NCCW Members Approve New Bylaws
National Council of Catholic Women at 200 N. Glebe Road, Suite 703, Arlington, VA 22203 US - NCCW Speed Read February 2008
|
NCCW Speed Read
February 2008
|
 |
Church
►You know that February is Black History Month, but did you know that November is Black Catholic History Month? Visit the website of the Office of Black Catholics, Archdiocese of Washington, DC, www.adw.org/cultures/officeblack.asp, and click on Black History Month at the bottom of the page to read about black Catholics and black culture in the history of the Church. Begin now to plan your own observance of Black Catholic History Month.
►March is Women’s History Month. As Catholic women let’s make this month our own. One way to do this is to identify an outstanding Catholic woman in history and invite a speaker to give an educational talk about her to your council, affiliate, or parish. What about St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, wife, mother of five, convert, founder of the Daughters of Charity, and originator of Catholic education in the United States, who made significant contributions to the Church, to education, and to the history of women in America? Other possibilities are Sr. Thea Bowman, Dorothy Day, or the woman patron saint of your parish. You can obtain a video program on the Three Women Doctors of the Church – Sts. Catherine of Siena, Teresa of Avila and Therese of Lisieux – developed by the Arlington, Virginia DCCW and available through the national office for $20. If an educational program isn’t your bag, your council could sponsor a bulletin insert during March that gives some background on women saints or other exemplary Catholic women.
**********
Community
►Making “Talents” Grow. The Catholic Spirit, the diocesan publication of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, ran a "Pay It Forward for Lent" contest to identify ways of exercising the good stewardship of the Gospel during Lent. They asked readers to state in no more than 300 words how they - individually or as a group of friends, family or co-workers - would use their talents to "grow" $100 to help as many people as possible this Lent. The Spirit said it would select up to three ideas and give $100 to the author of each winning submission to put his or her ideas into action. The winners would have the 40 days of Lent to "pay it forward" and make a positive difference.
So many ideas were submitted that The Catholic Spirit ended up choosing six winners, thanks to the generosity of an anonymous donor. The paper announced the winning projects as:
Three siblings who will use the $100, to buy 100 mini M&M tubes. They will give the tubes to friends – one to a person -- and ask them to eat the M&Ms and fill up the empty plastic tube with quarters by the end of Lent. Each tube holds $14 in quarters, so by Easter they will have $1,400 to donate to charity.
Another child who will host a Lenten breakfast and reflection to raise money for the school library. She has set up a mother-daughter breakfast for Saturday, March 8 at a cost of $10, with one of the parish priests as guest speaker.
A teacher at an area Catholic school who will use her award to purchase and sell vigil candles that would be used for a school prayer vigil to remember those who live in poverty. Students also will gather for weekly prayer and collect money throughout Lent: pennies the first week, nickels the second week, then dimes, quarters, and dollars. The money will go to Feed My Starving Children, which will come to the school with a mobile packing unit so the students can pack the food their money bought.
A group of second-graders who will make Easter crafts, using the $100 to buy materials. Proceeds will go to Catholic Charities of St. Paul and Minneapolis.
A 10-year-old girl who will make and sell bookmarks and donate the proceeds to Feed My Starving Children.
A fifth-grade class who will buy Bandabead bracelets and necklaces from Uganda and sell them to raise money to help women and children in Uganda. They also will spend time making other jewelry and crafts with their own supplies.
Tuck this project away for next Lent, or use it as a pre-Thanksgiving or an Advent project later this year. Your council could provide seed money of $50 or $100 and promote it through your parish’s school and CCD program.
►The Christian anti-hunger organization Bread for the World is accepting applications from committed persons 18-35 years old to become “Hunger Justice Leaders”. Those selected will be brought to Washington, DC for training June 14-17, 2008 to prepare them to partner with Bread for the World in its efforts against hunger and poverty. If you know a bright, committed young person who wants to make a difference in the world, urge him or her to seek more information at http://www.bread.org. Applications will be accepted at www.bread.org/training until March 15, 2008.
**********
Family
► The U.S. Bishops’ Committee on Marriage and Family Life was established in 1987 to assist the Bishops' Conference to respond to contemporary issues facing marriage and family life. It undertakes educational and pastoral initiatives in collaboration with the Pontifical Council for the Family, other Conference committees, diocesan and parish leadership networks, and ecclesial movements, national groups, and organizations. For information on the Committee and the bishops’ Pastoral Initiative on Marriage, visit http://www.usccb.org/laity/marriage. As part of your prayer and reflection this Lent, you may also want to read Pope John Paul II’s 1994 Letter to Families, available at http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/letters/documents/hf_jp-ii_let_02021994_families_en.html.
►Among the resources to be found on the USCCB Lenten Resources webpage is a wealth of material on prayer, Scripture, Lenten devotions, and almsgiving opportunities especially geared for families. Visit the Lenten Resources home page, www.usccb.org/lent and choose an idea or two to enrich your family’s observance of Lent.