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PRESIDENT'S REPORTS AND MESSAGES

   

  


           

President's Message

January 2024

Connie Crichton

 

 

Happy New Year!

While I am sure we all enjoyed the mild November and December without snow on the ground, I must say there was a sense if something not quite right with not wearing snow boots going to Christmas Day Mass. I thought I might experience my first “brown” birthday but the snow came down just a few days before and just like that it was winter with a vengeance! Nothing like minus 45 with the wind chill to bring you back to the realities of winter.

 

Another reality is that now that the Christmas season has passed we need to get back to our work for the Catholic Women’s :League. When we do this, one thing we all need to remember is why we do what we do. It is for God and Canada. Given this we need to keep in mind that God comes first. The time we spend each day needs to include time for nurturing our relationship with God. This should follow through in all we do in our councils. God comes first.

 

Many councils are planning their activities for the next year. This planning should include time for prayer. It should also include discernment that considers abandoning those activities that no longer bring a sense of accomplishment and joy to our members and look for innovative ideas that will engage as many members as possible in different ways. You need to consider how the activities you are going to undertake, fit with our overall mission that “calls our members to grow in faith and to witness to the love of God through ministry and service.” To combine our theme with the January “1” Campaign promo – “Here I am Lord, send me”, I want to “Go out and make a difference!”

 


 

President's Message

May 2023

Connie Crichton

  

Song of Solomon 2:11-12 For behold, the winter is past; the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear
on the earth, the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.

  

Convention season is upon us and we have surely heard singing! To me there is nothing that sounds
more beautiful than hearing the voices of the women of the Catholic Women’s League join in song at a
convention or gathering. Many voices blended together in a way that only women’s voices sound. Such
is the work of our parish councils. Women coming together and doing the work in a way only women of
faith and service are able to do.

  

Summer will soon be upon us and now is a good time to start to make plans for the fall. After a summer
of taking care of gardens, vacations, reunions and relaxing, we will be ready to get back to the work of
the league.

  

Your provincial and diocesan council executives will be planning the Unity Project visits you heard
about in our last newsletter. Pick your date and perhaps combine a social to follow. Get out as many
members as you can. We need to hear all the voices and we are prepared to listen.

  

May is the month we honor Mary and I’m sure many rosaries will be prayed this month at council meetings.
I am holding all my CWL sisters in my prayers.

  

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President's Message

January 2023

  

Isaiah 43:18-19 “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland."

  

The cold of winter will soon be transitioning into the promise of spring. Many councils will have had elections to form new executive councils using the new structure. With this newness we can create a new vision that reflects each councils’ unique talents and possibilities. We can celebrate the successes of the past but know that we aren’t bound to old ways. We can create anew!

  

Spring will also bring an opportunity for members to attend conventions that are being planned by our diocesan councils. These meetings will be a time where members can hear about priorities identified for our league
work through reports and presentations concerning social issues that are a concern for Catholic women in Canada.

  

Our national organization has launched a new initiative, Unity Outreach! National, provincial, and diocesan executives will go through a series of visits that will culminate in in visits to parish councils. Many councils in
our province are in a crisis that is resulting from declining and aging membership, and lack of members willingness to take on leadership roles. How can we help? This is what the visits will try to address and come up
with some visible options for councils other than disbanding. Be ready and willing to participate in a visit. Be proactive and invite your diocesan executive to visit your council. If they don’t hear from you, you will hear
from them.

  

Guided by the Holy Spirit we will continue our work.

    

For God and Canada!

    

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CHRISTMAS MESSAGE

  Dec 2022

  

  

Peace on Earth

    

Rejoice in hope, endure in affliction, persevere in prayer.   Romans 12:12

  

This is a message we carry throughout the advent season. Now that we are celebrating the birth of Christ that hope is renewed, and we feel the joy of that birth and the promise it brings us. As we take the time to spend time with family and friends let us also make time for prayer. 

  

The Christmas season will lead us into a new year and a time of transition. We have prepared for this time with the same hope and trust that we experience during the advent season. While we acknowledge there are issues that need to be addressed, we remain confident that our league that is over one hundred years old, will continue in service to God and Canada. 

  

We will persevere in our prayer for renewal and remain in joyful hope for all that is to come in the New Year. May the peace of Christ and the celebration of His birth fill your homes with joy this Christmas season and take us into a promising new year!

  

Blessings,

Connie

   

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President's Message and Challenge

Connie Crichton, Provincial President

      Oct 2022

  

Like the seasons, our organization is changing. The passing of the proposed bylaws relating to the structures of the executive councils and the new or reorganization of duties will require some patience, education, and
of course praying. I encourage all parish councils to consult with their Diocesan
councils to navigate the transition.

  

Workshops are already underway with their purpose being to introduce the changes and promote the new resources available to assist parish councils in all aspects of our core values of Faith, Service, and Social Justice.

  

While the changes have long been anticipated by our members, the implementation of the changes will require a transition period. A document has been created to explain how the transition from the six old standing committees condenses to the three new standing committees of Faith, Service and Social Justice. This newsletter contains the document content.

  

Each parish council is made up of a unique combination of gifts that their members possess. Take time to have a prayer service to pray for the intercession of our patroness, Our Lady of Good Counsel and to send the Holy Spirit to guide your discernment in how to best use these gifts.

  

In my first president’s message I introduced the theme for the next two years, “Walking Together” and offered ways that councils can embrace the journey. In 2023, the provincial council will be cele-brating it’s 75th anniversary. We haven’t been able to do much celebrating these past two years so I am sure everyone will be ready to celebrate this occasion.

  

To add to our celebrations, I am asking each council, in the next six months, to find some way to heighten awareness of Indigenous history and residential schools. In addition, if each council would fundraise $100.00, we could combine these funds to donate to the TRC Healing Response for our province.
Councils are asked to send their cheques to the Provincial Council Treasurer along with a story about the activity (s) your council found to do with your members. The total of the donations will then be presented to the Bishops at our Provincial Convention.

  

The stories can be sent to provcwlcommunications@gmail.com.

  

I can’t wait to hear the responses to the challenge. May the Holy Spirit provide you with guidance on this journey!

      

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2022 National Convention Oral Report

Connie Crichton - Saskatchewan Provincial President

  

I am honoured to be representing the 5,200 plus members of 124 councils in three dioceses in the province of Saskatchewan. While during the summer of 2021, Saskatchewan experienced a severe drought, 2022 has brought much needed rain and moisture for our prairie lands. This is not unlike the renewal we now are feeling in our parishes since we are again able to meet in person. We hope this will bear new fruit for our councils.

 

Our diocesan presidents have worked hard to reach out to all councils through the Staying Connected project. Feedback was very positive, and it was reassuring to hear of the many ways parish councils were keeping their members connected through phone calls, newsletters, and gratitude cards. To assist with the project, our provincial council offered to reimburse postage. It was money well spent.

 

In the first few weeks of my term as President, St. Joseph’s Council in Moose Jaw invited me to attend their 100th anniversary. It was a wonderful way to embark on the future with a reminder of all the successes of the past. This council also is in it’s second year of having a  Catholic Girls’ League.

 

I would like to acknowledge two members from Saskatchewan who have completed the Catholic Women’s Leadership Program this spring, Tina Claxton, and Ann Donald. There have also been another four women from our province selected for the 2022 cohort. We also have six members who have participated in Implementation working groups, Janette Rieger, Linda Maddeford Margo de la Gorgendiere, Rosalie Boots, Diane Cote, and myself.

 

Our Spiritual Advisor, Fr. Peter Nnanga MSP, has been very active in his role and has encouraged other priests to be involved with their councils. He has also reminded us to treat our Spiritual advisors well by praying for them, acknowledging special anniversaries, and including them in celebrations. He has written weekly reflections on the Sunday readings for our provincial Facebook page since April of 2020. We have been blessed.

 

As we begin to emerge from our pandemic cocoons, we are seeing the good works of our councils slowly resuming. There were, however, councils able to continue on despite the health  restrictions. Prince Albert Diocesan councils took part in an outreach project for a northern community collecting and donating needed supplies. At the in-person convention in North Battleford, were a group of women interested in forming a new council in an Indigenous community. A parish council that began a Spiritual Motherhood of priests has grown into a regional project. Certainly signs of bearing new fruits.

 

Our Saskatoon Diocesan councils also were busy raising money for IWIN, a project that assists women who are leaving the sex trade. Combining a Red Sand Service, which brings awareness to human trafficking, with fund raising events, parishes have raised over $2,400.00 to provide back packs containing basic supplies. The Saskatoon Diocese has also used virtual technology to hold an Advent and  Lenten retreat that members from across the province attended virtually. The Saskatoon Diocesan council was also able to hold an in-person convention in Macklin. The Regina Diocesan council held a hybrid annual meeting of members, with most attending virtually. A resolution presented by St. Joseph’s council, from Indian Head, was adopted at this meeting as well as at the Provincial convention.

 

At our Provincial Convention banquet, President Chantal Devine’s theme “Inclusion” was certainly evident. The  special guest was our Lieutenant Governor, his Honour Russ Morriesty,  a member of the Lac la Ronge Indian Band who began his talk in his first language, Woodland Cree. The banquet entertainment was a Filipino singing group who sang songs in Tagalog and our Provincial Spiritual Advisor, Fr. Peter Nnanga MSP, sang the closing prayer in his native African language. Truly the richness of our diversity in the province was present at this gathering. The mass collection was sent to the Archdiocese of Regina to be added to the fund for covering costs for the Papal visit.

 

Our diocesan councils are committed to provide our parish council members with workshops and information sessions as we see them eager to hear about all the resources produced by the working groups as well as information on what the future holds. Also looking to the future, we will adopt Pope Francis’s theme for his visit to Canada, “Walking Together” and will be encouraging our parish councils to find opportunities to engage their members in walking the road of reconciliation and building God’s kingdom here on earth.

 

This concludes my report.

  

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Our Provincial Catholic Women’s League Theme 

“Walking Together” 

Connie Crichton, Provincial President

      July 2022

   

  “How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!” Psalm 133:1 

  

As I embark on my two-year term as your provincial president, I feel humbled to represent our provincial members at our national table. I have come to know many faith-filled, justice seeking women of service in my relatively short time as a Catholic Women’s League member. I find it hard to see myself  measuring up to those who have gone before me. I can assure you though that I will do my best, with God’s help.  

  

Thank you to all those who have said “YES” to being part of the provincial council and diocesan council leadership. You have let the Holy Spirit inspire you and you in turn will now inspire others.  

  

I have chosen “Walking Together” as a theme I would like to have for the next two years. I had decided on this a while before it was revealed as the theme for Pope Francis’ visit to Canada, While I debated on changing my theme I decided to stick with it. This theme flows naturally from our past years theme of “Inclusion” and signifies our resolve to work on building relationships with others, within our councils, our parishes, our communities, and our country. 

  

For many of us, we have spent the past two and some years journeying down some pretty lonesome paths. As we now are beginning to gather face to face, perhaps it is time to consider just how we can best show that we are “Catholic and living it”. While reconciliation and walking together with our Indigenous brothers and sisters is of the utmost importance, we also must consider many others we need to walk with in our journey forward.  

  

We are now heading into the summer months; however, it is never too early to think about September and getting back to the work of the League. Now is the time to start that planning. 

  

First, we must bring our councils together. Some may have been having difficulties even before the pandemic, others may have been doing well but lost their momentum, and others may have been fortunate enough to find ways to continue on despite the restrictions. Every council is as unique as the individuals that make up its membership. What will work for one council may not work for another. Begin with an evening of prayer. Talk about what might work the best to get your council going again. Many new resources have been created in the last two years. Our diocesan and provincial councils are prepared to help you use them. Invite them to come and give you a hand. We will walk with you. 

  

Second, we must let our parishes know we are still around. Many of our churches have not filled up. Let us fill it with our members and have a CWL Sunday. Ask your parish priest to speak on the value of being a CWL member. Is there a project that your council could undertake that would involve all of the parish? Look around and see who you can invite to join. Many have said they never considered joining because no one ever asked them. 

  

Third, look for opportunities there may be in your community to get to know more about Indigenous history and residential schools. Is there a cultural event you could attend? Invite other members of your council to come with you or have a guest speaker at your parish. Are there outreach services that you could assist in ministering to the needs of those less fortunate? 

  

I will be looking forward to hearing about all the activities you will be embarking upon in these next two years. Please invite me to share them with you. Share the results in reports and pictures to the website, by emailing provcwlcommunications@gmail.com

  

We will be walking together, building relationships, being Catholic and Living it! 

   

Connie Crichton

  

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