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DCCW Hosts Fall Workshop

November 04, 2008
The annual Fall Workshop was held at St. Mary's Cathedral on Wednesday, October 29th. Ninety ladies from northern Michigan attended. This year’s focus for the workshop was spiritual development. Dannie Brzezinski, the Director of the diocesan Secretariat for Faith Development, 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 women were examined. Dannie also led the group in singing Miriam's song of victory. The ladies shared with each other times of celebration in their lives and each person was challenged to take time to celebrate memories.

Bishop Cooney presided over a Eucharistic Liturgy to conclude the morning. Fr. Francis Murphy, Spiritual Moderator for the DCCW, concelebrated. Deacon Rene Hoenschied served as the Deacon for the Mass.

During his homily, the Bishop presented the women with two tasks for the coming year. The Bishop asked that through their prayers and programs the DCCW 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.

Second, Bishop Cooney explained that June 28, 2008 to June 29, 2009 has been declared the Year of St. Paul and asked that each of our organizations 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. The 2009 Convention will be held May 13 at the Diocesan Pastoral Center in Gaylord. The theme will be "Faith in Action" with keynote speaker David Seitz.

The Diocesan Council of Catholic Women consists of all women who are members of the Catholic Church in the Diocese of Gaylord and everyone is invited to participate in activities of the DCCW. In addition to the officers, there are are six commissions represented at the Diocesan level-Church, International, Legislative, Family, Organization and Community.

For more information and photos of past events, please visit the DCCW website.