On Saturday January 18, 2025, 15 women gathered at St. Mary’s School for a morning of fellowship and sharing.
The day had been thoughtfully planned by Suzanne McCarthy and Beth Procter. Guest facilitator was Sheila O’Keefe McCarthy who dynamically delivered a well-crafted presentation that engaged the participants with enthusiasm. Sheila shared about the women of faith who had influenced her spiritual journey. As women, we need to support each other on life’s journey rather than be in competition. We need to be in relationships with one another and communicate effectively.
We were asked to reflect and share on what we would say if we had a direct “Conversation with God”. Each of us was asked to ponder and share the names of two women who had a positive impact on our faith development about “Woman’s Impact”. We broke into three small groups to discuss some of the ideas others had shared. Ideas such as peace, respect, trust, life-giving, listening, non-judgmental, support, hope, the power of words and language.
In conclusion, we were encouraged to gain a greater understanding of the personal “Meaning of Faith” and what “Calls to Action” God was sending and we were hearing. The event is not technically completely over. It is ongoing. Sheila has been compiling all of the pieces of prayer that were added to the wall in sticky notes and is putting them together for a beautiful community prayer: rising up from our collective hearts and voices into one concise message put before the throne of our Lord God. Sheila will be personally mailing each woman individually with: the collective prayer; the reminder of the two women of inspiration; and reminder of the two self-directed action items. I am looking forward to hearing of how these letters are received. Will you be able to join us for our next session, date yet undecided.
Refreshments were provided by St. Mary’s Catholic Women’s League. A voluntary collection was taken and $100 was donated to Saint Vincent de Paul, St. Mary’s Conference.