Two parishes benefit from CWL luncheon

Friday, Oct. 30, 2015

SALT LAKE CITY — Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Salt Lake City and Saint Therese of the Child Jesus Parish in Midvale were the beneficiaries of the 99th Annual Catholic Woman’s League luncheon, “Fall Tapestry,” held at Little America Hotel Oct. 25. 

CWL President Linda Itami welcomed the more than 150 women to the luncheon, the CWL’s largest yearly event.

In his welcoming remarks, Monsignor J. Terrence Fitzgerald, vicar general emeritus, recognized the “power and influence of the Catholic women in our Church” through service projects to parishes, the Church and people in need. “I think Bishop [Joseph] Glass would be most proud to look down today and see that 99 years ago he established the CWL and it is still going strong.” 

“I don’t know what I would do as a pastor without the support and leadership of the women in the parishes,” said Msgr. Colin F. Bircumshaw, diocesan administrator, before offering the prayer. 

During the luncheon, the beneficiaries thanked the CWL and said how grateful they were for being chosen as recipients of the donations to their parishes. 

Our Lady of Lourdes Parish will use the donation to replace the sound system in the social hall; it’s difficult for people to hear the PA system during events such as bingo, luncheons or social events. 

“The high ceiling in the hall makes the acoustic sounds echo,” said Carol Huffman, a parish council member. “The parish council will also install sound panels on the walls. We really appreciate this donation. Our parish is one of the older parishes; we celebrated our centennial in 2014.” 

“We truly are grateful for this donation,” added Father J.J. Schwall, pastor. “We’ve remodeled the kitchen area and we’re trying to make the social hall a more pleasant environment for events. The way the room was engineered makes it difficult for people with hearing aids to hear; the room becomes very uncomfortable and because of that, older people don’t come to social events anymore. ...

“The CWL and Our Lady of Lourdes Ladies of Charity that we have are extraordinarily generous people,” Fr. Schwall continued. “They really are the centerpiece of the outreach; it’s their way of living, it’s the modeling that they do for Christian living and it’s the magic that happens when someone doesn’t just give money, but they give their time and they give in person – that’s the Christian magic.”

St. Therese of the Child Jesus Parish will use the CWL’s donation to replace the roofs on the religious education center and the office, as well as to fund other building maintenance items, said Art Romo, operations manager. 

“We are very thankful to receive this gift,” said Father Joseph Frez, pastor. “We replaced two of the roofs last year and now our office building roof needs to be replaced. It’s been hard for us because the parking lot also needs to be repaved, and we, too, need a new sound system in our social center. It’s good how the Lord sends us finances out of nowhere when we are in need; we are grateful they chose us as a recipient.” 

Fr. Frez also thanked the St. Therese of the Child Jesus Council of Catholic Women members for the work they do in ministries such as bereavement, the parish council, as ministers of Holy Communion and lectors.

Following the lunch, a fashion show was presented; the models were members and friends of the CWL; the clothing was provided by Chico’s. 

CWL members are looking forward to the annual membership tea on April 3, when the organization will celebrate its 100th anniversary, said Itami.