Education & Health Chairperson, Laura Jacyk

Laura, a stay-at-home mother of five, comes to us from Calgary. She moved to Airdrie in 2009 in order to find an affordable bigger home for her growing family in a more family-oriented community. Laura was born in Winnipeg and grew up in Dugald, Manitoba. She took Business Administration at Red River Community College and worked for Purolator Courier. She was transferred to Calgary when newly married to husband Chris who felt his job prospects would be better here than in Winnipeg. It was the right move! Laura and Chris have five children: Grace & Matt, 13; Hope, 11; Katrina, 8, and Samantha, 5. Laura joined CWL for the first time two years ago and has jumped in with both feet – a real blessing for us. As well as her busy life as a full-time mom, Laura is also a Brownie leader who enjoys reading, painting and sketching in whatever spare time she can grab! Trudy Pool, Christian Family Life

Trudy Pool was born into a large family of Dutch heritage in Macoun, Saskatchewan near Estevan. She grew up on the family farm with six brothers and three sisters. Having spent most of her adult life in Red Deer, Trudy has lived in Airdrie since 2003. She and her husband, Scott, have three adult children: Natalie is a second-year teacher in Christ the Redeemer School Division in Brooks, while Martin and Adrian are working in the oilpatch doing environmental containment with their father and roofing as an extra to fill in gaps. Trudy is a regional vice-president with Primerica, having been in business since 1994. When her children were smaller, Trudy worked for about fifteen years as a laboratory technologist at the Red Deer Hospital. She enjoys playing guitar and singing in the church choir, helping out with Inn From the Cold and filling in where needed. She belongs to a book club, loves to exercise regularly, and, with her husband, makes her own wine. Trudy says that her life is full and flexible and she loves it that way.

CWL Newsletter St. Paul’s, Airdrie Catholic Women’s League Fall 2011 Volume 5, Issue 3

Cards & Games Night Resumes

Denise Ahlers is coordinating an evening once a month for women in the parish to meet at the church and play some cards or other games in a fun environment. The third Monday of the month from 7 to 9 p.m., give yourself a break, come and learn a new game or teach others who want to learn. Bring your own coffee mug. Next gathering: Monday, November 21

st.

Thank-you to all who supported St.

Paul’s Parish Women, our team in

the Relay For Life held on June 25

& 26. We raised over $4000 for

cancer research!

Please pray for Katherine Senger at the Rockyview Hospital; and Bill Balaz, the husband of Irene Balaz and father of Carole Nelson, who passed away Oct. 8th; and for the sister of Sharon LaBine.

Centred on Faith and Justice

The Calgary Diocesan CWL has a new Spiritual Advisor in Fr. Mario Basque of St. Anthony’s Parish,

Drumheller. Fr. Mario is of Acadian heritage and hails from New Brunswick; he is one of 15 children.

Prior to becoming a priest, Fr. Mario was a soldier, prison guard, bouncer, security guard, EMT and

nurse. He had some valuable insights which were printed in the May issue of the Calgary Diocesan

Newsletter:

This year’s theme is, “Centred on Faith & Justice”. It is very important to have faith, to believe in our Lord Jesus Christ and express that faith in daily prayer, Mass attendance, reading scripture and devotions. But faith by itself is not enough. We must express that faith in concrete and tangible ways. In the book of James Ch. 2: 14-17, “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and has no food for the day, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well,” but you do not give them the necessities of the body, what good is it? So also, faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead.’” These are very strong words that James uses when he says, “So also, faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead”. Our faith, to be authentic must be followed by good works, or in a broader context, justice. For our relationship with God to be real; for God to transform us into the people He wants us to be, faith and justice must go together. We cannot have one without the other. Justice must be based on the principle of equality and solidarity that understands and values human rights, and that recognizes the dignity of every human being. Justice includes the preferential option for the poor and vulnerable. Our Church believes that through words, prayers and deeds one must show solidarity with, and compassion for, the poor. So, faith and justice go together and you cannot separate the two. It is not “either or” but “both and”. Let us ask our Lord Jesus Christ for the grace of a deeper faith so that we can bring justice to all we meet in the name of the Lord.

A pot-luck supper will be held at the Town & Country Centre on Friday, October 28 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of our pastor’s ordination to the priesthood. The CWL is organizing the meal and we will need lots of volunteers. Father has been busy sending out invitations and expects three to four hundred people to attend. Please contact our president, Ann Marie Urdal, at 912-1783 or Lu Derkach, 948-7066.

Alberta’s the Place to Be in 2012

Plan to attend at least one CWL convention next year! Our Diocesan

Convention will be in Brooks the first weekend in May. Our Provincial

Convention will be in Whitecourt in June. In August of 2012 the CWL National Convention will be in Edmonton.

Become an Organ or Bone

Marrow Donor

Education & Health

Have you signed the back of your Alberta Health Care Card to indicate which organs you would be willing to donate in case you are killed in a traffic accident? More importantly, have you discussed your wishes with your family? In the unlikely event of a tragic death, you can give life to others. Organs and tissue can be transplanted into patients who will die if what they require does not become available in time.

While you are alive:

1. Discuss your wishes regarding organ and tissue donation with your family and give them clear directions about what you would like to see done in the event of your death. 2. Look at the back of your Alberta Health Care card. 3. Sign the back of your Alberta Health Care card if you wish to be an organ and/or tissue donor. 4. If you want to be a 'living donor,' (for kidney, bone marrow or a lobe of the liver only):

a. Contact the Southern Alberta Transplant Program Living Donor Coordinator at (403) 944-4635 for kidney donation or the Bone Marrow Registry at 1-888-236-6283 or 1-888-2-DONATE. (www.bloodservices.ca) b. Find out what your blood group is. c. Have your doctor do a medical check-up to ensure that you are healthy. d. Make sure that you are coming forward as a donor willingly. e. Be aware that the process of becoming a living donor requires about three months of testing, education and communication with your doctor(s).

Organs Tissues Heart Bone Lungs Cornea Liver Sclera (white of the

eye) Kidneys Skin Pancreas Heart Valves Small Bowel Veins Tendons

What rules out organ donation? Organ donation cannot occur when there is a recent history of active cancer (except for primary, non-metastasized brain tumours) or the absence of brain death.

Is there any age restriction to be an organ or tissue donor? Contrary to what is commonly thought, age is not a barrier to organ or tissue donation. Infants as small as 4 kilograms in weight and adults well over 80 years of age can be donors

http://www.calgaryhealthregion.ca/hope/faqs.htm

What if I want to donate my body or the body of a family member for medical research purposes? This may be arranged through the Department of Anatomy at the University of Calgary. They can be contacted at 403-220-6950.

Unrelated Bone Marrow Registry

Most Canadians are aware of Canadian Blood Services’ blood donor programme. However, most are unaware of the need for bone marrow to

treat leukemia patients. With the death in May of parishioner Lana Gehlen, her family requested that one thing people could do is to get on the Bone Marrow Registry.

To be eligible to join the Canadian Blood Services One Match Stem Cell and Marrow Network, you must:

Be between 17 and 50 years of age

Meet certain health-related criteria

Fall between certain height and weight levels

The next time you visit your doctor, ask how you can do this or call Canadian Blood Services at 1-888-236-6283.

A presentation on H.O.P.E., the Human Organ Procurement and Exchange Program, will be held at our CWL Meeting on Tuesday, November 8

th at 8

p.m. right after our meeting. Learn about organ and tissue donation in Calgary.

Treasurer Spiritual Development

Where Does the Money Go?

At our September meeting, Leona Kowalick

reported that we made $2495 on the spring

rummage sale. $1000 of the funds were

donated to the Airdrie & District Hospice

Society. An article appeared in the September

7th edition of The Airdrie Echo which stated

that this was the first official donation received

by the Society. $100 was given to the CWL

Team that participated in Airdrie’s Relay For

Life, a cancer fund-raiser held in June.

Having identified the need to purchase our

own freezer for the church kitchen due to the

present one being needed now for Inn From

the Cold in addition to food for church socials,

we spent $798 on our own “lockable” freezer.

We will use it for storing baking donated for

luncheons we cater as well as for our own

functions.

Welcome to Janie Hollman who has transferred to our Council from St. Matthew’s CWL in Rocky Mountain House. Brand new CWL members are Christa Sanders, Heather Gault, Shelley Gartner, Janine Bray & Roxann Cullen.

November Memorial Service

St. Paul’s CWL and the Airdrie Knights of

Columbus are jointly honouring their

deceased members in a Memorial Service on

Tuesday, November 22nd at 7 p.m. Father

Andrew will preside.

Last year, the Knights invited us to do this, but

we had already held our own short service in

the hall before our November meeting.

Corelene Boland had instigated this tradition

several years previously. Thanks to Sandra

Drewniak, we now have our own appropriate

table covering.

Rather than holding separate services now, we

hope this joint Memorial Service will become

an annual tradition at St. Paul’s. Please mark

your calendars and plan to attend as we

honour our beloved sisters and brothers who

have gone before us.

CWL Advent Retreat

Bishop Frederick Henry will preside over a

special Advent Retreat for all interested

women in the Calgary region on Saturday,

November 26th from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. This

will be held at Sacred Heart Church, 1307 14

St. SW, Calgary. Lunch will be provided. To

register, contact . Deadline:

If you’re interested in car pooling, call Cathy

Buchanan at 948-2921 or e-mail

buchanancath@hotmail.com.

Gaelic Prayer

Deep peace of the running waves to you.

Deep peace of the flowing air to you.

Deep peace of the smiling stars to you.

Deep peace of the quiet earth to you.

Deep peace of the watching shepherds

to you.

Deep peace of the Son of Peace to you.

CWL Member Joins NET Ministries

Erin Lindoff, niece of our Spiritual Development Chair, Kirsty Sanesh, will be spending 10 months working with the Catholic National Evangelization Team after a six-week orientation. Erin is a student at U of C. NET Ministries challenges young Catholics in churches and schools ”to love Christ and embrace the life of the Church.”

St. Paul’s CWL has initiated a Rosary Prayer Chain to pray for Erin during her important work sharing her faith with young people. If you would like to participate in this or wish to donate to Erin’s training and travel costs, contact Kirsty Sanesh at 945-1786.

Resolutions

This may come as a surprise to you unless you’ve been following the issue in your League magazines. I have to admit I really hadn’t paid much attention when this was mentioned at one of our meetings – busy with a million things just like everybody else. Then I started catching up on back issues of The Canadian League. What a shocker!

Remember when the federal government provided Canadians with assistance to have asbestos insulation removed from their homes? Recall the efforts to remove it from schools, hospitals and public institutions. It was back in the 1970s that the link between exposure to asbestos and cancer was proven beyond a shadow of a doubt. The most affected individuals were miners in Quebec where asbestos is found naturally; Quebec has the highest rate of lung cancer caused by asbestos in the world.

Unbelievably, Canada is still mining this and exporting it to countries in the developing world such as the Philippines where there are no restrictions on its use. Scientists in India are already recognizing the negative health effects

by Cathy Buchanan

in their workforce. And there is no way these poorer countries have the funds to remove it as we began to over twenty years ago.

Canada has even refused to sign the Rotterdam Convention listing it as a hazardous substance despite the fact that it is listed in our own Hazardous Products Act. According to our National Chairperson of Resolutions, Anne-Marie Gorman, “There appears to be a double standard when it comes to asbestos. Its use is severely restricted in Canada while it is actively exported to developing countries.”

If you haven’t already, please read Anne-Marie’s article in The Canadian League Spring 2011 issue. For more background, visit http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2009/06/10/f-asbestos-safety.html .

I urge all members to write a letter, or send an e-mail to our M.P. Blake Richards, on this issue. Please copy it to the Minister of Natural Resources, the Honourable Joe Oliver.

Legislation

The federal government has just introduced a new omnibus bill rolling nine separate pieces of legislation into one huge act entitled the Safe Streets & Communities Act. The Catholic Church has some serious concerns about the impact this new law will have. Cathy Buchanan, our Calgary Diocesan CWL Council’s Chairperson for Legislation & Resolutions has written on this in the Calgary Diocesan CWL Newsletter, accessible on their website. If you would like a paper copy, please give Cathy a call at 948-2921.

No peace without justice

No justice without forgiveness

Pope John Paul II

Message on the Celebration of World Day of Peace, 2002

In meetings with the federal government this year, our national CWL was told by several ministries that “among communities that strongly advocate on issues, Catholic women are almost non-existent.” Maybe you can help change this!

Need a Quiet Space?

Do you find you can’t get your scrapbooking done without being interrupted? Maybe some filing? Knitting? Crafts? Shannon Pearson has booked the upstairs room at the Coop Grocery Store on Yankee Valley Drive the fourth Saturday of the month from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Join some other lovely women in the same predicament. There is no cost.

It’s time to sell those tickets and get baking, ladies! Saturday, November 19th from 9 a.m. till 2:30 p.m.

the CWL will be organizing our annual parish Fall Bazaar. Past President, Stephanie Drebit, will be coordinating this for us. If you can help set up the hall the night before or work a shift on the Saturday, please give Stephanie a call @ 948-5357 (after 5 p.m.). Help will also be needed for the clean-up at 2:30 p.m..

Baking may be brought in starting on the 18th and left in the kitchen. Please do not package cookies and

squares as we mix and match, creating Christmas cookie trays and tins. These have been a popular seller in the last few years. Pies are forever in demand, too!

Vendors this year include Lia Sophia Jewellery, The Fox’s Den Interior Décor and Unique Gifts; Mary Kay Cosmetics; Discovery Toys; Christmas Crafts; CWL Knitting & Crocheting; and Sweet Dreams Porcelain Dolls. Global A.P.E., a small local store specialising in Fair Trade products will be there. A special display by Holy Inspirations Religious Art & Gifts from Calgary will be featured as well.

The ever-popular Children’s Corner, coffee/tea social, loonie bags, and lots of raffles will be there too. Encourage your friends and family to stop by, have some fun, and spend their money!

Proceeds from this year’s Bazaar will go to the Airdrie & District Hospice society, Community Links and to the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development & Peace. Of course, CWL keeps some of the profits to cover its own operating expenses too.

NEWSLETTER EDITORS WANTED . . . STILL

Although Corinne and Cathy enjoy doing this CWL newsletter, they did not intend to sign on for

life. A couple more members who would be interested in doing this with Helen Callihoo, please

contact Corinne at 948-4574 or e-mail ramlerlb@telus.net. Will train for free!

In June, President Ann-Marie Urdal presented the CWL plaque for Christian Leadership to the

following St. Martin de Porres graduates: Sarah Pack, Lindsay Weboweski, William Chiang and Eryn

Isaac. Our Lady Queen of Peace School now has a plaque of Christian Leadership Award winners

which we sponsor and Good Shepherd School presents bookmarks to all their students on our behalf.

St. Paul’s CWL Executive: Chairpersons of Standing Committees: President – Ann Marie Urdal Spiritual Development- Kirsty Sanesh President-Elect – Paulette Curtis Christian Family Life – Trudy Pool 1st Vice-President – Karen Woolsey Community Life – Sharon Hagel 2nd Vice-President – Rachelle McIntee Education & Health – Laura Jacyk Secretary – Aileen Carney-Brown Legislation – Muriel Bostick Treasurer – Leona Kowalick Resolutions – Doreen Thibeault Past President/Archives – Stephanie Drebit Parish Activities – Ann Marie Urdal