Winona Diocesan Council of Catholic Women

E-NEWS

WINONA DIOCESAN COUNCIL OF CATHOLIC WOMEN

December 2017

Mission Statement: The Winona Diocesan Council of Catholic Women acts through its affiliated organizations to support, empower, and educate all Catholic Women in the areas of Spirituality, Leadership and Service. WDCCW programs respond with Gospel values to the needs of the church and society in the modern world.

President’s Message:

Greetings to one and all from your 31st Diocesan President, Jeanette Fortier. I hope this message finds you in good health and spirits and I extend wishes for a Merry Christmas and a New Year filled with much grace and many blessings!

Where do you find joy? That is my question for this first e-news article? In what places and moments do you find joy in your life? It is my hope that membership in the Council of Catholic Women brings you joy. Not only in the educational and spiritual programs CCW offers but the gathering of women and the connections we create through membership, I think of the Blessed Virgin Mary when she traveled to visit her cousin, Elizabeth. Joy! I would ask you to reflect on the question and share your thoughts with me.

I am the first single woman to lead WDCCW. Over the past 40 + years I have been a Director of Religious Education and a Director of Liturgy and Music. Currently, I babysit a grandniece and two grandnephews once a week (ages 1,3, & 4). I help with an hour of music at Rochester Madonna Towers for skilled care and memory care on Wednesdays (I get to see former WDCCW President Grace Kopischke). I sing for an hour each Thursday morning with the Sisters on the third floor of Assisi Heights with Sr. Joanne Loecher. I play for Mass, help pray the Rosary, and do an hour of music with the residents at the Stewartville Care Center and I direct the choir at St. Mary’s in Chatfield, on Sunday mornings. There is music and joy everywhere!

As my term unfolds over these next two years, I invite you to join me in building up the Council of Catholic in our Diocese, to help others see the joy in Council work, to “Look To Mary” as our guide that we may work for Christ and the Church with joy and gladness.

Our first WDCCW gathering will be held on Wednesday, January 10, 2018 in Johnsburg. I hope you can join us. There will be speakers for MCCL and Liturgy – the Spirituality arm of the Council. Watch for the agenda and plan to attend. It will be a “joy” to see

Eleanore Jones 17434 Co. 14 Spring Valley, MN 55975 507-937-3460

WDCCW acts through its affiliated organizations to support, empower, and educate all Catholic Women in spirituality, leadership and service. WDCCW programs respond with Gospel values to the needs of the Church and society in the modern world.

I have taken on the position of Vice President of WDCCW. You probably remember me as being the Legislative, Respect-Life and Anti-Pornography Commission person. These positions have been turned over to very competent hands. I feel that my work is to get many more women to see the joy of being a member in our counsel and to live our life of the Catholic faith for all to see.

My husband, William, and I celebrated our 50th anniversary on Jan. 28, 2017. We have 11 living children (6 boys and 5 girls) and 3 miscarriages, have 43 grandchildren (21 boys and 23 girls) and expecting our 10th great-grandchild in April 2018 (4 girls and 5 boys). Bill’s been retired since 2011 and we are kept very busy with our children and their families. They all live within 40 miles and closer from us except for the two youngest. A son lives in the country outside of Minnesota and our youngest daughter lives in Gillette, WY. We both feel so blessed with our large family. I was once asked by one of my grandchildren why we had so many children and the response was: “That there would be more souls to give honor and glory to God in heaven!”

Putting thought into intentionally spending our time and resources for the glory of God is the most important thing we will do with our lives. As we understand ourselves in light of God’s purposes, we are moved to action, can filter opportunities as they present themselves, equipped with compass pointing toward God’s purposes for our lives and convinced that we are a part of a bigger story.

Promotion and Development seems to be the area most in need of change. We need to look at ways that we can grow and strengthen our membership. Our membership is aging. We should be using our wisdom and knowledge to groom the next generation of Christian Women. We should be energizing and growing our membership. To do that we need to get more young women of the parishes to join us. Personal invitations are the best way to get others involved. I think that this Family Prayer fits us. It would be good for all of us to say this prayer often. Maybe this will give us strength as a faith family.

Family Prayer

God made us a family.

We need one another.

We love one another.

We work together.

We play together.

We worship together.

Together we use God’s word.

Together we grow in Christ.

Together we love all people.

Together we serve our God.

Together we hope for heaven.

These are our hopes and ideals.

Help us to attain them,

O God, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

I encourage you to go out on a limb – that’s where the best fruit is. It is not about getting ladies to come to meetings – it is about getting them to be excited about their faith. St. Francis of Assisi said: “I did what God asked me to do. See to it that you do what God asks you to do.”

We need to focus on mentoring high school and college women. Young Women’s Affiliate Group Membership is being studied by an NCCW committee and will be released when finished.

A new eight-page packet on Domestic Violence and a new edition of the Guidance and Resource Manuel are available by contacting the national office.

Don’t forget and mark your calendars: Province Conference will be held June 25 – 26, 2018, at St. John Vianney in Fairmont. On the first day the LTD team will be doing training. This is very beneficial for all of us as we begin our journey in 2018.

PROVINCE DIRECTOR REPORT (Mpls/St. Paul Province) September16, 2017 St. Cloud DCCW Conference Little Falls, MN

Good Morning. My name is Irene Schmidt. I am originally from New Munich and for the last 44 years have lived in Opole; my husband is Ron and we have 3 children and 5 grandchildren. I was our parish president of the Christian Mothers 3 times before I realized that our parish group belonged to a larger organization, so I would like to describe the hierarchy of the organization.

Province Director - cont.: Province Explanation: • Parish > Deanery >Diocese > Province > National • We have representation at the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), the United Nations, World Union Catholic Women's Organization (WUCWO), Catholic Social Ministry Gathering and Religious Alliance Against Pornography The Province consists of North and South Dakota and Minn. Province Director is a 2-year term and directors serving rotate between the 5 dioceses in Minnesota that are active; North and South Dakota dioceses are inactive. The St Cloud Diocesan director term comes up every 10 years. Eva Koep was the last Province Director from the St. Cloud Diocese. The National Council of Catholic Women, founded on March 4, 1920, celebrated its 97th year of service to God and the Church at the annual Convention, September 6-9, 2017 in Dallas, Texas, with the theme: Catholic Women: Living the Joy of the Gospel. Nine ladies from St. Cloud Diocese just returned from the NCCW Convention. It is hard (impossible) to explain the feeling that you get when you are surrounded by 600 women, who all share the same connection as you, from all different walks of life; some very educated - Drs, lawyers, women who have had their own businesses and many more just ordinary moms. I can’t call us moms uneducated because we all have had life's lessons. Everyone is so different, but we all have one goal in mind - to live our life so that we can answer to the Lord when we meet him. These 600 women from all around the United States, undeterred by hurricane Harvey and the imminent threat of Irma, joined with their Council sisters to pray and worship, hear motivating talks from renowned speakers, vote on resolutions, welcome incoming officers, visit the jam-packed exhibit hall and tour Dallas, while staying at the beautiful Hilton Anatole in the Dallas Design District. From the hilarity of Sister’s Christmas Catechism, to liturgies that filled attendees with peace and a profound sense of camaraderie as hundreds of NCCW sisters and Spiritual Advisors joined in praise, NCCW members not only experienced a most memorable time together, they also raised funds for and donated necessities to hurricane victims. Speakers for the 2017 National Convention included: Mary Rice Hasson, a Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C. where she directs the Catholic Women’s Forum, an initiative that responds to Pope Francis’ call for Catholic women to assume a higher profile within the Church; Stacy Thomlison, missionary for the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (Focus); Dale Recinella, spiritual counselor and Catholic lay chaplain to prisoners as well as author of numerous books on the death penalty; and Mother Susan Catherine Kennedy, a former Nacogdoches County judge who founded the order of the Daughters of Divine Hope in 2010, after the death of her husband. A special treat for Convention attendees was the opportunity to view the trailer for SONY Picture’s movie, THE STAR; and to attend a pre-release presentation of the movie, Same Kind of Different as Me, based on the best-selling book. Maribeth Stewart, NCCW President said: “In Convention, the scope and breadth of our NCCW becomes vibrantly apparent as we gather from across the country to pray, laugh, and learn what together we can do through the interaction of all levels of Council to make our world a better place. I expect that attendees will come away with a renewed sense of appreciation for our NCCW, thankful for all those who established and who have remained true to our Mission through these last 97 years. We now look to a future bright with promise as we move forward in our commitment to unite and assist American Catholic women to live fully the Joy of the Gospel.” There is a New executive director, a more user- friendly office and website. There is a new program - going to colleges and high schools to recruit members.

Province Director - cont.: Goals of the USCCB • Promote Laity • Form Godly Parents • Pastoral plan for Marriage

If you have concerns - write them down, along with name and contact info and get it to me

I would like to encourage you to go out on a limb - that’s where the best fruit is. It is not about getting ladies to come to meetings - it is about getting them to be excited about their faith.

St. Francis of Assisi said: “I did what God asked me to do. See to it that you do what God asks you to do”. Irene Schmidt, Province Director, Past St. Cloud DCCW President, Melrose Sauk Centre & StJoseph Deanery President, and Past Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Opole Parish President

Valerie Ehlenfeldt - P.O. Box 83 Ostrander, MN 55961 (507-440-8629) -

Hello Ladies!

I believe that I’ve introduced myself before, however, that was two years ago, and life is constantly changing. My name is Valerie Ehlenfeldt and I come from a good-sized Catholic family, born ninth of eleven children. When I initially took on this commission chair two years ago, my husband and I had just found out that we were pregnant with our fourth child. Fast forward to present times and within a month of celebrating our 9th wedding anniversary this past fall, we welcomed our fifth sweet baby (2nd boy) into the world. We also made the decision to transfer our oldest daughter to a Catholic school about 20 miles from our home but we live outside the district, so we drive her to and from school every day. We’ve had a couple of viruses and two cases of strep throat that have come through this house in the short time since the birth of our son. I have been feeling a little overwhelmed with everything going on at once, but when I find myself feeling this way, I tell myself “God is spoiling me.” Because He does! He always has and He always will. Each and every one of us is “spoiled” with innumerable graces, given to us by God, through Our Blessed Mother Mary. I choose to see that God lavishes me with a multitude of gifts. I choose joy. I am only human though, and do require a certain amount of encouragement at times so my husband and family are always there to help. I also draw much strength from the Blessed Virgin and the Saints as well. My spiritual life and love for the Mother of God and the Saints is a major part of what draws me to be the Spirituality – Church Commission Chair for the Winona Diocesan Council of Catholic Women. With five children under the age of seven, you can expect that our household can be chaotic, but it is so full of love as well. Life is real and it can be crazy, but it is ALWAYS BEAUTIFUL! I don’t always have much free time, but I choose to make the time to give of myself to the women of the Diocese of Winona through my commission and in return I am able to keep my gaze on Heaven.

I typically include in each quarterly commission report the life of at least one saint and a sacramental or devotional in our Catholic faith. Please don’t hesitate to let me know if there is anything that you would like to learn more about and I could possibly include it in a future report.

Have a very Blessed Christmas and New Year. Remember to try to make the First Fridays and First Saturdays and say the Rosary daily as Our Blessed Mother asks that of each of us!

January 2018 Respect Life report for the Winona Diocese Council of Catholic Women

Hello! My name is Linda McGuire. I am your new Respect Life chair for the WCCW. A bit about me: I am one of 9 children, raised in Rochester. Today, December 16th, would have been my mother’s 78th birthday. She was very instrumental in my strong prolife convictions and for that, as well as many other things, I will always be grateful. I am now married to my husband, Jim, and together we have one daughter, Kiera, age 9, whom we were so very blessed to adopt. We live in Mantorville and attend Holy Family parish in Kasson, Minnesota. I have been very involved in prolife activities for the last 20 years and am honored to have the opportunity to share information with the ladies of the diocese.

St. John Paul II influenced me greatly while growing up. He warned that violence tolerated in the womb would begin to unravel respect for human life at all levels until violence becomes normal. Once life is “inconvenient” and “dispensable”, caring for others as they age or find themselves in need may turn into burdensome acts rather than acts of love. This is part of the reason why the abortion issue is so important and why we must restore protection for those most vulnerable among us.

December 15th marked the 22nd anniversary of the Minnesota Supreme Court decision of Doe V Gomez, which “found” a right to abortion in the state Constitution. It also mandated taxpayer funding of abortion in Minnesota for low-income women in Minnesota. This decision has led to one of the most extreme abortion policies in our country. Since the decision, Minnesota taxpayers have paid for over 80,000 abortions, with the overall percentage of taxpayer funded abortions increasing every year (44% in 2016 alone). Governor Dayton vetoed a bill to ban taxpayer funded abortions earlier this year.

2018 marks a new election cycle. We in Minnesota have a tremendous opportunity this cycle. Due to the resignation of Senator Franken, we will be voting for both of our Federal Senate seats as well as all the House of Representatives. Statewide, we will also be voting for a new Governor this year. It is important to pay attention to the candidates in these races as well as their stances on the issues. It would be wonderful if our elected Minnesota legislators would be committed to prolife and pro-family principles.

Governor Dayton recently named Lt. Governor Tina Smith as the replacement for Senator Franken. She will fill out a term until November 2018, at which time there will be a special election to finish the final two years of his scheduled term. She has indicated she plans to run in that election as well. It is important to note that Tina Smith is a former vice-president of Planned Parenthood in Minnesota. While working for them, she consistently opposed common sense and empowering legislation such as Positive Alternatives and Women’s Right to Know. Based upon her record, she supports abortion on demand, taxpayer-funding of abortion and has opposed funding of alternatives to abortion.