Newsletter 2017 Nov-Dec

Annual Bazaar – Saturday, November 18th from 9:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Remember to join us with your time and with your contributions to the Bake Sale, Apple Pie, International Foods, Bake table, Tea Room etc… Setup for the Bazaar will be on Friday November 17th from 11:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m. As in the past, the proceeds of this event will be distributed to various charities. Your involvement is appreciated. Without our efforts, others will not benefit. Call us we need your help at the various tables to make this event a success.

[easytable th=false colwidth=”33%|33%|34%” delimiter=”|” caption=”” colalign=”left|left|left”]
Bake Table|Lina Civello|416-283-0165
Raffle Table |Hyacinth Fernandes|416-287-1231
Treasure Table|Lucia Vacca|416-283-3536
Apple Pies|Eileen D’Sousa|416-283-3959
Tea Room|Marguerite Civello|416-286-6162
International|Ingrid Hart|416-282-8775
Vendor Tables|Barbara Sullivan|(all sold out)
[/easytable]

Give us a call if you can assist in any of these areas ASAP

Membership Renewal

Your CWL Membership Renewal is NOW due. Please complete the Membership form attached to this Newsletter and return it as soon as possible to any of your executive members or the Parish Office. You may also drop it in the collection baskets at any Mass. Please be sure to clearly mark your envelope: “CWL MEMBERSHIP”. If you are writing a cheque, please make it payable to: St. Joseph’s CWL. Memberships are due to National by January 1st, 2018. This year we will once again have an early bird special for all renewals received on or before the night of December 11th. One lucky member will be the winner of a draw taken from the renewals received. The prize will be a $25.00 gift voucher, so don’t delay in completing your renewal and entering the draw. The lucky draw will take place at the Pot Luck Social – December 11th.

Fall Bazaar November 18th

Annual Bazaar is on Saturday November 18th from 9:30 am to 2:00 pm and your help for set up on Friday, November 17th (11:00 am to 9:00 pm) would be greatly appreciated. You can also drop off your donations for the Bake Table, Treasure Table, Raffle, Tea Room etc…at that time.

Also, don’t forget to help out on the day of the Bazaar with whatever time or contribution you can give it will be very much appreciated as it is a very busy and important day for our council. Proceeds from this fundraiser help support our many charities and projects. Don’t forget to start baking and spread the word. As well if you can contribute $5.00 towards this event it is greatly appreciated to purchase supplies that we need. Any questions call 416-283-3536

Annual Apple Pie Making was once again a great turnout with many members participating. We had lots of fun as members shared many stories and bonded in a spirit of hard work and sisterhood. A big thanks to the washers, peelers, cutters, rollers, dough makers, mixers, assemblers and those who helped store our apple pies in their freezers. None of this could be possible without you and your amazing work. Over 350 pies were made.

Advent Pot Luck Social and Service Awards Night

Monday, December 11th, at 7:00 p.m. is our Advent Pot Luck Social. Please join your CWL sisters as we celebrate the season. Your spouse or guest is also welcome to join us and remember to bring your favourite dish of food to share for the Pot Luck. Thank you in advance for your generosity. On this special night, we will also present the 2017 recipient of the St. Joseph’s Betty Anne Brown Davidson Award of Honour. As well as 40 ladies will be receiving their respective years of service pins. We will also be accepting your donations of men’s new socks and underwear for the Good Shepherd Center on this night so please give what you can, as the need for these men’s items is great. This action is to keep the homeless and those in need warm for the winter months.

22nd Annual Interfaith Celebration

Our 2017 Interfaith Celebration was held on the evening of Friday October 20th with neighbouring Churches of various denominations in our community participating. It was an evening of sharing prayers, stories, songs, readings which represented the respective faiths under the theme “Inspired by the Spirit Women Respond to God’s Call” The evening was well attended with over 100 parishioners, members and friends from the community. Thank you to the members who brought in goodies. We thank the Fr. Olive Iwuchukwu for his presence and welcoming of our neighbours, the Celebration Choir and the Prayer Group Choir with their musical talents. The celebration was followed by a reception with an opportunity to meet our neighbours, a wonderful way to get to know our community and celebrate together.

At this time of year let us remember all our brothers and sisters who are less fortunate than us and keep them in our prayers, that God may give them strength and courage to face each day. May they find joy and peace in this season of Advent. Let us remember that Christ is the reason for the season. I would like to wish you and your families a Blessed prosperous, healthy Christmas and New Year.

World Day of the Poor

Pope Francis suggested the Catholic Church set aside one day each year when communities can “reflect on how poverty is at the very heart of the Gospel.” The first World Day of the Poor will be observed on Sunday, November 19, 2017.

HERE ARE 5 WAYS YOU CAN OBSERVE THE WORLD DAY OF THE POOR:

1. PRAY FOR THE POOR: If you’re overwhelmed and not sure where to start, try praying with your newsfeed.

2. PRACTICE THE CORPORAL WORKS OF MERCY: The Corporal Works of Mercy are drawn from Jesus’ life and teachings. They call us to: feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, shelter the homeless, visit the sick and imprisoned, bury the dead and give alms to the poor. Pope Francis added a new work of mercy: to care for God’s creation.

3. MAKE CARING FOR THE POOR PART OF YOUR ROUTINE: One way to support low-income workers around the world is by buying things you use on a regular basis from organizations that pay a fair wage. If you drink coffee or tea, look for a fair-trade label, which means that the farmers who harvest the coffee or tea are paid fairly and work in safe conditions. As you begin your Christmas shopping, consider buying gifts from around the world that are produced and traded ethically.

4. LEARN ABOUT THE CAUSES OF POVERTY AND WORK TO CHANGE THEM: There are many reasons why people around the world are trapped in poverty: lack of jobs, war and climate change that affects what farmers can grow are only a few examples. We can raise our voices together to ask our government to support policies that help address these causes of poverty.

5. SUPPORT THE CHURCH’S OUTREACH TO THE POOR: One way to care for the poor around the world is to support the work of the Catholic Church.

Resolutions and Legislations, we often combine the phrase, saying it so quickly that it becomes one thought, one word; resolutionsandlegislationschair. We no longer hear the words as two distinct entities.

This is both good and bad!!!

It is very positive to think about our CWL Resolutions, things we Catholic women feel strongly about, becoming legislation, to be debated, discussed and becoming the law of the land. These are things that we have put our energy and heart into, resolutions to be presented to our Parish CWL sisters, to move forward to Region, Diocese, Province and National.

BUT, do our Resolutions slip our minds at times. They have passed from our hands into the world of Legislation; they are moving forward as bills in the world of the National and Provincial Legislative Process.

There are three Bills in the Legislative stream at the present time, Bills C-277 and S-5 at the National level and Bill 148 in the Ontario Provincial Legislature.

1. Bill S-5 (an Act to amend the Tobacco Act and the Non-smokers Health Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts)

• in the Senate it has been passed after the second reading
• has been introduced in the House by the Hon. Jane Philpott (Markham-Stouffville)
• in the House it has been read once and is intended to be read in the current session
• public comments have been sought by Health Canada, the comment gathering phase was completed on Oct 27, 2017
• this Bill relates to Resolution 2014.02 (Electronic Cigarettes)

2. Bill C-277 Private Member’s Bill (Framework on Palliative Care in Canada Act)

• in the Senate it has been adopted at second reading
• the Senate has referred this Bill to Committee on Sept 26, 2017
• this Bill relates to:
  • Resolution 2001.01 (Quality End-of-Life Care)
  • Resolutions 2016.04 & 2016.05

3. Provincial Bill 148 (Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, 2017)

1. • is currently in its second reading debate in the Ontario Legislature
   • concerns temp agency workers and proposes increases to the minimum wage rates
   • this Bill relates to:
     • Resolutions ON.16.02 (Provincial) & 2016.01(National)

Let’s all continue to monitor and shepherd these important subjects as they move forward through the Legislative Process!!

Catholic Women’s Leadership Foundation Course

Are you inspired as a Catholic Woman to be a transformational and influential leader where you live, work and/or volunteer? If you answered yes to this question then perhaps you would be interested in a leadership course being offered by the Catholic Women’s leadership Foundation. This Foundation was born out of a partnership between the CWL and the sisters of Service. It has as its vision “a just, merciful and compassionate world nurtured by the genius of women.”

Through the program participants will deepen their understanding of the social and moral teachings of the Catholic Church addressing issues such as bioethics, ecology, and what it means to be a catholic leader in society today. The program will give you the leadership skills to live the gospel in today’s world. The foundation would like to identify promising women leaders who would benefit from leadership education that builds on their lived experiences. They would also like to build and maintain a network of support for Catholic women leaders and develop and implement a communication plan to raise awareness about the importance of women’s leadership. The program is open to all Canadian Catholic women 21+ years of age of all backgrounds and experiences. The Catholic Women’s Leadership Foundation is now accepting applications for the inaugural program which begins in May 2018. Applications will be accepted until November 15, 2017.

The Catholic Women’s Leadership Foundation has partnered with the Providence School of Transformative Leadership and Spirituality at Saint Paul University in Ottawa to offer the CWLF’s unique leadership Program beginning in May 2018.

If you are interested in this program, please contact me for more information. The application process, form and other information is also available on the website www.cwlfcanada.ca. Please check the website.

Other Contests……

In addition, please remember our annual contests: Jean McCann Service award for youth, Mary Dobell Pro-Life Essay and contest, Mary Matthews Public Speaking contest and the St. Michael’s Scholarship Award. All of these contests will be held again this year and are open to students in grade 7, 8 and higher. Please spread the word by encouraging young people in your family and or friend circle to participate! Please do not hesitate to contact me for any additional information .

November is Diabetes Awareness and Fall Prevention — go to Resolutions 2003.04 and 2003.05 www.cwl.ca November 25th International Day for Elimination of Violence Against Women November 28th Talk on Mental Illness by Dr. Andrea Levinson, at Blessed Trinity Parish 3220 Bayview Ave. 7:00 p.m. (Sponsored by the Blessed Trinity CWL Council)

It’s been an exciting start to our year, with our own Mary Tuccitto installed as the president of the CWL Scarborough with Ingrid Hart on her executive, the interfaith celebration, the square dancing and the weekly line dancing. This month will be just as busy with Apple Pie making and especially the bazaar.

One key focus for the CWL Christian Family life for this year is homelessness. Check out the list of things you can do to help the homeless at the link below. The key is respect and understanding. We once saw a homeless man help a family having car trouble – he really knew what he was doing! One of my favourite items in this list is #7 – bring a little extra food along. We used to bring some granola bars whenever we went to St. Mike’s because there were always a number of men asking for money outside. Here’s the link:

http://www.cwltoronto.ca/documents/Toronto_Diocese/50_plus_ways_to_help_people_who_are_homeless.pdf

I found this important petition through Canada CWL website. Please follow the link and sign.

Sanctity of Life: The United Nations Human Rights Committee is considering excluding the unborn child from the right-to-life clause of an important United Nations human rights treaty. If passed, access to abortion would be an international human right. A petition to oppose this consideration is being circulated and is sponsored by the Center for Family and Human Rights in Washington, DC. The petition will be presented on October 6th at the United Nations headquarters and is available at http://c-fam.org/right-life-international.

I hope to see lots of you helping out at the bazaar and at the line dancing. It’s been lots of fun.

Blessings