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Twenty-five years ago, two Catholic Women’s League councils became one.
When the Catholic parishes in Spruce Grove and Stony Plain came together to form Holy Trinity, their CWL councils followed. On October 9, 2001, Holy Trinity Council #3074 was officially established, beginning a story of faith, service and friendship that has reached well beyond the walls of the parish.
The council began with 62 charter members. Loretta Friesen served as its first president, joined by Joan Koshuta as president-elect, Evelyn Yaceyko as past president, Mary Ann Paydli as secretary and Madeline Twerdochlib as treasurer. Cathy Floyd, Val Bradley and Linda Fueller also served on the original executive, with Father Gordon Roebuck as spiritual advisor.
Their first major project was close to home.
Holy Trinity’s new church needed a parish kitchen, and the CWL went to work helping furnish it. Members held apple pie sales in the fall and bake sales at Christmas, raising money to help equip the kitchen and purchase a stove. It set a pattern that would continue for the next quarter century: see a need, gather together and find a way to help.
One of the council’s most visible legacies is Our Lady’s Garden.
Shortly after the new council was established, vice-president and spiritual development chair Val Bradley died. A donation made in her memory helped begin an effort to purchase a statue of Our Lady of the Street in her honour.
Through fundraising and additional donations, the statue was purchased in 2007. Over time, the council created a meditation flower garden around it, adding stone benches inscribed with the words from Micah: “Act justly, love tenderly, walk humbly with your God.”
An arbor and climbing vine were later added, creating a place that has become part of parish life. It is a setting for prayer and reflection, but also for photographs marking weddings, anniversaries and sacraments. Asked to name an accomplishment members are especially proud of, Our Lady’s Garden and the statue of Mary immediately came to mind.
The council’s service has also reached far beyond Holy Trinity.
Through the Dress a Girl campaign, members helped sew nearly 400 dresses for girls in countries including Peru, Jamaica, Zambia, Mexico, South Sudan and Haiti. Members were able to see photographs of some of the girls receiving the dresses they had made.
Closer to home, the CWL helped establish two ministries that continue to support people during difficult times.
Five Loaves and Two Fish was created to assist parishioners facing financial hardship and is administered through one of the parish deacons with support from the church community.
The Healing Shawl ministry began in 2015. Members crochet or knit shawls while praying for the people who will receive them. The shawls are blessed before being given to those seeking comfort, support or healing. At the time the council’s history was submitted to the Archdiocese, 564 shawls had been completed and 480 had been given out.
Over the years, the council has supported pregnancy support centres, families in need, a sister parish in Jamaica and numerous other charitable causes. During Lent and Advent, projects have been chosen to give both CWL members and the wider parish an opportunity to help.
The council has also taken an active role in social justice and pro-life issues. Members hosted public screenings on euthanasia, distributed educational material, wrote letters on issues of concern and participated in the Alberta March for Life and annual Week of Prayer for Palliative Care campaigns.
During the COVID period, members marked the national CWL theme Care for Our Common Home by planting 100 trees for 100 years of service in a natural area in Stony Plain. Benches bearing the League crest were also installed in Stony Plain and at St. Joseph’s Cemetery in Spruce Grove.
There have been quieter contributions too. Members of the Bitsy Sew ’n Sews have made quilts for pastors and seminarians who have served the parish, while longtime CWL members are recognized for milestones in their years of service.
Twenty-five years after its founding, Holy Trinity’s CWL has grown from 62 charter members to 206 women today. But the story of the council is about much more than membership numbers.
It can be seen in the parish kitchen, in a garden where people stop to pray, in a shawl given to someone who needs comfort, in a family receiving help at a difficult moment and in a handmade dress delivered to a child on the other side of the world.
It can also be found in the friendships formed among generations of women who have served together. “We invite ladies to join this caring sisterhood to unite in faith, service and social justice. It is also a wonderful way to meet ladies from our parish.”
The next chapter begins with a celebration. All women of Holy Trinity are invited to join the Catholic Women’s League for its 25th Anniversary Parish Council Potluck Dinner on Wednesday, September 30 at 6 p.m. in the Parish Hall.
The evening will include special guests and recognition of the many individuals whose contributions have helped shape the council over the past quarter century. There is no registration required. Simply bring a dish to share and come celebrate 25 years of faith, service and sisterhood.
