One Thousand Pounds of Food Collected for Emergency Hamper Program

Again this year, Father Allan Hall Knights of Columbus Council #8604 at St. Charles Parish, spearheaded a 40 Cans for Lent event. They collected 1,000 pounds of food and $600 in cash donations from St. Charles parishioners and students of St. Charles Catholic School.

Brandy Bobier, CEO and Community Connector for Community Helpers Unite Inc., thanked the group for their generous donations. She said, “We will be utilizing these donations in our emergency hamper program, as well as our youth mentorship program, for youth in independent living or aging out of the Child and Family Services system”.

Thank you to our Knights for a job well done!

“Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ ”
— Matthew 25:37-40 

PRAYER OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS TO MARY

Cathy Bouchard, National Chairperson of Spiritual Development for The Catholic Women's League of Canada, requests that we pray for the health of Pope Francis.

O Mary,
You shine continuously on our journey
as a sign of salvation and hope.
We entrust ourselves to you, Health of the Sick,
who, at the foot of the cross,
were united with Jesus’ suffering,
and persevered in your faith.

“Protectress of the Roman people”,
you know our needs,
and we know that you will provide,
so that, as at Cana in Galilee,
joy and celebration may return
after this time of trial.

Help us, Mother of Divine Love,
to conform ourselves to the will of the Father
and to do what Jesus tells us.
For he took upon himself our suffering,
and burdened himself with our sorrows
to bring us, through the cross,
to the joy of the Resurrection.
Amen.

We fly to your protection,
O Holy Mother of God;
Do not despise our petitions
in our necessities,
but deliver us always
from every danger,
O Glorious and Blessed Virgin.


St. Charles Ladies’ Association Newsletter 2022

Our mission is to assist the parish, under the guidance of the Pastor, to develop a sense of community among women, which promotes the development of the spiritual and social life of the parish.

St. Charles Ladies’ Association 2022-23 Executive

Back left Denyse, Annette, Kim, Anna, Lynda Ann.  Front left Florence, Diana, Eva.  Missing Rita Tully.

Introducing our new Executive

President Diana Hooper

President Elect Kim Zapotochny

Past President Florence Weber

Secretary Eva Arsenault

Treasurer Lynda Ann Smith

Spiritual Convener Anna Desilets

Kitchen Convener Annette Kohut

Events Convener Denyse Lafleche Turnbull

Communication Convener Rita Tully

Past Events

Funeral for Father Terry - The funeral Mass for our former pastor, Rev Terrance P. McGrath, was held at St Charles on September 7, as per Fr Terry’s wishes.  Archbishop Richard Gagnon presided and many priests from the Archdiocese concelebrated.

Many family members and friends from out of town were unable to attend.  The Mass was live-streamed and viewed over 345 times.

It was an honor and a privilege for the ladies to be asked to prepare the funeral luncheon for over 200 people.  In decorating, we paid tribute to his deep Irish roots.

St. Charles Night - November 5, the parish hosted a dinner dance to celebrate  our patron St. Charles Borromeo.  The Ladies’ Association wishes to thank all the women of the parish who contributed to its success - selling tickets, setting up the hall, donating cakes for the auction, running the ‘Gift Card Tree’, selling sponsorships and much more.  With our help the parish raised much needed funds.

The Christmas Bake and Craft Sale - December 3 and 4. We earned a  profit of $1,757.50 which was donated to the Catholic School of Evangelization in St. Malo.  The funds will be used by the CSE to help in renovating  their kitchen.  CSE hosts summer and winter camps for youth who want to grow in their Catholic faith.

Evergreen Workshop - Dodie Labbe facilitated the workshop on December 14 in the parish hall.  The participants spent a fun afternoon creating center pieces and wreaths. Funds raised were donated to the Christmas Cheer Board.

Upcoming Events

Post-Christmas Pot Luck Lunch & Gathering -  Saturday, January 21, doors open at 11:30 am and lunch at 12:00 pm.  A short meeting and fellowship will follow this.

Chili Sunday - February 5 -  The Ladies’ Association has committed to providing two meals per year for 300 people at the Immaculate Conception Soup Kitchen.  We invite parishioners to bring in Chili or make a monetary donation towards the meal.

In February, 2022, our parishioners donated enough chili to fill 8 large pots.  They used the leftovers to make ‘chili dogs’ at a later date.

Assisting Mothers and Babies - Again this February, the Ladies’ Association will collect items for babies i.e. diapers,  clothing and formula which will be donated to pro-life groups - Crisis Pregnancy Centre and Villa Rosa.

“Christmas Blessing
May you be filled with the wonder of Mary, the obedience of Joseph, the joy of the angels, the eagerness of the shepherds, the determination of the magi, and the peace of the Christ child.”
— Author Unknown

Every Life Must Be Remembered

Members of the ‘Graveyard Gang’ - Bill, Bev, Ron, Paul and Bob.

When remains are laid to rest in a sacred place, the members of the community have the opportunity to spend time with them. A cemetery is a place for families and friends to mourn and reflect on the lives of the deceased.

St. Charles parish cemetery was established in 1872 with grave markers dating back to the 1800s. After years of neglect, the graveyard had fallen into disrepair. The ground was uneven and many of the gravestones were broken or falling over.

In the early 1990s, a group of men belonging to St. Charles Parish decided to repair and restore this historic property. They used money from the St. Charles Cemetery Trust Fund to buy equipment and materials. As time went on, cement curbs and bases were poured, damaged headstones were repaired and trees and flowers were planted.

In 1997 The Apostles Columbarium was erected. When the first structure reached near capacity, a second one, called The Holy Spirit Columbarium, was built in 2016. This Columbarium has over eighty spots still available.

For Ron Desilets, one of the original group of parishioners who restored the graveyard, taking care of the cemetery is a labor of love. He has recruited a group of buddies who help him and they call themselves ‘The Graveyard Gang’.

When asked why he feels taking care of the graveyard is important he said, ”People live, die, and are buried here. Their family moves away and they have no one to take care of their graves.”  The perpetual care provided shows the faithful departed are not being forgotten and their remains are being respected.

Many thanks to The Graveyard Gang - Bill, Bev, Ron, Paul, and Bob for your many hours of labor making St. Charles Cemetery a beautiful resting place for our departed family and friends.

God’s Comfort and Love

“Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land.” Song of Songs 2:12

The flowers in the Bible symbolize beauty, growth, and life.  Flowers convey the message of God’s comfort and love.  Along with being very pleasant to look at,  flowers provide many benefits.  They can improve mood and boost energy levels.  Most of all, flowers, help build relationships.  Our beautiful flowers greet our parishioners as well as visitors and demonstrates that our community is welcoming and caring. 

Thank you to our gardening group for planting

and caring for our flowers.

St. James Assiniboia Catholic Women’s League Contributes to End Homeless Winnipeg Expo with 1,100 Welcome Bags

In September 2019, St. James Assiniboia CWL was offered the opportunity to help the homeless in Winnipeg.  End Homelessness Winnipeg, an organization that coordinates all the efforts of homelessness in Winnipeg, was hosting a one-day service event called Gizhe Was Ti-Sii-Win Expo.  Service providers across different sectors come together to deliver essential, dignity-enhancing services for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness.

The event was originally planned for June 24, 2020.  St. James Assiniboia CWL was asked to provide the welcome packages  - 1,000 for adults and 100 for children.  When the request was made, the executive enthusiastically replied, “Yes,  we can do this!”   It was decided to make this our 2019 Centenary project - celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Catholic Women’s League organization.

It was important to inform members and other parishioners about the work of End Homelessness Winnipeg  and our upcoming initiative therefore a presentation was arranged. It was essential that the project be environmentally friendly so it was decided to sew cloth bags to contain the welcome package items rather than using  plastic.

We asked members and parishioners to donate fabric.  Kits containing templates, cut material and instructions were distributed.  Our volunteers accomplished the amazing feat of sewing 1,100 cloth bags.

Our next challenge was obtaining items for the Welcome Bags. St. James Assiniboia CWL is comprised of four parishes.  Each parish undertook to collect 1,000 of one specific item:  St. Charles collected new reusable water bottles, St. John XX111 collected socks, St. Paul the Apostle and St. Ann collected hairbrushes and combs.  There was a substantial financial donation from the St. Charles Ladies’ Association and a generous contribution of reusable water bottles from the Manitoba Metis Federation.

In March 2020, Covid-19 brought everything to a halt, and over the following few years, items were stowed away.  Finally, the event was rescheduled for June 24, 2022, at Siloam Mission in Winnipeg.

At the general meetings in April and May,  CWL members  filled 550 bags (totalling 1,1000 bags).  Each tote bag contained a reusable water bottle, a pair of socks, a brush or comb, a granola bar, miscelaneous toiletries, and a card with greetings from the CWL.  End Homelessness provided two bus tickets and passes to city recreational facilities.  The children’s bags contained coloring book, crayons, small toys, socks, reusable water bottles, granola bars, fruit snacks and a city recreational pass.  The monetary value of each adult bag was $30.00 and the child’s bag was $5.00.  When calculating the value of the 1,100 bags,  it totaled an astounding  $30,500.00.

It took four vehicles to transport the Welcome Bags to the event location.  Catholic Women’s League members volunteered as the welcoming committee and distributed the Welcome Bags.

The event’s name, Gizhe Was Ti-Sii-Win, aptly means “working with love, kindness, and generosity for others” in Anishinaabemowin.    This was an opportunity for CWL members, as well as other parishioners, to be involved in many capacities.  The project was done in the true spirit of the event -  kindness, generosity and love for our  less fortunate brothers and sisters.

A Safe, Healthy, Vibrant Community for Women and Families

Members of the Father Allan Hall Knights of Columbus #8604 promote the 40 Cans for Lent campaign.

On April 18th, the North Point Douglas Women’s Centre was the grateful beneficiary of the 40 Cans for Lent food drive spearheaded by the Father Alan Hall Knights of Columbus #8604 from St. Charles Parish.  Throughout Lent, the mountain of food grew until it reached 1,244 pounds.  Thank you to St. Charles Catholic School for donating over 300 pounds of food.  The North Point Douglas Women’s Centre also received a $900 cash donation to purchase much-needed items.

Grand Knight, Jim Turnbull, wished to thank all those who donated food and money.  Jim said, “The donations were received with great happiness and enthusiasm as their shelves were almost empty at that time!!”

St. Charles Parish and St. Charles Catholic School helped fill the empty cupboards at the North Point Douglas Women’s Centre.

About North Point Douglas Women's Centre Inc.

North Point Douglas Women's Centre is a community resource centre in one of Winnipeg's oldest neighbourhoods.  It provides a drop-in space five days a week that responds to basic needs (safety, food security, phone, clothing, computers, information, counselling, spiritual guidance, connection, etc.).  It seeks to support and empower women and their families as they address issues in their lives.

A Spring Fling – Ukrainian Fundraiser

St. Charles parishioners wanted to show their support for Ukrainian people in their fight to save their country from the Russian invasion.  April 23rd, we had a Spring Fling social.   After adding ticket sales, a 50/50 draw, a silent auction, and donations, we raised $5,600.00.

The event chairperson, Colleen Bevan, expressed her appreciation to all who helped.  “A special thanks to the organizing committee, the parishioners who donated the silent auction prizes, and those fabulous karaoke performers.  Well done St. Charles!”.