Florida Council of Catholic Women/Province of Miami at P. O. Box 1811, Labelle, FL 33975 US - The Future of CCW

The Future of CCW FCCW Presentation October 29, 2006 by Joan Morgan In a moment, we’ll take a look at the future of CCW and I’ll be asking all of you to use your imaginations with me. But first, I want to make sure everyone has a chance to see my shirt. It says, “I know I’m a princess.” Do all of you know you are princesses? Of course we are! Look at the back of my shirt. “I know I’m a princess…because my Father is the King of kings.” We need to have that kind of confident attitude about our faith and about our place in God’s kingdom. And we need to encourage that kind of confident attitude in our daughters and granddaughters. They ARE princesses! Now, I need you to all use your imaginations – really use your imaginations – because I want you to imagine that I’m a 25 yr-old young lady in your parish. I know that I’m a princess and I know God has given me some special gifts. However, I also know there are some gifts I haven’t discovered yet, some I have hidden away, and some I am just now discovering. As a princess, I love gifts. Will you, my sisters, help me discover my gifts? Will share your gifts with me? Can we work together to support, educate, and empower each other? If you want me, the 25 yr-old to be part of your future, I think you need to focus on 6 important areas. Those areas just happen to begin with the letters of the word FUTURE. Let’s look at our FUTURE together… The first letter of the word future, F, stands for our Faith. The one gift we all have in common. It must be the foundation of all we do. But realize, also, that though our faith is shared, it may be expressed differently. I am much less likely to have attended parochial schools than you, and if I did attend Catholic schools, my experience was probably very different from yours. My knowledge of the traditions of the church may be shaky at best. My personal prayer life may not even remotely resemble yours. But I probably participate enthusiastically in the celebration of the mass and I sing joyfully to our Lord. And you just might find that I’m more comfortable with spontaneous prayer than you are! Just don’t ask me to lead the rosary! Remember, I am faithful and faith-filled and focus on our shared gift of faith. The next letter in the word future, our future, is U. U is for Understanding. For us to have a bright future together, you must understand me. First, you must understand that, regardless of my marital status, regardless of whether I have a career or have young children, I am busy. I am pulled in many directions by many commitments – to family, to church, to community, to my career. I have a limited amount of time and energy that I can offer you. Because I am busy, I have many tools to help me stay organized. I have a cell phone, a PDA, a computer, a laptop. I am connected. To understand me, you must understand my connected-ness and how to connect with me. You need my email address and/or my cell phone number. In addition to my busy-ness and my connected-ness, I need you to understand something about the world I live in as a young adult. I’ve been raised in a society where moral relativism is the norm; it is not a world of black and white, but, rather, a world of gray. I struggle with moral issues and I need you, more than anything, to set an example by living the Gospel message and promoting a culture of life. Challenge the popular culture with your message of social justice and show me how to put my faith in action. When you are tempted to criticize me for my life choices, try to remember that living our shared faith in the world today is an incredible challenge. I need your support and encouragement. The next letter in the word future is T. In terms of our future, the T stands not for truth or trust, though those are wonderful words, it stands, rather, for Tenacity. You must be tenacious, yes, stubborn, in how you approach me and in how you implement the CCW message and the CCW mission. As a young woman, I am bombarded on a daily basis by messages – voice messages, email messages, text messages, and the messages of society on TV, the radio, the internet. You need to bombard me as well. Be tenacious about spreading the Gospel message and the CCW message. Be stubborn about drawing me in to your organization. Insist on sharing your gifts with me. The second U in the word future is for Unity. Unity is the essence of the Catholic Church and should be the essence of the CCW. We are united in faith and in purpose. Accentuate our one united voice and magnify our message. Show me that the CCW is an inclusive organization and that we speak with one voice within our parish and diocese, nationally and around the world. This gathering of our province is a powerful example of our unity. Now unite all the generations of your parishes to speak with one voice. The R in the future of the CCW stands for Relationship. The wonderful gift of personal invitation is part of the gift of relationship. Reach out to me and establish a relationship. Invite me to participate in your projects or simply speak to me after mass. Smile at me when you see me. If my young child behaves well at mass, let me know you noticed. If she doesn’t, just tell me she’s beautiful! Invest in a relationship with me. Support me, educate me, empower me through our relationship. Finally, we come to the E of our future together - Evangelization. To evangelize is to teach Christianity or to spread the Christian Gospel. Spread the Gospel in your families, churches, and communities through your words and actions. Show me your commitment to the Gospel teachings and let the Holy Spirit fill you and your council. Every moment is an opportunity to reflect God’s love and to live as a princess, a daughter of the king of kings. Every moment is an opportunity to share your gifts and to encourage me to share mine. If we focus on our faith, understanding, tenacity, unity, relationship and evangelization, we will have a bright future together. I pray that our Father, the King of Kings will send the Holy Spirit to enliven your Councils to spread the good news of our Lord and Savior. Picture in your minds your daughters and granddaughters, they represent the future generation of the Council of Catholic Women. The young princesses…

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