This time last year our council did not have a President-Elect so for the first time an election for President had to be held.  Here I am, the new president happy to report we have a full slate of officers.

To date, through marketing the League and creating enthusiasm we have reached over 9,000 members and continue to grow.  In order to celebrate parish council successes in building membership we brought back the practice of presenting a special certificate, which this year was awarded to a parish council that attained 50 new members, doubling their membership!

Another goal set was to take ownership of the teaching role at the Provincial level as education is paramount. A workshop encompassing the different facets of Communications was presented in each diocese. But most importantly we have now taken our comprehensive Leadership Development & Public Speaking Workshop around the Province providing an opportunity for members to gain the knowledge and confidence to ‘step forward’ and accept an executive position.

Making inroads into the public sector and making our voices heard on current issues is critical, especially now in BC with the Winter Olympics approaching in 2010. While the Catholic Women’s League has always worked well with the Knights of Columbus, we are now enjoying a truly collaborative relationship and shared objectives such as human trafficking.   Together we have undertaken a huge letter writing campaign and brought our concerns regarding brothels at the Olympics to the attention of Mayer Sam Sullivan of Vancouver.  Just imagine the impact if all Catholic men and women across Canada joined forces to support family values and the protection of the most vulnerable.

The burning interest members have in these issues were apparent by the 10 resolutions received this year.  In March, the provincial delegation met with both Liberal and NDP caucus members to present and discuss our resolutions.  The positive reception received, the interest in our concerns about trafficking, etc and the comment that our visits are like ‘their consciousness’ made for a successful meeting.

“A Journey of Memories” a mammoth project preserving the testimony and resourcefulness of our Life Members and their journey in book form was undertaken, successfully completed and published thanks to Life Member, Thelma Varcoe.   Life Members are hoping to establish a “Cultural Award” that will recognize and celebrate Catholic artists and authors.

For everyone who is familiar with the work carried out by Domestic Abuse Services-Our Lady of Good Counsel Society in Vancouver, I am pleased to announce that they have purchased a safe house to be used as secondary housing for women fleeing domestic violence.

I continue to be astounded at the work and successes in our dioceses – from the smallest and most remote to the bustling metropolitan councils, the CWL manages to ‘get the work done’.  The challenges are clear but I believe if we keep our members informed, encouraged and educated we will reap the rewards.  My goal is to build and fine tune the programs already in place, to meet local needs and to care in a special way for our existing members.

Under the protection of Our Lady of Good Counsel we continue to work for God and Canada.  May God bless all our endeavours.

My past year as Victoria Diocesan President has been a learning year for me, for the upcoming year I would like to focus on education of members.

2006 – Starting with our summer meeting, our executive studied their workbooks with information on writing communiques and each person’s job description. For the three Diocesan Newsletter I have done an educational component on MaterCare International, Coady Institute and Trafficking.

In the fall, we started our year with a Diocesan retreat to refocus our CWL life on the one thing that distinguishes us from other groups – SPIRITUAL GROWTH. Our Diocese has three retreats during the year, the Fall Retreat in Nanaimo and two in Victoria – one in Advent and one in Lent.

At the 58^th Annual Provincial Convention, May 28^th, 2005, with a Declaration on Trafficking we pledged “to implement resolutions that hold our governments accountable, to work with likeminded organizations, in particular religious communities of Sisters, to stop the trafficking of children and women and to be personally responsible for adhering to Church teaching in regard to the dignity of all persons.”

Continuing at Prov. Convention in Whitehorse in 2006, we learned more about the international problem of trafficking of women & children from Sister Pierrette Boissé, Social Justice Coordinator of The Congregation of Notre Dame.

On March 30 & 31, 2007, I attended the Workshop “Reusable Commodities – Trafficking of Human Beings” at Ascension Parish in Parksville facilitated by Sister Marie Zarowny ssa, a member of UNAMIA International, a UN NonGovernmental Organization (NGO) comprised of Roman Catholic Religious Women (nuns) that works towards understanding the causes of the increasing poverty in our world and in particular how that contributes to Human Trafficking, and Victor Malarek, author of “The Natashas – Inside The New Global Sex Trade” and senior investigative reporter for W5.

On Sat. afternoon we were challenged to come up with an action plan. The CWL members present joined as a group and came up with three actions.

1. Produce postcards to send to local, provincial and national politicians with the message “STOP – do not legalize prostitution”, with a supporting statement on the back. At our Diocesan Convention May 7 & 8, 550 postcards were distributed to the Parish Councils to sign and send.
2. Draw up a letter commending Air Canada for showing videos on international flights Against Sex Tourism. Letters were written to Air Canada and Air France thanking them for their initiative.
3. Speak to the Knights of Columbus and youth groups about the growing sex trade. Information has been passed to our local K of C Councils. Video presentations on the workshop will be available shortly and we will share this information with the other dioceses, the K of C and our youth groups.

At our Diocesan Convention we had a hands on presentation from one of our smaller councils, Our Lady of the Rosary on “Prayer Shawls”. This is a fast growing ministry – where shawls are made, blessed by the members of the Councils and then taken to those suffering from loneliness, loss or illness and presented by CWL members with a prayer ceremony. There are many websites devoted to this ministry, the best one being shawlministry.com

The highlight of our Diocesan Convention was the presentation of Sheila Q….’s Life Membership.

Parish Councils are encouraged to promote the four categories of membership, and to gift their daughters with a membership to the CWL – Port Alberni signed up 21 new members. Past Diocesan Pres., Mary L……. formatted an application form, which was passed on to the Parish Councils.

For our upcoming year we will continue to focus on education and our spiritual growth. At our summer meeting we will implement an education program for our Fall & Spring Interim Meetings rather than repetitive reporting. We have a very knowledgeable new member from St. Peter’s in Nanaimo who has offered to give us workshops on Parliamentary Procedure and Running Effective Meetings; we have accepted her offer to share her expertise at our upcoming Diocesan Meetings.

My goals for the Victoria Diocesan Catholic Women’s League continue to be:

1. Increased education with workshops & mentoring
2. Increase of members
3. Spiritual development

I renew my commitment to working with my team to achieve these goals!

Our Diocesan theme “Live With the Spirit” will be our guide as we “Love One Another” and “Walk Humbly With Our God”!

Respectively submitted, Agnes G…..