WILKIE — April 25, the St. James Parish Hall in Wilkie was the site of the 81st annual Saskatoon Diocesan CWL convention.
To be sure there was enough space, it was originally planned for the Saskcan Community Hall, which was damaged by fire last Thanksgiving, but St. James CWL president Pat Exley commented in her welcome address that “if the town of Wilkie could go a whole year without hockey, then surely we could make do for a day.”
As it turned out the hall was full, which made it cozy. There was a wonderful turnout, with a total of 184 people including guests and spiritual advisors. Twenty-five lucky people received door prizes as soon as they registered in the morning. Drawing was done before hand, so they were notified as they arrived. Donations of door prizes and items for the registration envelopes as well as the flowers from Georgine’s Greenhouse and a quilt to be raffled donated by our local quilting group are appreciated.
Greetings were brought from many levels of government and religious groups as well as various levels of CWL. Everyone was treated to two interesting speakers in Bruce Acton from St. Paul’s Hospital and Donna Bowyer, who spoke on mental health.
A delicious soup and sandwich lunch was provided by the Wilkie United Church ladies, while the Landis CWL ladies provided many dozen muffins for registration and morning and afternoon break times. These breaks were also timely for those wanting to buy tickets on the quilt raffle, check out the displays set up by Universal Church Supplies, St. James Parish, Saskatchewan Pro-Life, and Sister Val Leibl, or perhaps have a picture taken with the pope (it was only a cutout). As enjoyable as it was, it was not all fun and prizes.
The standing committee reports were given as well as the treasurer’s report, spiritual advisor’s message and the registration report. Soon a new diocesan executive emerged and everyone was invited to next year’s convention May 1 in Watson.
Soon to be past president Fran Stang moved for adjournment and we all filed upstairs to celebrate mass with Bishop Donald Bolen, Father George and several visiting priests. The collection taken at this mass had been previously designated for Leipzig Serenity Retreat. We were surprised and excited to collect more than $1,350 for this worthy cause.
The evening ended with a wonderful banquet catered by Second to None from Battleford, with entertainment by the Youn brothers of Wilkie who received a standing ovation for their piano and violin numbers. The crowd was duly impressed with the talent of these three young men.
In closing I would like to pass on a little tip to help you get through your week. I believe I am paraphrasing our mental health speaker a bit, but I believe the message is to take one day at a time.
Mondays are for compliments (give compliments freely).
Tuesdays are for flexibility (try to be flexible).
Wednesdays are for gratitude.
Thursdays are for kindness.
Fridays are for forgiveness.
Weekends are for chocolate.
