THE CATHOLIC WOMEN’S LEAGUE

The CWL will be 100 yrs old in 2006. Margaret Fletcher started the League to
unite Catholic women in a bond of friendship that would encourage us to use
our skills in reaching out to others. 'Charity, Work and Loyalty' is our motto.
Today the CWL’s aims are the same: to promote and support charitable works
at parish, diocesan, national and international level. We lobby MPs, organise
petitions, and make our voices heard in many areas. The CWL is a worldwide
organisation; I was a member in Canada

Linda, a parishioner of St. John Bosco parish, and myself have started a CWL
section here in Reading. We hold monthly meetings on the first Tuesday at 7:
45pm at St. John Bosco church in Woodley. They are open to all Catholic
women in Reading who wish to find out more about our organisation.

We need members: with your help and support this CWL section will succeed.
It has been in existence now for 4 months and we have 13 members. If you
wish to find out more come along to our meetings or contact me, Trish
Habberjam, on 0118 988 3656. You will be under no obligation and can only
benefit.

In friendship we come together to share the Good news of Christ, to support
one another and help spread the Word.
Trish Habberjam

The basic structure of the Catholic Women’s League is as follows:

First there are the many Section or Parish groups, which meet monthly and serve the
women of the parish or area. Next come the Branches, which are situated in the Diocesan
towns. Portsmouth is the Branch for Reading. After this comes National: we have only
one, of course. The AGM is held each year in November in different cities. This year,
2004, it is in Scarborough.

On Saturday 6th March Linda and I went to St. Peter’s Church Hall in Winchester for our
Portsmouth Branch meeting. This was our first one as a Section and we were warmly
welcomed by all the other sections and Branch officers. Indeed both Linda and myself
won prizes in the raffle, which made us feel special! The minutes from this meeting will
be available later but some of the main points are:
As our Branch President, Sheila Jennings, has been newly elected to the post of National
President and will take up this position in November at the AGM. We are all being
encouraged to try and attend on the 19-21st November 2004 in Scarborough. The
meeting will take place in the Spa and rooms have been booked in the Palm Court Hotel.
The cost at the present time is £120 for 2 nights, dinner, bed and breakfast, plus
conference fee of £16.
We are asked to support the Branch special Cafod project in Burma and to come up with
a good fundraising idea.
We are urged as CWL Sections to get more involved in Parish life. How can we help? We
need to speak to people and see what needs doing.
UPCOMING MEETINGS
Branch Level:
1) Our Branch AGM will take place on Saturday 15th May in Portsmouth. We will be
introduced to our new Branch President at this meeting. As many of our members as
possible are urged to attend to find out how the CWL works and meet other Leaguers
from our dioceses.
2) A Day of Recollection for our Branch will take place on 5th June at Medstead. Again
we are all encouraged to attend for this chance to reflect and join with other members in
prayer and discussion.

Section Level:
For our April meeting we have two choices:
1.        First is at Christ the King on Friday 2nd April @ 7pm when we will be leading the
Stations of the Cross. As many members as possible are encouraged to attend and for any
ladies wishing to meet us, this is a good chance.
2.        Second is on the 6th April at St. John Bosco when it is the reconciliation service
for Lent. This is on our usual meeting night so instead of a meeting we encourage our
members to attend this service. There is also a penitential service that evening at Christ
the King Church .

1)        Our May meeting is on the 4th at 7:45pm in the meeting room at St. John Bosco
Parish. Still waiting to confirm agenda at this time.
2)        Our June Meeting will take place on 1st June at 7:45 and we are having a speaker
on Refugees. He has been booked.
For further information on the above please contact
Trish Habberjam 9883656 or pmjh@intrinziq.org

Page Updated 16 - 03 - 04