Bitsy Merchant
President, CCW at St. Bernard’s Parish

We just buried one of our friends. As I looked out at the congregation and saw 17 members of the Council of Catholic Women present at the funeral of Sharon, I thought, “this is a true display of stewardship and engagement”. Sharon quietly attended meetings, hosted meetings, and worked wherever she was asked. Sharon was an engaged participant of our group and we will miss her. Before I became a member of the Council of Catholic Women, I didn’t know much about their mission. Actually, I heard a lot of people criticize them for being a “select assembly”. Far from the truth, we extend an invitation to all women of the parish.

After I retired from my position as bookkeeper at St. Bernard’s, I decided to join CCW, mostly to keep in touch with the ladies I knew in the Parish. I have found that these women are the essence of Stewardship. I also serve on the Diocesan Stewardship Council and part of the definition of Stewardship is “being involved with the giving of our time, our talents, and generally supporting the priest and the parish.” These women meet each other, we help each other, we support one another, we become good friends. But we also do things people in the pews do not know. We entertain women in the parish, we feed runaway teenagers, we run an annual craft show, and high tea, and religious gift shop to mention a few. We work together and assist our pastor, Father David Reichling. We are all different, and the gifts we bring all meld together so that Stewardship becomes a way of life. How do you share your talents, time, and treasure with your parish?

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