Catholic Women's League of Saskatchewan

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Saskatchewan Provincial Catholic Women's League Convention 2011


Claire Verret


On June 6th & 7th I attended the 63rd annual Provincial CWL Convention – this year held in Battleford, SK. It was my first provincial convention, and definitely an uplifting experience. As the lone rep from our council, I’ll share my notes with you all!


St Vital Parish hosted the event, which was well organized, focusing on our new theme, “Centred on Faith and Justice.” Monday morning registrations were followed by the opening ceremonies, introductions and greetings. Then theme presenter Lorraine Hartsook took centre stage.


Lorraine Hartsook Address

An energetic entertainer, Ms Hartsook challenged us all to be “real” – to have a real living relationship with God.


R reminds us to Rise Up in Faith.


Pope Benedict has said that spiritual poverty is worse than material poverty. We are in an age of individualism (“What’s in it for me?”), hedonism (“If it feels good, do it.”) and minimalism (“What’s the least I can do and still receive the maximum reward?”) Is it any wonder we are spiritually poor? We are the role models for our youth. We need them to see us reading a bible, see us praying in restaurants, expressing our faith...


E reminds us to Embrace Our Cross.


Here Lorraine shared her own personal tragedies – 12 miscarriages – and encouraged us to surrender control. We may not be able to change our situation, but God can change us.


A reminds us to Awaken the Soul.


Our thoughts affect our actions; what we feel affects what we choose. We need to take every thought captive, and make it obey Christ! In the gospels, the phrase “Be not afraid” appears so many times, yet it is still such a dominant emotion in our lives: fear of change, of criticism, of loss, of being ourselves. And anger is an expression of our fears. She reminded us that joy produces strength, and when we blame others, we give up our power to change. All things are possible with God. Be self-aware and, “Never give the devil a ride, cause he’ll always want to drive.”


L = Love Without Limits.


We need to enact the golden rule in our lives, to see Christ in one another. This is the way to Christian unity, and to the healing and restoration of women everywhere.


Fr Francis Hengen’s Welcome

As our provincial spiritual advisor, Fr Francis noted that “faith” and “justice” are powerful words, but they must be more than just words. He encouraged us to study our CWL values and our archives, and be proud of how we’ve addressed the concerns of women over the years. With four past national presidents and our current one (Velma Harasen) from Saskatchewan, we have a history of service beyond the local level. But we need to be inclusive, and approach others to serve – especially as we prepare for the national convention to be held in Regina in two years.


National President’s Greetings

Velma Harasen received a very warm welcome from the members. She is particularly inspired by our current theme, and wondered if we are too used to the suffering of others... In her CWL travels she has seen many positive responses. In Alberta, for example, their Mass collection raised $1500 for the victims of the Slave Lake fire. Campaigns such as “Pennies for Poverty,” “Nickels for the North,” and our “Change for Change” project are other good examples. Velma also challenged us to bring in new members, and to take on executive positions. As others will attest, the time goes by so fast, and “…you’ll learn so much!”


Other Highlights


  1. As of May 31st, we received over $25,000 in memberships, for a final book balance of $58,541.
  2. The Prince Albert Diocese (Pres. Mary Anne Kramchynsky) feels we should promote spiritual development and sisterhood, and find ways to make membership more of a blessing than a burden.
  3. Highlights for the Regina Archdiocese (outgoing President Mary Bibliw) included the 100th Anniversary celebrations in Regina; the publication of 100 Faith Stories; the 85th anniversary of the Weyburn St Vincent de Paul Council and their resolution against chrysotile asbestos; and the election of a full executive at the recent convention in Yorkton, including Chantal Devine as president.
  4. Susan Melchiorre, President of the Saskatoon Diocese, reported their CWL Clothing Depot had raised $25,000 for charity. They are proud to have 15 charter members still active in one council, and are pleased that Claire Heron has been appointed their new spiritual director.
  5. Tillie Aessie reported on organization. She loves online registrations! National is now at 86,463 members, while our province has 7,415 paid up members (the most coming from Saskatoon Diocese). She reminded us of leadership training programs at every level, and that subsidies are available for workshops and seminars.
  6. In her Christian Family Life report, Monica Beavis touched on the conference on euthanasia prevention in Vancouver, World Youth Day in Spain, our need to address single vocations, and the crisis in elder care, which will soon surpass the need for child care! She thanked all councils who participated in the “Change for Change” initiative. She also suggested positive ways to treat panhandlers, and encouraged us to step out of our comfort zones in working against poverty, and providing stability for the mentally ill.
  7. Marlene Schnell’s Community Life report called for more investment in social security, and an emphasis on housing, child care and tax fairness. She directed us to the website on Dignity for All (www.dignityforall.ca), and noted that SK has no plan to tackle poverty. A successful venture has been Visitation House in Regina, supported by lots of CWL volunteers and donations from Sobey’s.
  8. Jean Reader presented a resolution that we “...urge the federal government to immediately establish a Nuclear Fuel Waste Management Agency... to be at arm’s length from Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd, the producers and current owners of the fuel wastes.” Carried. Jean said we must not rest on our laurels, but write letters. Be clear and polite; you can use the same words as each other, but mail letters separately.
  9. In Communications, Helen Kayfish challenged us to use new technologies to communicate our choices, our witness. Social media can present dangers, but also be a source of positive encounters and potential friendships. However, virtual contact must not replace personal contact. “Who is my neighbour?”
  10. In her Education & Health report, Marge Szabo affirmed that SK’s main issue is affordable housing for singles, low-income families and seniors. She encouraged us to get the facts, have poster contests in schools, continue with clothing donations, volunteer with food distribution, advocate for immigrant families, help with Habitat for Humanity, and contact our MLAs. Let them know we want action!
  11. Legislation chair Marcella Pedersen emphasized that we must be the watchdogs in a majority government situation. She was disappointed that the throne speech focused on creating more prisons, though increased incarceration doesn’t reduce crime rates; that the long-gun registry will come to an end despite support from police and women; that funding for jet fighters outweighs that for medicare; that Canada’s reputation for environmentalism has suffered; and that there is NO mention of fighting poverty. Have you written your MP yet?
  12. Yvonne Colleaux in Archives finds our history interesting, informative and inspiring. She reminds us to keep minutes of all executive and general meetings, lists of presidents and spiritual advisors, and lists of service pin recipients – all with dates!
  13. As Life Member Liaison, Joan Petracek reported that we now have 16 life members in SK. To qualify, you have to have been a provincial president and have served at other levels.

Theme Workshop


Tuesday’s highlight was a presentation by Fr Ed Hengen and Vivian Bosch on our new theme. Through a mix of visuals, music and compelling testimony, the duo inspired us to live our lives in helping others – Centred on Faith and Justice.


The work of achieving these goals takes place at the bottom of the ladder, through teamwork and compassion. Injustice shows its face in many ways, so we must always have our lamps lit, to be ready when God presents the opportunity.


We were challenged to reflect on our faith, to be willing to see God at work in others – in their needs and ideas, their hopes and plans, as well as in themselves. Faith is a life-long gift, an awareness that we are part of something vast, beyond our control. As we learn to forego our own needs and understand God’s way, we will accept to go where we are sent.


This means including others, involving others, communicating with the poor, taking responsibility, taking risks, political involvement...


We are called beyond ourselves, to think, feel and act like Christ. We can do this by advocating for the millions of people that are homeless, by showing respect for our natural resources and sharing them, by listening to the perspective of the poor.


The workshop also shared from Fr Ron Rolheiser’s The Holy Longing, where he showed how justice differs from charity:

  • Charity is about handing a hungry person a loaf of bread, while justice is about trying to change the system so that nobody has excess bread while some have none;
  • Charity is about helping specific victims of war; justice is about trying to change the things in the world that ultimately lead to war;
  • Charity is appeased when some rich person gives money to the poor; justice asks why one person can be that rich when so many are poor.

The session ended with Johnny Reid’s powerful video, Today, I’m Gonna Try and Change the World.


A suitable message, indeed!