St. Cloud Diocesan Council of Catholic Women at 25008 Mary St., Paynesville, MN 56362 US - PRESIDENT'S LETTER

 

 Irene Schmidt, 9246 Co. Rd 17 Rice, MN 56367 320-393-2472 

Greetings to all the ladies of the St. Cloud Diocese.

 Jesus entered a village where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him.  She had a sister named Mary who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak.  Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving?  Tell her to help me.”  The Lord said to her in reply, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things.  There is need of only one thing.  Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.”    Luke 10:38-42

This story is so appropriate for us as women.  Like me, I’m sure most of you got involved in your church by serving lunch at a funeral, serving coffee and rolls after mass, or somehow serving of one kind or another.  You probably then moved on to teaching CCD or Faith Formation and eventually became a choir member, lector or Eucharistic minister.  I think this shows how we grow from being Martha to being Mary. 

I want to thank all the “Martha’s” from the St. Cloud deanery for the wonderful job they did hosting the Fun, Food and Fund Day held at St. Augustine’s Church in St. Cloud.  This was a new undertaking for many of the ladies and they did fantastic.  The liturgy was beautiful, the entertainment was fun, the food was great and I think all the ladies had a good time visiting and bidding at the silent auction. 

I also want to thank all the ladies from the diocese who attended the Province Conference.  The speakers were very inspiring and informative.  If you were not able to attend and would like a copy of Dr. Sri’s book or CD go to our website www.stclouddccw.com and you can get the contact information. 

Leadership Training & Development was held in Brainerd on August 7^th. Future training sessions will be announced. It’s a great way to grow and improve your skills and will help you in your leadership roles in women’s groups especially our Catholic women groups...

Our convention will be in Freeport on September 18, with the theme “Made in God’s Image”.  Fr. Peter Laird is the keynote speaker and his talk is “The Incarnation-Illuminating Human Dignity.”  This follows the NCCW theme for the year.  We will also have speakers on Family, Rural, and Legislative Commissions, and we will celebrate the 90th birthday of the NCCW.
May you all continue to be Martha, but also take the time to be Mary?  I believe that the more we become like Mary, the more energy we will have to be Martha.

God’s Peace!   Irene

 

Irene Schmidt, 9246 Co. Rd 17 Rice, MN 56367 320-393-2472 schmidtir@jetup.net