2008 Annual Report of The year 2008 was an exciting one for Alberta Mackenzie Provincial Council from crossing lakes on ice bridges to meeting with the premier at the legislature. The provincial council and all five diocesan councils adopted the national theme of L ove One Another. This theme fostered a respectful and non-judgemental atmosphere. The ecumenical spirit in the province was at work as many councils united with other churches' members in prayer services, scripture studies, study of the Magesterium, and community projects such as the World Day of Prayer and Prayer for Christian Unity. The provincial council has had an exciting year of accomplishments. It boasted 170 councils, 9,969 members, five Catholic girls' leagues and one reactivated parish council. One parish council celebrated its 85th anniversary and four Bellelle Guerin awards were presented. The university campus council held a conference. The Pennies for the Poor project has sent over $24,000 over a three year period to an orphanage in Burundi, Africa. The League was made more visible by publicizing events and conducting media interviews. The main council-wide focus for the year was to take action against the trafficking of humans, as per national Resolution 2008.01 Preventing Human Trafficking at 2010 Olympics. Having this same project across the five diocesan councils heightened members' sense of belonging, and the united approach was warmly embraced. Each week a diocesan council communicated with its members, or their communities, and the provincial and territorial governments about the subject. Government officials in Alberta and the Northwest Territories have responded to members' queries and concerns. Councils have had guest speakers and held workshops on the topic. The second focus was mentoring which was achieved by sharing executive positions and planning projects for members to work on together. The third focus was the Eucharist, chosen because of the 49th International Eucharistic Congress held in Quebec City, Quebec; some members attended and came away enriched. Diocesan councils held workshops with the titles "Our Desire for God's Loving Response" and "Eucharist, God's Gift of Love". The primary challenge was filling executive positions at all levels. To address this challenge, executive positions were shared, standing committee portfolios were rotated through various chairpersons, and meetings were alternately held in the day or evening. A second challenge was maintaining membership. Some parish councils made a concerted effort to follow up on members not renewing and incentives were offered to those who renewed early. These incentives included prizes, free memberships, and a prepaid envelope to mail back the membership fees. The provincial council has found that parish council size, some with as few as three members, does not limit the involvement and activity of the members. Regardless of size, m embers served others in parish ministries and community by raising money; preparing young people for the sacraments; donating to women's shelters, refugees, schools, educational awards, and agencies that help the poverty-stricken; connecting with other parish organizations; conducting marriage preparation courses; hosting retreats and parish gatherings; gathering layettes for moms in need; adopting seminarians; assisting, listening to, and providing for persons with special needs and seniors; and supporting the Ribbons of Signatures Campaign and Canadians Addressing Sexual Exploitation. One parish council was invited to join the local community health council and one parish council, through its efforts, has mass once a month and has doubled in size. Members became better informed about the League through attending resolutions and orientation workshops or prayer services prepared by national, provincial, and diocesan councils and the World Union of Catholic Women's Organizations (WUCWO); reading chairpersons' communiqués, newsletters, and League publications such as The Canadian League ; and viewing League and other websites or the DVD For God and Canada. Members became revitalized by renaming events such as the "fall bazaar" to the "harvest tea", the "fall supper" to the "fall bistro and market", or the "annual pot luck" to the "salad fest". One diocesan council is compiling its history, a task not previously undertaken in the province. Parish councils promoted WUCWO and chose a country to learn about and support in some way. Concern was voiced about trafficking in women and children especially in regards to the 2010 Olympics, labelling toxic substances, reducing the use of Styrofoam, revising the criminal justice system, enhancing palliative care, enshrining the rights of the unborn, bringing focus on Bill C-484 An Act to amend the Criminal Code (injuring or causing the death of an unborn child while committing an offence), increasing age of consent for sexual relations, eradicating pornography on the Internet, protesting the awarding of the Order of Canada to Dr. Henry Morgantaler, respecting citizens' rights to a Catholic education for their children, conducting police records checks, banning embryonic stem cell research, and enhancing media relations. The greatest excitement was meeting with the provincial government for the first time. Three provincial officers met with premier and minister of health - a project years in the making. Issues brought forward including human trafficking and the 2010 Olympics, sanctity of life, pollution levels in the environment, the use of toxic chemicals, protection of unborn victims of crime, proper burial of pre-born human remains, safety/law and order, end-of-life care, de-insuring abortions, the shortage of doctors and nurses, and Alberta's plans for one health board for the province. Members looked forward to t he new theme, Women of Peace and Hope , and continuing with the Pauline Year and the studies of St. Paul's writings. Members grow in their own faith in order to share it.
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