Programming By Commission Focus

CCW Organization Notebook provided by the Joliet Diocesan CCW

Program Planning: Commission focus can help

Programs are the source of the vitality of our local affiliates, and it is never too soon to collect ideas for future programs for our local CCWs.  One plan for parish CCW programming is to feature at least one program a year from each of the five ‘outreach’ commissions: Church (including Vocations), Family (including Reverence for Life), Community (including Environment/Rural Life), International and Legislation.  Whether or not your local council has the womanpower to have all six designated CCW commission committees or chairs, all parish council nearly always do work in each of them and your annual program events can still showcase all or most of them.   The following suggestions are merely designed to ‘jump-start’ your own council’s creative juices.  Do plan to share your good ideas!

CHURCH:  in addition to mornings/evenings/days of reflection, consider

A ‘Living Rosary’ event.  Parishioners/members assemble themselves into a ‘Rosary’, with each one leading one rosary prayer (or a decade, if your group is small).  Large groups could also have individuals giving special Biblical or other liturgical reflections for each decade.  Your ‘Living Rosary’ could take several forms: a ‘Living Rosary’ for Vocations, for Reverence for Life, for peace in our time, etc.  Even the venues could change: instead of in or around the nave of your church, it could be a daytime walk from your church to a nearby park, ending in a picnic or simple social.

A traditional ‘Communion Breakfast’: Invite all the women of your parish to attend a particular weekend Mass (sitting together in reserved seating), and then adjourn for a plain continental breakfast.  If you wish, you could invite someone (a parish staff member?) to give a brief reflection during the latter.

 FAMILY:

-        A family (children & adults) Advent-wreath or Advent-calendar making session could be planned for an hour after a weekend Mass.

-        Organize the parish teens and have them baby-sit the youngsters, allowing the parents to have an evening for Christmas shopping, or simply a night out.

-        Schedule a speaker on parenting (grandparenting?)

 COMMUNITY:

-        Have your St. Vincent DePaul Society tell your group about how they help the needy in your community.  Ask them how they work with other churches, agencies, ‘Meals on Wheels’, etc.

-        Check with your local homeless or domestic violence shelter as to the needs of their clients; then have a collection of these and schedule a time for members to assemble packets of needed toiletries or other items.

-        Is there an issue in your town that needs discussing?  Ask a member of your town staff, police department, library board, etc., to talk to your group about the problem or possible solution.

 INTERNATIONAL:

-        Put up a display in your church narthex for a week or so, highlighting one or several of the many international projects of NCCW, and others: Water for Life, the Madonna Plan, Catholic Relief Services, the Heifer Project.

-        Schedule a video or speaker on any of the above.

 LEGISLATION:

-Organize a Voter Registration Day prior to a national election

-Distribute copies of materials on “Faithful Citizenship” available from the National Council of Catholic Bishops website: www.usccb.org

Parish CCW programs that are suited to the interests of members assist in building the community of members and attract new members.  They should be carefully selected and planned for variety, interest, specific concerns of the members, local community information needs, provocative timely topics, entertainment, member participation and socializing