NCCW AFFILIATE HAPPENINGS

In January, Jane Bernhardt celebrated her 100th birthday. In addition to being an active member of her parish CCW at St. Charles Borromeo in Cassville, Wisconsin, she has served as a past Grant Vicariate CCW President  from 1972-1974 and a past Madison Diocesan CCW President from 1991-1992. She attended the Grant Vicariate meeting in May of 2022 and, at 98, was the oldest member in attendance. Jane spends a lot of time with family and friends and is not able to attend all of our meetings, but studies all of our reports at each meeting she attends.

The Holy Spirit Council of Catholic Women Macon, GA hosted Stations and Soup. Members of our affiliate led The Way of the Cross from The Eyes of Mary Stations of the Cross for our parish. After the Stations, we provided a dinner of 10 different kinds of soups and bread.

Holy Spirit Council of Catholic Women in Macon, GA contributed $500 to the Sisters of Mercy Memorial Marker Restoration Project. The Sisters of Mercy started the first school in Bibb County, Georgia. They also started Mount de Sales Academy that currently serves students grades 6 to 12. 58 Sisters of Mercy are buried in Riverside Cemetery. The money that the CCW donated was used by Jackson Springs Garden Club and 10th grade students from Mount de Sales to clean the markers and place a cement rose on each stone.    

Our Lady of Fatima Council of Catholic Women in Alcoa, TN celebrated Diversity and Love at our General Meeting on February 12, 2024. Several women from our parish with different cultural backgrounds shared their story and their faith. From left to right we had women from Haiti, Sudan, Mexico, Philippines and Algeria talk about their lives and their journeys to the U.S. Along with establishing new friendships in Christ, we celebrated St. Valentine’s Day.

Chicago Archdiocese CCW Vicariate I Golden Rose Award recipients presented by Bishop Jeffrey Grob.

Members of the local CCW hosted our first “Advent by Candlelight” on the evening of Saturday, December 9th, 2023 in order to prepare our hearts and minds for the Feast of the Incarnation, as well as for Christ’s Second Coming.  CCW hostesses designed beautifully set tables and luscious desserts to create an elegant atmosphere for our faith filled guests to enjoy.  This meaningful gathering included time for learning, reflection, sharing and singing with a focus on Four Holy Habits – frequent confession, reclaiming Sundays, regular mortification, and daily prayer.

On January 8, Our Lady of Fatima Council of Catholic Women in Alcoa, TN began a Heart Healthy New Year with guest speaker, Cheryl Smith from CPR Choice. She taught us hands only CPR with an AED, offered heart healthy tips and recipes.

St. Joseph’s CCW in Grand Rapids, Minnesota led their parish collection of items for the Second Harvest Food Bank. Parishioners were asked to bring one specific item each Sunday during Advent. Requested items included cereal, PB&J, canned meat, and personal care/paper products. The parishioners responded generously, and over the 4 weeks of Advent, CCW donated more than 500 items to the Food Bank. Buying one box of cereal, one jar of jelly, bottle of shampoo, or a can of tuna was easy and doable for everyone. It started a wave of charity and the giving spirit. God bless everyone who participated.

Christ the King Council of Catholic Women in Jacksonville, Florida held their annual Bake Sale and Raffle on December 17, 2023.  Lots of goodies were donated and purchased by members of the congregation, including homemade ornaments.  Over $1,800 was raised to donate to charity.