by Sandi Digras, Communication Chair

This year Pope Francis had declared Sunday June 2nd as the 53rd World Day of Communication. In his message he is quoted as saying “we are members of one another (Eph 4:25) from social network communities to the human community.”

He emphasizes, “a community is that much stronger if it is cohesive and supportive. The Community as a network of solidarity requires mutual listening and dialogue based on the responsible language.” (For the whole message go to Vatican.va.)

I would like to suggest we as a Diocese launch a “Lets Communicate” day in our parishes. Invite each committee to set up a table in your hall and reach out to our parishes to enlighten them on how they are embracing our core values of Faith, Service and Social Justice. It is also an opportunity for enlisting new members of the hard-working committees, the CWL and Knights of Columbus. This idea was done at Ascension Parish a few years ago and the comment most heard was “I didn’t realize what that committee did, I would like to be a part of that.” Since the actual day is on Ascension Sunday it is a great time for this type of fellowship or on the Saturday June 1st. Publish the invitation in your bulletins, websites and emails starting with your Pastor and Parish Council.

If you have Wi-Fi in your parish hall, I suggest a knowledgeable computer literate member give a short tutorial on the advantages of access to the National and Provincial websites and the Diocesan website. There are also apps for Living with Christ, Click to Pray with the Pope, Salt and Light and EWTN free on YouTube. Just press subscribe and the bell and you will get daily reminders.

After our Interim Workshop meeting (report attached) it was suggested those of us who participated would be happy to attend a monthly meeting to update and share information on:

Communicating Service, Resolutions/ social justice and Spiritual growth. These workshops embraced our core values of Faith-Service-Social Justice and will assist your Councils in learning more about how we can share our strengths in our parishes and communities.

Sharing and learning are best done together, and we have two upcoming opportunities to do that.

This year our Diocesan Convention is being held May 1-3, 2019 St. Patrick’s, Campbell River
June 12-15, 2019 is our Provincial Convention held at the Coast Bastion and St. Peter’s, Nanaimo

Registration for both are on our Diocesan website cwldov.org.

Many first-time attendees at last year’s Provincial Convention in Whitehorse expressed total amazement at the devotion and joy our sisters in the CWL shared.

We hope to see many at both the Diocesan and Provincial Conventions.

Pope Francis concluded his message on the World Day of Communication 2019.

“…this is the network we want, a network created not to entrap but to liberate, to protect a communion of people who are free. The Church herself is a network woven together by the Eucharistic communion where unity is based not on “likes” but on truth, on the Amen, by which each one clings to the Body of Christ and welcomes others.”

God bless you as we continue our Lenten journey to the glories of Easter.