Gaylord DCCW Fall Workshop

The annual Fall Workshop was held at St. Mary's Cathedral on Wednesday, October 29th. Ninety ladies from northern Michigan attended. This year the focus of the workshop was spiritual development. There are six commissions represented at the Diocesan level-Church, International, Legislative, Family, Organization and Community. Dannie Brzezinski, the Director of the Secretariat for Faith Development and Center for Catholic Studies, was the facilitator.

The ladies spent the morning on a personal spiritual journey. Each person was asked to examine their own life and look at how scripture challenges them. Dannie told the story of Puah and Shiphrah, the two midwives in the book of Exodus. The leadership qualities of these two ladies were examined. Dannie led the group in singing Miriam's song of victory. The ladies shared with each other the times of celebration in their lives. Each person was challenged to take time to celebrate memories.

Bishop Cooney celebrated Mass at 11:00 am. During his homily, the Gaylord DCCW was presented with two tasks for the coming year. The Bishop asked that through our prayers and programs we focus on the families of the diocese. Through the loss of jobs and homes, the families of our parishes will be turning to their church families for support and help. This has been declared the Year of St. Paul. In each of our organizations we are asked to spend time learning more about the life of St. Paul.

Following lunch, Dannie Brzezinski had the ladies look at how Mary has impacted their lives. Many personal stories were shared during the afternoon session.

The Gaylord DCCW sponsors two activities each year for all Catholic ladies of northern Michigan; the Fall Workshop in October and the May Convention. Mark your calendars for May 13, 2009. The theme of the Convention will be "Faith in Action". The Convention will be held at the Pastoral Center in Gaylord.