Newsletter 2017 Jan-Feb

Posted On 23rd Jan 2017

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Spiritual Advisor

Fr. Oliver Iwuchukwu CSSp.

2017-2018 Executive

President

Lucia Vacca

President Elect/ Organization & Membership

Treasurer

Marla Tanuan

Secretary

Ju-Ann Miranda

Spiritual Development

Mai Tran

Christian Family Life

Kim Deans

Community Life

Danielle Giggie

Communications

Tania Mascarenhas

Education & Health

Hyacinth Fernandes

Resolution & Legislation

Christine Lorenz

President Historian

Ingrid Hart

As we begin a New Year may the Holy Spirit guide and inspire you to serve Him with your many talents. God Bless.

The Catholic Women’s League of Canada has a mission statement, but as Catholic Women our mission is to belong to the organization and to serve God & Canada, using our God given gifts that we have been so richly Blessed with to help those in need by raising our voices for Social Justice.

Dear sisters in the League, it is my honour to once again serve as your president for St. Joseph Highland Creek Council. I am a dedicate and committed member of the League of 20 years, having served at our Parish as President-Elect 2005-2006, President 2007-2008 and Past-President 2009-2010, as well as on the Scarborough Region as Chair and Historian and the Toronto Diocesan Council as Corresponding Secretary, Spiritual Development Chair and Communications Chair. I promise to do my very best to serve as President for the term 2017-2018. I ask for your prayers as we journey with our new National theme “Inspired by the Spirit Women Respond to God’s Call”.

Our Council in its 64th year was chartered on November 5th, 1953. Much has been accomplished over the years by the work of so many amazing committed women. We have a brand new team of executives who are enthusiastic and willing to serve our Council. We need your support and understanding as we plan and execute events. Your attendance to meetings is crucial, as decisions are being made and we invite you to participate in this process. We will continue with some of the previous events, but we encourage you to give us your thoughts to make our meetings more fruitful. Looking forward to, seeing more of you at our monthly meetings. Taking this opportunity to Thank the outgoing executives, for their commitment, faithful service to our Parish Council and the League. We are looking forward to their continued support for the success of our Council.

May we always imitate and invoke our patroness, Our Lady of Good Counsel, in directing us to promote the League to the best of our ability.

Lucia

Dove

Holy Spirit – advocate, counsellor, intercessor

Cloud & Light

living, saving God of glory

Fire

transforming energy of Pentecost

Disciples

CWL members, responding joyfully to God’s call in word and action

Cross, Anchor & Heart

Faith – lived, professed, witnessed and spread
Hope – strength to sustain and preserve us
Love – the first and greatest of all virtues

Spirit of the Living God open our hearts and minds to experience the unconditional love of God.

Empower us with the gifts of your Spirit so that we may respond to God’s call in joyful service.

Inspire and bless the members of the Catholic Women’s League so that the fruits of your Spirit may be evident in all that we say and do.

Amen

We Welcome Our New Members

Maria Luz Puno
Valerie Pais
Virgilia Pazzano
Lisa Bartram

Membership Renewal

Membership Renewal is now OVERDUE! Please complete the Membership form and return it as soon as possible to any of the executive members or the Parish Office. You may also drop it in the collection baskets at any Mass. Forms are available at all exits in the CWL slots. Please be sure to clearly mark your envelope: “CWL MEMBERSHIP” and if you are writing a cheque, please make it payable to: St. Joseph’s CWL

Development Day

Development Day presented by the Toronto Diocesan Council is on Saturday, February 11th, 8:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at Christo Rei (Christ the King) Parish Hall. The theme for this workshop is “Inspired by the Spirit, Women Respond to God’s Call” Keynote Speaker: St. John Mary from Sisters of Life, Toronto.

The cost is $10.00 but FREE to our members as it is covered by our council. Remember to bring a brown bag lunch.

This is a popular event and pre-registration is a MUST. Please contact Marla Tanuan ASAP if you wish to attend 416-209-8659

Parish Executive Training

Parish Executive Training will be held at St. Joseph’s on Saturday March 4th Room 2 from 9:30 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. (Bring your lunch).

You will learn the roles of the Executive team, effective planning, getting organized, Leadership in the League and more…

This training session is open to all members and executives.

Call to register:Lucia 416-283-3536 before February 27th.

Go to www.cwltoronto.ca under Scarborough Region for additional information.

My name is Mai Tran, wife of Deacon Vinh Tran. I have been with St. Joseph’s Highland Creek since 2010. I have been involved in the RCIA program for a couple of years, and at present am a member of the 9:00 a.m. Sunday Mass’ choir and also serving as the Eucharistic Minister at the 11:00 a.m. Mass. I am currently working for Centenary Hospital in the Finance Department.

My wish is to share with the community the gifts that I have received from God and to put in use the skills that I have, for the services of my brothers and sisters as Christ followers.

Hello! my name is Hyacinth Fernandes and I am a teacher with the Toronto Catholic district school board. I teach French and have a great love of languages and share this love with my students as much as I can. I have been a parishioner of St Josephs for more than 10 years and have served on many ministries such as Sunday school, children’s liturgy at the 11.00 am mass, confirmation classes and lector. I believe that church is much more than attending mass on a Sunday.

To me church is community and I try to help in this community as best as I can. I am honoured to be on the executive this year and look forward to working with my peers to make the coming 2 years the best ever!

Happy New Year 2017!

A blessed New Year to you all. I am once again pleased to serve our council as your Treasurer for the next 2 years. Having been a part of St. Joseph’s since 2000, my family and I have grown to love this community and every person who forms it. Our family has been very involved in our parish community and with various ministries ever since. As a Treasurer, I am once again able to put to use my God-given talent as an Accountant. I look forward to serving the League to the best of my abilities.

Fall Bazaar

Our Fall Bazaar, which was held on November 19, 2016, was once again a huge success – thanks to Our Lord for the wonderful weather; to all the untiring Sisters in the League and to the dedicated volunteers who shared their time, talents and treasures. Our heartfelt thanks go as well for the assistance of our Brothers at the Knights of Columbus who never fail to lend us a helping hand at our events. May God reward you all richly. This Bazaar enabled us to raise a whopping $8,595.05 in gross revenues. A summary of the revenues from each area are as follows:

Much thanks and appreciation goes as well to all the patrons who supported us at this fundraiser. We hope to see you again at this year’s upcoming Heritage Day and Fall Bazaar. God bless you all for your generosity.

Hello, I am Danielle Giggie, your new Community Life Chair. I am 54 years old, retired Elementary School Librarian, for 6 years now. I am married to Ed for 32 years this April. We have 4 children, a son and 3 daughters. We are also grandparents to our 9 month grandson, Bowen.

I have been an active member at St. Josephs CWL for 13 years. I have previously been on the CWL executive as Health and Education chair. I have been on and also am presently on a few other Ministries, including St. Vincent DePaul, Eucharistic Minister, Marriage Prep and Soup Kitchen services. I visit shut-ins and have been involved in Girl Guides of Canada for the past 32 years.

I am looking forward to growing with all my sisters in the league, over the next 2 years. Keeping you all informed in Community Life in and around our Parish, community and our world.

I joined St. Joseph’s Parish in 1998 and joined the Catholic Church through RCIA in 2000. I have two boys at St. John Paul II school and work in IT project management.

I have been involved in church life; being a lector and running the St. Joseph’s Bowling fundraiser but this is the first time I have been in the CWL executive and am looking forward to handling the Catholic Family Life chair.

On Monday, December 12th, we held our Advent Pot Luck Social. We celebrated the season with many CWL sisters in attendance and guests all who enjoyed the delicious food at the Potluck. On this special night, we presented Lucia Vacca as the 2016 recipient of the St. Joseph’s Betty Anne Brown Davidson Award of Honour. Lucia also received the Nativity Star Pendant and a Certificate as well as $100 to a charity of her choice – Sisters of Life. As well, 29 members received their respective years of service pins. Thank you to all for your generous donations of men’s socks and underwear for the Good Shepherd Center.

[easytable th=false colwidth=”20%|80%” delimiter=”|” caption=””]
40 Year Pins|Mary Kelly, Winifred Martin
35 Year Pin|Grace Beardsworth
30 Year Pins|Pam Canham, Yoshiko Huang, Jean Lewis, Suanne O’Neil, Lintoy Sahadath
25 Year Pins|Maria Steger, Philomena Traynor
20 Year Pins|Majorie Herrera, Cynthia Menezes, Lucia Vacca
10 Year Pins|Ann Anthony, Anita Anthony, Therese Baduria, Nicole Corrado, Rosemer Enverga, Marilena Florio, Patricia Furtado, Patricia Hall, Mary Karawaju, Leela Kinoshita, Maureen McGrath-Corrado, Rose Rozinka, Josie Troccoli, Anna Vigliatore
5 Year Pin|Lovina D’Souza[/easytable]

Greetings CWL Sisters of St. Joseph’s!

My name is Christine Lorenz and I have the pleasure to introduce myself as your newly elected Legislation and Resolutions Chair for the next two years. I was very honoured to have been asked to join the Executive team even though I have not been a visible member of the CWL.

I have been a parishioner of St. Joseph’s since 1997, and a silent member of the CWL since 2011. It was only this past summer at the Heritage Festival that I volunteered for the first time. I also joined the St. Joe’s lector group in September. I have so much to learn about all of the exciting events and activities that our CWL offers.

I am looking forward to serving on the CWL Executive, but most importantly to share with our sisters what legislation and resolutions our CWL women from across Canada, our province and our neighbouring parishes are working towards to make a difference in the lives of all Canadians.

I have been married to my husband Peter for the past 20 years. We have a son, Eric who is 19 and a daughter, Emma who is 17. Both of my children were baptized at St. Joe’s, and attended Sunday School where they received their Sacraments of Reconciliation, Eucharist and Confirmation. I am an elementary school teacher with the Toronto Catholic District School Board where I have been employed for the past 12 years. Previous to working as a teacher I was employed by the City of Toronto Parks and Recreation and Public Health Departments. I hold an Honours Bachelor of Arts, a Bachelor of Education and a Master’s of Education degree. My interests include gardening, knitting, singing, and a lot of Pinterest pinning on a variety of subjects.

My name is Ju-Ann Miranda and have been a parishioner with St. Joseph for 7 years. I studied at St. Joseph’s Convent school in Mumbai and am happy to be associated with my patron saint again. I have been a CWL member for 5 years. My husband is in the Knights of Columbus and my daughter Seanne is an Altar server. I like this parish as we support many activities, and our CWL sisters are also very active in our parish as we do a lot of charitable work for our community which inspired me to join CWL.

Hi, my name is Tania Mascarenhas; my family & I have been parishioners at St. Joseph’s since 2009 when we first immigrated from India to Canada. Both my husband and I have tried to be actively involved in the Parish, and St. Joseph’s in turn has given us the much needed love, support and friends that anyone new to Canada is always happy to have!! We have just celebrated our 25 years of marriage and are blessed with a son who is 24 and a daughter who is 19.

I have served as Chair for Spiritual Development in 2014, and it was an amazing learning experience for me. I am excited to be serving again as Chair for Communications and from past experience I know that we will always have the support of the previous CWL executives if needed.

Two years ago when I accepted the President’s position I was the NKTB (New Kid on The Block) as I had no prior executive experience. The past two years have been a learning and enriching time in my life, but also humbling, gratifying and rewarding as I look back at what our council has achieved. It has been a great privilege and honour to be the president of this council. We have clothed the naked, fed the hungry and gave hope to people who thought no one cared. With greeting cards that were mailed to the Indigenous people living on a reservation in northern Alberta filled with words of hope and encouragement. In several places in the bible Jesus said to us, ‘to love and serve one another’ and our council has surely demonstrated that.

I thank you for your generous and unwavering support especially on our projects. You were ready and willing when asked. St. Joseph’s Highland Creek Council, we have made a difference in peoples’ lives I am so proud to be a member of this council. I look forward to serving you and our new executive team as your Past President.

Thank you once again and may God bless you and your families abundantly for caring, for your kindness and your generosity. May you and your families have a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year.

Scarborough Region Winter Event

This event will take place on Saturday January 28th at Precious Blood Parish Hall (1737 Lawrence Ave. E) from 9:30a.m.-2:30p.m. Bring your own lunch. Speaker will be Fr. Xavier De Pinto – all members are welcome to attend. Cost is $5.00 but free to our members. Please contact: Lucia 416-283-3536 if you are planning to attend.

Ordinandi Spiritual Bouquet

We will be gathering as Spiritual Bouquets for the soon to be Ordained. This is a collection of prayers, Masses, Rosaries and other forms of prayer collected throughout the Toronto Diocese and presented to the Ordinandi at the annual dinner. These prayers are not paid offerings and there is no time limit. It is open to all and we start at any time. Your form for collecting spiritual offerings is attached to this newsletter. Please note: it is due by February 15, 2017 and can be dropped into the collection baskets, placed in CWL mailbox or handed in personally.

The Ordinandi are delighted when a Spiritual Bouquet is presented to each candidate as this is a wonderful gift that shows how much support they have in their vocation to become Priests. Letters and forms have been distributed to all the Parish Ministries and our Parish Schools asking for their participation and we will be asking for your help in collecting prayer commitments from our Parish Community after all Masses one weekend in January or February. Please contribute.

Ordinandi Dinner 2017

The annual celebration of the Ordinandi Dinner and program is in its 27th year. It will be held on Tuesday March 07, 2016 at the Pearson Convention Centre (plenty of free parking) 2638 Steeles Ave. E. Brampton @ Airport Road. Please contact Marla Tanuan at 416-209-8569 if you are interested in attending this event.

World Day of Prayer 2017

World Day of Prayer is an annual international ecumenical Christian celebration where 170 countries come together through prayer and traditions of their country. The Philippines is the host country for 2017 and the theme this year is ‘Am I Being Unfair to You’ The celebration is generally held the first Friday of March. Details for our community will be shared at a later date.

2017 Catholic Women’s League Contests and Competitions

Packages for the Mary Mathews Public Speaking contest & Mary Dobell Essay and Poetry contests were given to the school principals of the following schools: Cardinal Leger, St. Brendan, St. Dominic Savio and St. Jean de Brebeuf. The principal of St. John Paul II Secondary School was given packages for the Jean McCann Service award for youth, and for the St. Michael’s Scholarship.

We wish our Parish and students good luck as they participate in the 2017 youth contests

Line Dancing

Come out and enjoy a weekly night of Line Dancing on Wednesday nights from 7:00 to 9:00pm in room #2 during the months of January, February, March, April, May and June. The request for this popular event has been overwhelming. It’s a great way to stay fit and have fun for only $2.00!!! Just as before, there will be a professional instructor to guide us through the moves. All are welcome to attend so bring your friends and prepare to enjoy your Wednesday nights!! Details are on the bulletin boards at the parish.

Good Shepherd Provide-a-Meal Program

The Good Shepherd Provide-a-Meal program has been active in our parish for over 20 years and is supported by many other parishes in Toronto, each providing their own casserole meals to the Good Shepherd Refuge on Queen Street in downtown Toronto. Our CWL Sister Annie Alkins and her husband Peter have been organizing St. Joseph’s efforts in this meal program for many, many years, out of a desire to be of service and to also offer fellow parishioners an easy way to make a difference in the lives of those less fortunate. You are being invited to “feed the hungry” by your support of this rewarding program.

The Good Shepherd is a safe space for the marginalized in the downtown Toronto community. It is a drop in centre where a hot meal is always available to anyone in need. The centre serves over 1300 meals a day, making it the largest meal program in the city of Toronto. It also provides a range of other services, including access to pastoral care, counseling, gently used clothing and just over 90 fully booked beds for men’s overnight stay.

How the program works…….

They provide you the casserole container and recipe; (beef and macaroni casseroles)
You prepare the same beef and macaroni casserole once per month;
Keep some for your family – it’s delicious!
Freeze the casserole
Drop off the frozen casserole on dates specified between 9:30 and 10:00 after the Saturday morning mass at the west parking lot. Drop off dates: Feb 4, March 4, April 1, May 6, June 3, July 8, Sept 9, Oct 7, Nov 4, Dec 2.
Pick up an empty container when you do the drop off.
You’re done!

If you are interested, please call Annie Alkins 416 283-7420

CWL Book Club

The C.W.L. Book Club meets the third Wednesday of the month at 7:00 p.m. Please contact : Jackie (416-266-4604) for more details. These are the books we will discuss:

[easytable th=true colwidth=”10%|35%|35%|10%|10%” delimiter=”|” caption=”Books we will discuss…”]
Month|Book|Author|Year|No.of pages
Feb.|The Headmaster’s Wager|Vincent Lam|2012|448
Mar.|The Piano Maker|Kirk Palka|2015|288
Apr.|What the Psychic told the Pilgrim: A Midlife Misadventure on Spain’s Camino De Santeago De Composteia||2007|295
[/easytable]

Prayers for our Sisters in the League

Our condolences to our Sisters in the League who have had a death in their family. Please continue to pray for the repose of our Sister Elena Covacich who passed away on Saturday December 17th, 2016. Elena was a nine year member of our council and a long time St. Joseph’s parishioner. A CWL Deceased Member Mass for Elena has been set for Sunday April 30th at 9:00 a.m.

Eternal Rest, grant unto her and let perpetual light shine upon her.

May she and all the faithful departed rest in peace.

Birthday wishes go to

January Birthdays

Frances Riggi
Angela Bernard
Monique Isidor
Bernadette Mujinga
Lisa Scholz
Leahnette Acuna
Doris McKeogh
Lovina D’Souza
Clementina Costa-D’Aguiar
Bernise Clunas
Anna Falotico
Evelyn Fleming
Mathilda Gracias
Jeanette McLeod-Pao
Virgilia Pazzano

February Birthdays

Mary-Louise Morris
Elisabeth Cogger Hills
Marianne Civello
Jackie Joachim
Katie Wicik
Joan Kunanec
Lourdes Mangilian
Maria Ricupero
Colette O’Donnell
Mary Tuccitto
Mary Campanelli
Mary Karawaju
Justine Csenge
Denise Murrell
Hopelin Walters
Eral Zong

Things to remember to do

1. Be sure to stay informed and check out the various CWL websites, Facebook pages, Twitter accounts and stay connected. Go into these CWL Websites often to keep informed:

Log on to the CWL National website at www.cwl.ca and there you will see the Facebook symbol, click on it and “Like” as well as “Friend” it.
If you are into twitter, the account is https://twitter.com/@CWLNational
You can also go to the CWL Provincial website: www.cwl.on.ca and look at the online newsletter. You can subscribe to receive this monthly publication online, free of charge!
Our Toronto Diocesan Website is www.cwltoronto.ca take a look at the activities and events under ‘spotlight’.
St. Joseph`s Parish: www.stjosephstoronto.org
Catholic Register for your information: http://catholicregister.org/item/23984-calgary-bishop-resigns-for-health-reasons-replaces-by-peterborough-s-mcgrattan

2. Members are encouraged to bring their own mugs to meetings, so please remember to “Lug A Mug”.

3. We are collecting the following items:

Campbell Soup Labels
Pop Tabs for Wheelchairs
Donations of extra blank cards and blank birthday cards are welcomed and appreciated.
Donations of your extra Rosaries are welcomed.
Milk bags are being collected to be used in the project of making sleeping mats for people in Ethiopia, Africa.
Your used postage stamps are being collected for forwarding to Development and Peace to help fund projects in Africa, Asia and Latin America

A final note

Remember to refer to the Catholic Women`s League as The Catholic Women`s League, at every opportunity, rather than just calling it the CWL – we ARE a National Organization! Wear your CWL service pins and scarves.

[easytable th=false colwidth=”25%|75%” delimiter=”|” caption=January]
January 18 (Wednesday)|Line Dancing St. Joe Hall 7:00 p.m.
January 28 (Saturday)|Scarborough Region Winter Event –9:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m., Precious Blood Parish (1737 Lawrence Ave. East) – open to all members to attend. Bring a lunch. Please contact: Lucia 416-283-3536[/easytable]

[easytable th=false colwidth=”25%|75%” delimiter=”|” caption=February]
February 1 (Wednesday)|Line Dancing St. Joe Room 2 7:00 p.m.
February 4 (Saturday)|CWL Living and Deceased mass 5:00 p.m.
February 8 (Wednesday)|Line Dancing St. Joe Hall 7:00 p.m.
February 11 (Saturday)|Toronto Diocesan Council -Development Day at Christo Rei, Mississauga (8:00 Registration) 8:30 Mass – 3:00 – CWL Workshops. Please contact Marla Tanuan ASAP if you wish to attend 416-209-8659
February 13 (Monday)|General Meeting – Rosary 7:00 Meeting 7:30
February 15 (Wednesday)|Line Dancing St. Joe Hall 7:00 p.m.
February 19 (Sunday)|Scarborough Regional Level of the Mary Matthews Public Speaking Contest – St. Barnabas 2:00 p.m. all invited to attend.[/easytable]

[easytable th=false colwidth=”25%|75%” delimiter=”|” caption=March]
March 3 (Friday)|WDOP – Philippines – Hosted by TBA
March 4 (Saturday)|Lift Jesus Higher Rally –Metro Convention Centre
March 4 (Saturday)|Parish Executive Training, St. Joseph’s 9.30 to 2 p.m. Bring your Lunch. For registration call Lucia 416-283-3536
March 5 (Sunday)|CWL Living and Deceased mass 7:00 p.m. St. Joe
March 8 (Wednesday)|Line Dancing – Room 2 7:00 p.m.
March 13 (Monday)|General Meeting – Rosary 7:00 Meeting 7:30 (Budget)
March 15 (Wednesday)|Line Dancing – St. Joe Hall 7:00 p.m.
March 19 (Sunday)|St. Joseph Parish Celebration – 7:30 p.m.
March 22 (Wednesday)|Scarborough Region Spring General Meeting – at Immaculate Heart of Mary 7:00 p.m. mass followed by meeting – all are invited and encouraged to attend this meeting.
March 25 (Saturday)|Toronto Diocesan Council – Mary Matthews Public Speaking Contest – St. Francis Xavier Mississauga 1:00 p.m. all are welcome to attend www.cwltoronto.ca for more information
[/easytable]

[easytable th=false colwidth=”25%|75%” delimiter=”|” caption=April]
April 5 (Wednesday)|Line Dancing – Room 2 7:00 p.m.
April 10 (Monday)|General Meeting – Rosary 7:10 Meeting 7:30
April 19 (Wednesday)|Line Dancing St. Joe Hall – 7:00 p.m.
April 22 (Saturday)|Our Lady of Good Counsel Mass & New Members Ceremony at St. Joseph 11:00 – Luncheon to follow (tickets will be available for purchase)
April 24 (Monday)|Heritage Day Festival planning – Room 2 7:00 pm
April 26 (Wednesday)|Our Lady of Good Counsel Feast Day
[/easytable]

Newsletter 2017 Jan-Feb

2017-2018 Executive

On behalf of Fr. Oliver

A Message from the President – Lucia Vacca

New National Theme for 2017-2018 Symbols

Organization & Membership

We Welcome Our New Members

Membership Renewal

Development Day

Parish Executive Training

A Message from Spiritual Development – Mai Tran

A Message from Education & Health – Hyacinth Fernandes

Treasurer – Marla Tanuan

Fall Bazaar

A Message from Community Life – Danielle Giggie

A Message from Christian Family Life – Kim Deans

Advent Pot Luck Social and Service Awards Night

The amazing spread at the potluck put together by the CWL ladies

Lucia Vacca receiving her Betty Anne Brown Davidson Award of Honour, the Nativity Star Pendant and a Certificate as well as $100 to a charity of her choice – Sisters of Life

The new Executive (2017-2019) – (L-R) – Ingrid Hart, Mai Tran, Lucia Vacca, Ju-Ann Miranda, Kim Deans, Marla Tanuan, Tania Mascarenhas, Danielle Giggie, Hyacinth Fernandes & Christine Lorenz

Service Pin Awards 2016

A Message from Resolutions & Legislation – Christine Lorenz

A Message from Secretary – Ju-Ann Miranda

A Message from Communications – Tania Mascarenhas

A Message from Past President/Historian – Ingrid Hart

Upcoming CWL News