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Reports- London Diocese
|Convention
Report (Jul 09) |Annual Report
2008|
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Report to Provincial
Convention July 2009
Diocesan President Patricia Rivest
May our lips praise you, our lives
proclaim
your goodness, our work give you honour and our voices celebrate you
forever.
Madame Chair:
Our Diocesan theme – “Reaching Out to
One
Another” encourages and promotes an action to the National theme. The Diocese of London is proactive in all our
programmes. We are called to action – we
are called to serve.
Our first Diocesan Lenten Retreat was
held
in February of this year in London. What a success. As
this was the first year for this project,
I would have been pleased to see 50 or so members present.
We had 139 members in attendance….what a
great day….The facilitator was our Past Diocesan Spiritual Advisor,
Father
Peter Keller who led the morning with reflections of the Stations of
the Cross,
images and music. There were
expectations of hope as he reinforced how much we are loved and wanted
by our
God. In the afternoon, a washing of the
feet ceremony was presented. We sat in
groups of 12 and reflected on the apostles.
We had the opportunity to wash the feet of the
person next to us and
tell them that they were loved. We are
planning a 2nd Diocesan Lenten Retreat in another Region of the Diocese.
Our 89th Diocesan Convention was held in
April in Stratford for the first time in over 30 years.
A resolution was passed and will be presented
at this convention. Our new Diocesan
Spiritual Advisor, Father Matthew George, was installed at the
Reaffirmation
Mass. Faith, fun and fulfillment were
prominent throughout the convention.
Our executive retreat was held in June
where we explored the theme “Women of Peace and Hope” with reflections
on the
beatitudes. It was a wonderful time
together where we shared our faith and love for one another – as we
reached out
to one another.
A 2nd Annual Diocesan CWL day at the
Diocesan Shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary has been scheduled for all
members
for July 22nd. The members are looking
forward to this day of spirituality and friendship.
The 3 Fall Regional Days have been
scheduled. We will be having a
presentation of Palliative Care and how this care relates to our faith. Reference to Bill 384 will be discussed and
ideas presented as what we can do to ensure that palliative care is an
option
at the end of life. 2 workshops will be
presented – the election process and the position of Treasurer.
We continue to work with councils that
are
amalgamating and those that have closed.
We must be sympathetic to these members and listen
to what they have to
say.
Interactive and informal organization
and
leadership workshops continue to be given to the members throughout the
diocese. The councils have been very
pleased with these workshops and feel they have ownership of their
positions
and what is required of them.
As
this year has been proclaimed “Year of
the Priest”, we will be promoting the project “Adopt a Priest”.
As
Diocesan President, I hope to attend at St. Peter’s Seminary in London
and speak to
the Seminarians about the League.
Support and encouragement have been
given
to the councils to prepare their own Manual of Policy and Procedures. We are also encouraging the 7 Regions to
prepare their own Manual of Policy and Procedure.
As I read the reports from the councils
that were printed in our annual report book, it amazed and overwhelmed
me that
despite our aging membership and also the drop in membership, the
members still
accomplish so much for the parishes, the communities, the country and
those in
need all over the world.
Women of Peace and Hope – Rooted in
Faith –
Reaching Out to One Another” - This theme describes the members of the
Diocese
of London and the work they do for God and Canada.
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Annual Report 2008
President Patricia
M. Rivest
Spiritual Advisor
Father Peter
Keller
Members 13,050 Life Members 6
Councils 98
Regions 7
LOVE ONE ANOTHER – AS I HAVE LOVED YOU
Spiritual growth of our members was and continues to be a
focal point in the London Diocese. Many
councils had annual retreats and days of recollections and the majority
were
actively involved in ministries in their parishes.
Members participate in the liturgical life of
the parish as lectors, Eucharistic Ministers, ushers, teachers of the
sacraments to our children and in the RCIA. The
Diocesan Executive had an annual retreat that
gave them the
opportunity to spend time together, share their faith and grow in our
theme of
Love One Another – As I Have Loved You. Our 1st Annual CWL
Day at
Our Lady of the Rosary Shrine in Merlin was a great success with over
100
members attending. Although it rained
most of the day, we enjoyed the many blessings.
Membership was of great concern, with 2 councils
disbanding because of church and parish closings. Nevertheless,
councils are working diligently
and strong initiatives were planned to maintain existing members and
recruit
new members. Education of our members is
very vital for the continued growth of the councils.
Leadership/Organization workshops were
presented to train, support and encourage the members in executive
positions.
Four of our members received funds from the National
Bursary. Councils are pro-active
addressing health issues. Many of the
councils had guest speakers on various health concerns.
Councils are taking a hands-on approach when
it comes to the environment.
Our 3 Fall Regional Days were very successful. The
morning was a retreat on the Gifts of the
Eucharist while the afternoon was spent discussing the various
committees of
the League.
We are looking at a monumental challenge of preserving
over 90 years of history with limited space to store these records. An archival committee has been struck.
Councils have been very aware of the importance of
reviewing all resolutions and the action plans. Members
believe that legislation is putting
resolutions into
action. Many letters to the government
were
written as requested.
We were saddened by the death of Life Member, Edna
Bingham. Also, Life Member, Marie
DeBlois moved to the Sudbury
area. We will miss her warm smile and
joyful presence.
Members were very active in projects for the poor, the hungry,
the unemployed, the immigrant, the refugee and those without a voice in
the
communities, in the country and in the world. The
members lived the theme “Love One Another – As I
Have Loved You”. Our members are filled
with wisdom, strength,
generosity and love.
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