cwl newslettercwl newsletter st. paul’s, airdrie catholic women’s league fall 2010 volume 4,...
TRANSCRIPT
CWL Newsletter
St. Paul’s, Airdrie
Catholic Women’s League Fall 2010
Volume 4, Issue 2
CWL Elections
Believe it or not, our current Executive’s terms expire in December. Please consider letting your name stand for a position or nominating a fellow CWL member. All members will be re-ceiving a package in the mail explaining the Executive positions and their duties, as well as a
nomination form. Elections will be held at our November meeting.
St. Paul’s has always had a very supportive Executive. If something is happening in your life that prevents you from carrying through on a task, the other members of the Executive will pitch in to cover. We are volunteers with busy lives and we all do what we can realistically
manage.
Please pray about this. Having a supportive, fun and fulfilling women’s group at St. Paul’s, based on our shared values and spiritual beliefs, is a benefit to us as women and as Chris-tians desiring to practice our faith in the real world. We need to take turns leading. To-
gether, we can grow in our faith. Together, we can make a difference in our community and the wider world.
It’s FALL BAZAAR time once again!
Mark Saturday, November 13th on your calendars. The Parish Bazaar will run from 9 a.m. till 2:30 p.m. in the parish hall.
We have vendors lined up selling Usborne Books; Avon; Tupperware; 5th Avenue, Latasia & Lia Sophia Jewellery;
Party-Lite Candles & Home Decor; Discovery Toys ;The Fox's Den (unique floral design/gifts) and Katherine’s Crafts. We will have our big ticket raffle, an in-house raffle, mystery prizes, loonie bags, a Children’s Corner, and refreshments in the form of pie and cupcakes, tea, coffee and juice. We will also have a Bake Sale. We are asking members and parishioners to contribute ethnic Christmas sweets this year; so if it's German Mandelkranz, Ukrainian Krhustyky, Scottish Shortbread, or Italian Pizzella, we'll take anything and everything. We’d love to find out what Filipinos or Venezuelans or Mexicans, or other ethnic groups like to serve as traditional Christmas goodies. We will also accept as many traditional Canadian Christmas favourites as you can bake! *We're desperate for donations to fill our Loonie Bags this year. We need small, new items worth between $1 & $5 that will fit into brown paper lunch bags: mugs, small stuffed animals, little toys, Christmas decorations, gourmet hot chocolate packets, costume jewellery, hairbands or barettes, candies, small packets of Christmas cards or notepaper, etc. *Proceeds from the Bazaar will go partly to the renovations in the old rectory, and partly to CWL's operating budget.
Daily Rosary Chain - submitted by Rosanne Reinhart, Christian Family Life Chairperson
Intentions: Priests & Christian Family Life
Last April 26th, 2010, which is the feast day of Our Lady of Good Counsel, the Patron of Catholic Women's League of Canada, this Rosary chain was started. This Rosary Chain links many mem-
bers together in the spirit of prayer for our Priests and Christian Family Life. The members pray part of the Rosary from their homes or wherever they are, once a day. For example if they were
assigned the 3rd Glorious Mystery they would: Meditate on the Descent of the Holy Spirit, Pray one Our Father, ten Hail Mary's, one Glory Be, one Fatima Prayer.
Praying the Rosary is one of the most powerful things we can do for our Priests and Family Life! Mary is our intercessor and will lead us closer to her son Jesus. Currently we have a complete Ro-
sary (the four mysteries: Joyful, Luminous, Sorrowful and Glorious) being said daily and we are working on a second one. If you would like to join or have comments and ideas please e-mail: [email protected] or phone Rosanne @ 403-948-1914.
*"Christian Family Life" encompasses all parts of family life such as: marriage & family, youth,
sanctity of Life, seniors, widows, separated, divorced and vocations.
St. Joseph’s Supporters - submitted by Mary Pringle
Ladies, do you wish that your husbands (sons, fathers, brothers) would lead your families in
prayer, take a lead role in establishing and defending moral guidelines for what comes in and out
of your homes, take a stand to defend Christian values in your homes and in the community, and
strive themselves for the purity of faith and upright living that was exemplified by the holy family?
Does this sound too good to be true?
St. Joseph’s Supporters are a group of women from St. Paul’s parish who fast and pray one day
per month for the Lord to raise up their husbands (along with the men in their lives and all men in
St. Paul’s parish) to become just that…the spiritual leaders of their families, parish and community.
We invoke the assistance of St. Joseph, the patron saint of families, fathers and the Church,
to pray for these men and we can use your help! Fasting is a powerful way to have your prayers
heard and answered, along with almsgiving (giving the money saved by your fasting to the
poor). Satan fears fasting as it breaks his power and leads to holiness.
For more information and to learn how to fast effectively, please call Mary Pringle 403-980-5757
or email: [email protected]
Rosanne has made a request for volunteers who can assist at Bethany Tea on Friday afternoons in October. The Bethany Care Centre asked if we would like to switch from June, when we have been volunteering, to October, and Rosanne jumped at the chance, as June is a more hectic month for most of our members.
Each Friday there is a tea for the residents, often with a particular theme. We prepare the room and serve the residents from 2 to 4 p.m. in the auditorium. If you can assist at any of the teas in October, please give Rosanne a call at 948-1914 or e-mail her at [email protected] . She has had a good response so far, but if you would like to be on a backup list, please contact her. Thank you to all those who responded to the request!
This is something to consider when we are worried about a loved one's lack of faith:
"Talk less to that person about God and talk more to God about that person." - Fr. David Sands - submitted by Aileen Carney-Brown
Volunteering
I am a recipient of unconditional love; I am a volunteer.
Life’s most persistent and urgent question is: what are you doing for others?
When we dream alone it is only a dream.
When we dream together, it is the beginning of reality.
Start by doing what is necessary; then do what is possible.
Suddenly, you are doing the impossible!
-unknown author— submitted by Doreen Thibeault
Comfort Dolls—projects to knit or crochet over the cold winter months …A comfort doll is a knitted doll used
by some charitable groups. Pictured here are various comfort dolls, blankets, and toques sent along with
Tanzania Windmill Project volunteers in 2009 to be used in an orphanage. If you enjoy knitting or crochet-
ing and would like to make some of these to send to Tanzania or the Dominican Republic, or other charitable
interests, just let us know.
For a pattern or more information, please contact Maria Ricci through
her e-mail [email protected] or at 948-5098 .
Retiring and Volunteering in the Dominican - submitted by Cathy Buchanan
St. Paul’s parishioners, Johanne and Fred Lamont bought a property in the Dominican Republic several years ago with
the intention of retiring there. They are parents of two grown daughters and new grandparents. The Dominican, despite its beautiful beach resorts, is one of the poorest countries in the world. Johanne, formerly employed with Community
Links and with St. Martin de Porres, is now actively involved in a number of social justice projects there, including an or-
phanage, several schools which the Lamonts have helped build, a playschool, and baby clinic. Johanne also spends time visiting prisoners and patients in hospitals.
It is amazing how many Airdrie citizens are involved in making the world a better place both at home and abroad. We are
fortunate to have Johanne coming to our December Christmas Social to share her experiences with us. On her trips she may have some room in her luggage to take along items, such as baby articles, school supplies, and toiletries. For a
detailed list of donations that may be needed, come to hear Johanne’s talk.
Update on CWL Chair for Catholic Studies
Recently, the Calgary Diocesan CWL members set up a $1.2 million endowment for a faculty appointment in Catholic Studies at St. Mary’s
University College. Your ongoing donations are welcome to support future costs associated with this appointment. To donate to this faculty,
make cheques payable to St. Mary’s University College, and clearly mark your cheque for “The CWL Chair for Catholic Studies”. As of
October 1, 2010, please direct your donations to : Development Office,
St. Mary’s University College
14500 Bannister Road SE
Calgary, Albert T2X 1Z4
THANKSGIVING GRACE Dear God, Who paints the moon and feeds the birds in the sky, Who leads the lambs to the pasture and the hart to the water-side, Who multiplies loaves and fishes and turns water into wine, Come now to our table as guest and provider to dine.
WANTED: *One phoner to call members who are not on e-mail with messages once a month. Each phoner has a group of about 12 ladies, but is rarely asked to call them all. We will tell you which ones need a phone call.
E-mail Cathy at [email protected] .
*Volunteers for the Fall Bazaar to take a shift of two hours. There are lots of different areas: bake sale, in-house raffle,
mystery prize draw, ticket raffle, Pie & Coffee/Tea Social. Contact Stephanie at 948-5357 if you can help.
*Nominations for our CWL 2011-2012 Executive. Contact Cathy: 948-2921 or [email protected]
*A couple of volunteers to help us sell Religious Articles once a month after our CWL Ministry Mass as well as at the two
other masses on those weekends— the third weekend of the month. We took on this project at Fr. Andrew's request. CWL gets a share in the profits. We also sell recycled greeting cards on behalf of Mission Council to support the work done in our First
Nations communities near Calgary as well as in the Global South. We have items for all special religious occasions. Please con-tact Ann Marie Urdal at 912-1783 or [email protected] .
*Luncheon Reception volunteers to assist with funeral, small wedding or other requested receptions. Please contact
President Stephanie Drebit if you are available during the day and have not presently been volunteering. Call 948-5357.
*Tall Candlesticks -- you know, like those brass ones popular back in the 1980s (if you're old enough to remember
them!). You want to get rid of them? Lu wants them for Christmas centrepieces as she works her magic again for our Christ-mas Party -- ever planning ahead. Call Lu Derkach at 948-7066.
*Members interested in the bottled water issue to form a sub-committee to look into this with Sharon Hagel, our Commu-nity Life Chairperson. We can then present a resolution which, if it's accepted at our Calgary Diocesan Convention, will be taken
to the provincial and national conventions to be voted upon. The goal is to have our National CWL take this to the federal gov-ernment at their annual meeting. Of course, each time we discuss it, more and more people are informed and take action.
*One volunteer letter-writer who could correspond a couple times a year with our sponsored family in India through Save A Family Plan. Contact our Community Life Chairperson, Sharon Hagel, at 948-4279.
Announcements . . .
CONGRATULATIONS to brand new moms, Lindsey Miko who gave birth to Gavin Henri, and to Kirsty
Sanesh on the arrival of Faith Marie. Charity Wiens had baby #2, a little sister for Amelia, MaryKate
Beth. All are doing just fine (although we didn’t ask about the dads . . .).
Betty and Nat Sahagian celebrated fifty years of marriage this summer. Many blessings to you both!
Please say a prayer for a former member, Lucia Drewniak, who passed away this summer. Our sympathies go out to her family, Sandra and Mike Drewniak.
Welcome to our new members since May: Lynn Lancaster; Celina Curtis, Sharon Taylor, from Crossfield, who transferred last
spring from St. Mary's Parish in Tillsonburg, Ontario and Marlene Rodriguez who was given a gift membership to thank her for
her presentation at our meeting.
Wishing many blessings for Carmen Leslie and her family in their new home in New Brunswick! For those who have been ask-ing, here is Carmen’s email — [email protected] She would love to hear from you.
A Morning Prayer You are above me, O God, You are within. You are in all things Yet contained by no thing. Teach me to seek you in all that has life That I may see you as the Light of life. Teach me to search for you in my own depths That I may find you in every living soul. Amen -From Sounds of the Eternal: A Celtic Psalter by J. Philip Newell
Topics from Our October Meeting
Inn From the Cold
Marlene Rodriguez, the coordinator from our parish for Inn From the Cold, gave a very good power presentation. She did an excellent job of explaining how our first time hosting 14 homeless people went. Many parishioners donated items and our
church paid for supplies such as 17 cots for sleeping. A divider was put up in the hall to separate the sleeping and dining ar-
eas. Dinner and breakfast were served. The special education class from St. Martin de Porres made up brown bag lunches for the guests to take with them when they left, plus some small bags of toiletries. Once a month, St. Paul's will be hosting Inn
From the Cold in the parish hall. If you wish to volunteer, please contact Marlene at [email protected] or at 945-0209.
And a little quote from Marlene’s presentation:
We only love Jesus as much as the person we love the least.
Bottled Water or Tap Water?
Doreen Thibeault, our CWL Secretary, also volunteers on the parish's Social Justice Committee and is St. Paul's representative with Development & Peace at the diocesan level. She explained that D & P's Fall Action Campaign concerns the issue of bot-
tled water replacing tap water: Is bottled water really safer and cleaner than tap water? Is water being turned into a luxury item? These are some of the questions currently being asked by the organization DEVELOPMENT AND PEACE and its approximately 11,500 members across Canada. To learn more, go to http://www.devp.org . Another good website Doreen mentioned is http://www.insidethebottle.org/ where you can view the humorous cartoon we saw; although it is from an American perspective there is a lot of good information presented. What can you do? Use tap water instead of bottled water as much as possible and challenge your school, office and public institutions to
stop selling it.
Upcoming Meetings Tuesday, November 9th: “We Remember” our CWL sisters of St. Paul’s Council who have passed away, followed by our
Executive Elections, and a special presentation by two of our members who are public health nurses, Michele Gray and
Wendy Timmermans, on Palliative Care and the effort to found a Hospice in Airdrie.
Tuesday, December 14th: Our Annual Christmas Social with guest speaker and St. Paul’s parishioner Johanne Lamont
speaking to us about her experiences of “Retiring and Volunteering in the Dominican Republic.” All women of the parish
are invited to attend and to bring a friend.
Tuesday, January 11th: Installation of the New CWL Executive at the 7 p.m. Mass followed by a business meeting to de-
cide where our funds will be spent, and to which organizations we will make donations.
Need a Break From Your Crazy Life?
Shannon Pearson has organized a Women’s Escape Day one Saturday a month from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.. She has booked
the upstairs meeting room at Co-op for you to come and bring your scrap-booking, stamp collection, needlework, study-ing, – whatever. So, any CWL members who’d like to accomplish something without interruption (What is that??) is wel-
come to pop in for all or part of the time and visit while you work. The next ones are on Saturday, October 23rd &
November 20th.
Want to learn how to play crib or bridge in a supportive, fun environment? Maria Ricci and Corinne Ramler have planned some Games Nights throughout the coming year. The church hall is next booked for Monday, October 25th
for an evening of cards beginning at 7:00 pm. Bring yourself and a friend and a mug for tea or coffee.
Reduce, Re-use, Recycle, and Refuse to buy. . .
Do you know why labels must be removed from glass containers? Glass cannot be recycled if it is contaminated with too much paper on it. As a result, there are times when the Airdrie Recycling De-pot simply carts loads of it to the dump because so many people are not removing labels. So, please soak off those labels before you dump your glass into your recycling bins. (It isn’t as crucial for plas-tics, but the Recycling Depot does request you take labels off those too. And all plastics are now ac-cepted in Airdrie – at both depots. There are now drop-off bins in the Home Depot parking lot.) What happens to those used greeting cards we collect? Sharon Hagel is dropping boxes of them from St. Paul’s down at the Pastoral Centre where Sr. Cecily and the Mission Council re-use them to make ‘new’ cards. These cards are then sold in parishes throughout the Diocese. We will try to get a variety of the cards and sell them when we sell religious articles on the 3rd Sunday of each month. Where do pop can tabs go? These are dropped off at the Diabetes Clinic at the Alberta Children’s Hospital where a Kinsmen Club in Calgary cashes them in for funds which are used to supply newly di-agnosed juvenile diabetics with insulin kits. This helps the children get started with necessary sup-plies at home while their diabetes management program is being organized. Lana Gehlen, who attends St. Paul’s, has agreed to drop the tabs off when she goes to Clinic appointments with her daughter who has juvenile diabetes. Old eyeglasses are sent to developing countries to be used by opticians and optometrists there for patients who cannot afford to purchase new ones, which means most of the population. Dr. Larry Kant-ers of our parish looks after these. Used postage stamps are collected by Betty Sahagian and sent to Sr. Cecily with the Mission Council at the Pastoral Centre or to the Franciscan Missionary Union in Lumsden, Saskatchewan. Both groups fund their missionary work by selling the stamps to collectors. Refuse to buy bottled water...because it can cost up to 2,000 times as much as tap water...because we have access to safe drinking water in our community...because the majority of the bottles are never recycled! Watch for more details about this topic coming soon to our parish or find more on your computer by searching for ‘StoryofStuff.org/bottled water’. As Christians we are called to be stewards of the earth. We can each do our part to
protect and improve our environment. This is a matter of social justice.
St. Paul’s Airdrie CWL Executive: President – Stephanie Drebit President Elect – Mary Pat Roche 2nd Vice President—Karen Woolsey Past President – Cathy Buchanan Secretary – Doreen Thibeault Treasurer – Erin George
Chairpersons of Standing Committees: Spiritual Development – Hilda Chiste Christian Family Life – Rosanne Reinhart Community Life – Sharon Hagel Education & Health – Ann Marie Urdal Communications – Lise Blanchette Legislation & Resolutions — Karen Woolsey
Store Card Program….. Since you need groceries, gas, and household items every week, you could be helping to pay off the church debt by buying store cards from the Knights of Columbus after Mass. Superstore, Canadian Tire, Mark’s Work Warehouse and Home Depot are just a few of the retailers involved—pamphlets are available with a full list. The cards have been purchased at a bit of a discount, and you pay the regular retail price, which means the program earns money with each card you purchase. Even if you buy only one card in a small denomination, you will be helping to decrease our parish debt. Thank you for your support.
IT’S municipal ELECTION TIME!
Make sure you exercise your right and Christian responsi-
bility to VOTE in our upcoming municipal elections on
October 18th! In Airdrie last time, only 12% of eligible
voters cast ballots. There are people all over the world
who have given their lives to have this privilege. Don’t
take it for granted!