consisting of Pat B., Carol P., Elaine A. and myself are working on the new application form. It will be presented at the midterm meeting in October for approval with an application deadline of March 15, 2007.

Annual Reports: Doreen G., provincial secretary, has agreed to add this time-consuming duty to her already full list of jobs and will be sending out the annual report forms with instructions and direction. The forms have been revised after much discussion and consternation concerning what is being reported. An ad hoc committee was struck at the provincial post convention meeting to address this issue and find a way to improve. Doreen G., Pat D. and Agnes G. have worked through summer holidays to complete this task. Please do everything in your power to get this message to all your parishes. The suggestions in Doreen’s memo make it realistic to expect 100% reporting with your encouragement and follow up. You will notice more emphasis on success stories and things that are different and make a difference.

Promotional Video: Salt and Light TV were working on a promotional video at the National Convention in Halifax. It will be about 20 minutes, intended for use when giving talks on the CWL at parishes and to groups. Our hope to develop a provincial DVD will go on hold now until we see what this looks like. I’ve pre-ordered some and will keep you up to date on that. The cost will be something like $6.00 so every council should be able to get a copy. If anyone is interested in pre-ordering, go to the Salt and Light website www.saltandlighttv.org.

Over 800 people registered for the National Convention in Halifax. The CWL is alive and very well. We need to get the message out about who we are and what we do. Bishop Smith, national spiritual advisor, reminded us that there are some tough times coming for the Church in Canada and to never underestimate the value of what we do. We ARE the Church. We need to stand tall, reflect our optimism for the truth and be ready to be counted and speak up for what we believe. It’s always easier to do this with support – CWL is that support!

Organization job description: I encourage each of you to review the roles and responsibilities for your level. They can be found on the National CWL website www.cwl.ca. This might assist you in the direction you feel will work best for your diocese.

Welcome back to Lorrilee J. (Kamloops), Susan S. (Prince George), Evelyn R. (Vancouver) and Nicole G. (Whitehorse), who have had a year’s experience already and are doing a terrific job. Congratulations, also, to Alice H. (Nelson) on your new position – thanks for saying “yes”. Victoria doesn’t have anyone for Organization at this time, so please send your copies or information to the president, Agnes G.

I encourage you to share communiques – we can always learn from one another. Keep up to date – check the CWL websites www.cwl.ca and www.cwl.bc.ca for updates and do not hesitate, ever, to call me if there is anything I can do to help you.

Organization is much more than membership. It is education, leadership and opportunities to affirm our League sisters in their overall development and individual growth. As we each seek to find our own place, we must take responsibility for the many gifts we’ve been given. In your efforts to bring out the best in others, you will be amazed at the results in your own life.

The national organization chairperson and president elect is Danielle McNeill-Hessian. Look for lots of great things to come from Danielle. We are all looking forward to the next two years with Lorette Noble, our President, and her new officers. The future is bright indeed. Lorette has chosen for her theme beginning January 2007: Love One Another. How perfect is that?

And lastly, in her final report to the National Convention as Organization Chairperson, Lorette reminded us about the importance of associate members. We often forget that women who are not Catholic are more than welcome to become members of the CWL. Think, too, of the wives of Catholic men in your parish who might share our interests in the world and society, who might find our League the place they can belong and make a difference. As Lorette said, “Ask them to come and see!”

So, September looms! I thank you for your efforts and look forward to a great year of CWL animation and enthusiasm. Use dialogue and workshops, brainstorming and small group discussions to get people talking and thinking out loud. And don’t forget to pray!

Teach, Evangelize, Animate and Motivate!

PS: Watch for more information on a pilot project for a Catholic Girls League coming soon!

Barb D.