REPORT OF NEWFOUNDLAND and LABRADOR
PROVINCIAL PRESIDENT PEGGY ROCHEIt was an honour and a privilege to represent the members of this province. Through this wonderful opportunity, I gained experience that enabled me to grow spirituality and personally as I continued to journey along my own faith-path, fulfiling my baptismal vows.
Early in the year, members joined the nation in mourning the loss of Corporal Jamie Murphy who, while on his second tour of duty, was killed by a suicide bomber in Afghanistan. Jamie is the son of Norman and Alice Murphy of Conception Harbour, Newfoundland and Labrador. Alice is a member of St. Anne Parish Council. Members across the country extended their thoughts and prayers to the Murphys.
At its winter meeting, the provincial executive was blessed with a visit from Fr. Sebastien Groleau, President of Catholic Missions In Canada (CMIC). Fr. Groleau presented an overview of CMIC and the great work carried out in the missions in this province.
The provincial council was very fortunate to have Honorary Life Member Vivian Bosch initiate the first of several spiritual presentations on Discovering My Story and Friendship of Women in Christian Communities. Members look forward to a return visit from Vivian.
As members continued studying the theme, they stayed focused on Christ and what the League was all about. Thanks to financial assistance from the National Development Fund, The Sisters of Mercy and the Presentation Sisters of the province, the provincial council was able to continue its outreach program. Many parish councils were visited and executive members facilitated workshops and spiritual reflections, spoke at masses and promoted the League to members and other women from all walks of life. Members continued their ministry to others ?For God and Canada ,? by taking a pro-active approach in dealing with the many issues that had come to their attention. Through personal contact and with the help of life members and the new Life Member Mentoring program, members were encouraged to feel at ease with themselves in the League. While each council may not have had a full complement of chairpersons, in most cases, members were fulfiling the criteria set down by the various standing committees.
Life Member Dr. Rayleen De Luca was the guest speaker at the 24th Annual Provincial Convention, held in Grand Falls?Windsor. She gave two very moving and enlightening presentations, one on Our Lady of Good Counsel and the other on Christian family life as it relates to children and the elderly. She left a warm, lasting impression with those in attendance.
As national chairperson of the ad hoc committee on waste management, I was delighted that the discussion paper on waste management was approved by the national executive. Hopefully, this discussion paper will be used as a resource and reference for future League documents.
Life Members Catherine Power, Catherine Fagan and Agnes Ebbs completed the final draft of the provincial council's 25th anniversary book, which will be distributed in 2005. They are to be commended for a job very well-done. As well, Bridget Kelly, President of Basilica Parish Council, St. John's, accepted an appointment to head a communications sub-committee to gather photographs and information from the parish councils for a 25th anniversary pictorial.
In September, the Archdiocese of St. John's began a year-long celebration in honour of the 150th anniversary of the consecration of the Basilica of St. John the Baptist. As well, Holy Trinity Parish, Torbay, began a year-long celebration honouring its 175th anniversary as a parish. During October, the provincial council also began a year-long celebration of its 25th anniversary. To honour these anniversaries, the provincial council, in conjunction with the Basilica and Holy Trinity parish councils, hosted a special spiritual reflection on the Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Bookmarks were printed for this special occasion and given to parish council presidents for distribution to members. Councils were invited and those who could not attend were encouraged to do something similar during the upcoming year.
Together with members from the provincial council, I attended many parish council functions during the year. We represented the provincial council at formal gatherings of the Right to Life Association and the Knights of Columbus. We attended a workshop on Fostering a Vocation Culture in North America and brought greetings from the League. Communiqués were compiled and distributed, while requests from the national executive were acted upon.
As this is my last report, I have to say, my term of office was very educational and interesting. Thanks to all the people I was associated with in the League, I was able to meet every challenge, learn something new and savour every joy. In June 2005, I will look forward to my new duties as provincial past president and hopefully, continue to share and work with you for many years to come.
In closing, I ask for your continued prayers for our provincial membership, especially those who are sick or have lost loved ones. Your prayers are also requested for our archbishop, bishops, priests and the future of the parishes where, in many cases, they are soon to be restructured as clusters. This will affect many members and, in some cases, parish councils.
