Province of San Francisco plans educational, spiritual meeting

Intermountain Catholic

+ Enlarge

Mary Adams, a member of Saint Rose of Lima, is director of the Province of San Franciso.

SALT LAKE CITY - The National Council of Catholic Women (NCCW) Province of San Francisco's annual meeting "promises to be relaxing, educational and energizing as well as feed women emotionally and spiritually," said Mary Adams, Province of San Francisco director, and member of Saint Rose of Lima Parish in Layton.

The meeting "Moving Forward - Change is Good," will be held Feb. 5-7 at the Sheraton City Centre Hotel, 150 West 500 South, Salt Lake City. Registration is available at the door on Saturday. The cost for Saturday is $45, which includes lunch.

Juvenile Court Judge Andrew Valdez's talk will be "No One Makes it Alone." "The Juvenile Court has evolved from a crime-and-punishment court to a problem-solving court out of necessity," said Valdez. "The children who are referred to my court, come to court with a multitude of issues besides the referring crime that need to be addressed in order to assure, not only public safety, but also meet the child's various needs. I have also evolved to a point where I am trying to empower parents to make decisions to help them help their children make decisions about identity, peer groups and positive lifestyles."

During his talk, he will explain it is important for his court to solve problems rather than just punish crimes, he said adding that he wants to give parents the resources, education and understanding of what needs to be done as opposed to waiting for the judge to do it when they come to court.

Another presentation will be by Immediate Past NCCW President Bobbie Hunt, who will speak about "Children and Cell Phone Safety." She represents the NCCW on the Religious Alliance Against Pornography executive committee, which is an ecumenical committee. The Alliance has a booklet out called "Sex and Cell Phones," that gives information on ways to protect children with regard to cell phones, including a pledge children can sign to properly use their cell phones. "One thing parents don't realize is the time to get protective measures is at the time of purchase," said Hunt. "Our committee is working with the heads of the major cell phone companies on ways to protect children."

Christine Kovar will speak about the change in women's attitude from "Donna Reed to Madonna." Kovar said, "Don't become so well adjusted in your culture that you fit into it without thinking. Instead, focus on God and his plan for you. You will be changed from the inside out."

Maxine Kaiser, former director of the Diocesan Office of Liturgy, will speak on the topic "Moving Forward in Faith with Mary as our Model."

Adams was elected province director in 2008 for a two-year term. The Diocese of Salt Lake City is in the Province of San Francisco, which includes northern California, Hawaii, Nevada, Utah and Guam. There are eight affiliated dioceses in the Province of San Francisco.

"Los Angeles is also under the umbrella of NCCW, but not technically affiliated. However, we still interact with them," said Adams. "When I attend conferences, I encourage women to become individual members of NCCW. The benefits they derive are to be one in voice and one in spirit with women from throughout the United States. This is important because their opinions and concerns matter and are considered when we make decisions for the programs we have. I am the liaison between the NCCW and the regions within the San Francisco Province."