The Correspondent
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The Correspondent Winter 2016 To our wonderful Christ Child Society Members, I continue to reflect on our theme this year, “Moments of God’s Grace,” and how our founder Mary Virginia Merrick discovered moments of grace in the beauty and people around her. In doing this I thought defining “grace” would be a good exercise. I looked to various writings on the subject of grace. In the mind of St. Ignatius, one aspect of grace is finding God in all things. Some have described grace as “God-drenched” moments, encountering the goodness of God and being mindful of how God speaks to us in our daily lives. These beautiful thoughts on grace encourage me to open my eyes a bit wider to see all that God is providing in the world around me. I believe God invites us all to be tuned into God’s grace and nearness. Those moments of God’s grace occur when we come together as Christ Child Society members at our various events and gatherings. A comment I have heard many times in my first few months as your CCS president is this, “One of the things I really love about our CCS of Pasadena chapter is the multi- generational nature of our group.” I have to say this was something I also found very attractive about our group when I joined. We have members who have been part of our Christ Child chapter for over forty years as well as members who have children still in diapers! When we attend events it is a blessing and grace to share stories of our chapter’s work over the years, share stories of our families and share stories of our faith. What a gift this is to us all. As we go into the many events of this season I invite you to share your stories with us by attending an event or two, reach out to a member you do not know and experience the richness of this precious group we are all a part of. In honor of our founder Mary Virginia Merrick’s 150th birthday we have highlighted her life and spirituality in our monthly Happenings e-blasts. You can read in this newsletter about the events that have taken place to celebrate her life and mission these past few weeks. Please check out our website to see additional photos as well. If you have not done so already, I invite you to pray the prayer for her canonization. Lord God, in your special love for children, you chose to raise up Mary Virginia Merrick to be the servant of the poor children. In laboring to serve the young and those without hope because of the crushing weight of poverty, she proclaimed the love of your Son. She made her life’s work a demonstration that, ”nothing is ever too much to do for a child.” Grant that her example of selfless charity and courageous virtue in the face of her suffering will inspire us to be generous in the service of others. 1 THE CORRESPONDENT President’s Letter cont. We humbly ask that your servant, Mary Virginia Merrick be numbered among the Church’s canonized saints for edification of your holy people, in accord with your most holy will. Through her intercession, please hear and answer my request (name your intention). Through Jesus Christ our Lord. – Amen. Wishing you all Moments of God’s Grace, Ann Sanders http://christchildpasadena.org/ National Christ Child Society Convention Highlights - September 22nd – 24th Lisa Barker writes: As a first time participant in the Christ Child Society National Convention I learned so much about this wonderful organization to which we all belong. Listening to members from other chapters describe all of the diverse programs that are in place nationwide, serving and supporting at risk children was inspiring. I was most impressed by the dedication and tireless effort that is constantly being put forward by the 6000 members of CCS. This incredible group of loving volunteers really does make a difference in children's lives. I also enjoyed hearing our own Pasadena member and past National President, Roseanne Anderson, educate us all about the cause to canonize our founder Mary Virginia Merrick. Finally, I made many new friends and had a really fun weekend. Christ Child members are a nice, friendly and loving group of women. Liz Anderson writes: Representing the Pasadena Chapter as a delegate at the CCS National Convention this year was an inspiring experience. We spent a long weekend in Atlanta and fully appreciated the Southern hospitality that chapter so graciously offered us. The National Christ Child Society Board did a tremendous job putting together a three-day agenda that engaged our attention, informed our perspectives, invited discussion, and fostered creativity among a diverse group of members from all corners of the country. We shared stories of our programs, our challenges, and our successes, but most memorably we laughed a lot and cried some as well. Our fellow CCS members are doing amazing things to help needy children and their stories touched our hearts. The keynote speaker was Julie Francavilla, who moved us all with her very powerful presentation on Communication. She urged us to “Be Bold” as we work to improve the lives of needy children. She reminded us that it’s time that we stop keeping the Christ Child Society the “best kept secret.” We learned tips for engaging through social media with other chapters and the NCCS Facebook site. Roseann Anderson presented an update on the Cause for Canonization for Mary Virginia Merrick. We witnessed the Denver Chapter as it received its Charter and cheered on many chapters that received recognition for successful programs. We learned how to use some of the tools National Christ Child Society has developed for us since the last Convention, including the Brand Values Matrix. We learned so much! 2 THE CORRESPONDENT National Christ Child Society Convention cont. Ann Sanders writes: After the conferences and annual meeting were completed all the CCS members present hopped onto a school bus and toured the Atlanta chapter’s award-winning project, Elizabeth’s Garden. This is a garden that allows special needs children to work and play in the garden, plus cook and eat what they grow. Despite the fact that it was quite hot and humid, we enjoyed putting on the hard hats and seeing the renovation work that was being done at the garden site. We then traveled to the Cathedral of Christ the King where we celebrated a truly inspiring mass with Atlanta’s Archbishop Wilton Gregory. The Archbishop thanked the members of the CCS around the country for the work being done to touch the lives of children. After mass, we enjoyed a lovely cocktail party at the home of an Atlanta chapter member, Kathy Thompson. The beautiful home and surroundings plus the warm welcome and sharing of the Atlanta members gave us another taste of Southern hospitality. At the closing banquet, we watched National President Anne Kelley from our Pasadena Chapter pass the gavel to our new National President, Marybeth Baucco from Cleveland. We also saw Carol Pickle assume the role of National President Elect! Pasadena is well represented in the National Board leadership. We had eight members of our chapter present at the National Christ Child Convention: in addition to Lisa, Liz and myself, we were happy to have Roseann Anderson, Terry Clougherty, Anne Kelley, Carol Pickle, and Kacey Riley Richards joining us there. It was a treat to spend time together while meeting members from around the country. Please take a look at our CCS website for additional pictures from this year’s National Christ Child Convention. A lot of Southern Hospitality from Atlanta, Georgia! (Hard) hats stay on in Elizabeth’s Garden Our Pasadena Contingency - Sitting L-R: Anne Kelley, Carol Pickle, Roseann Anderson; Standing L-R: Lisa Barker, Ann Sanders, Kacey Riley, Liz Anderson, Terry Clougherty Knitting Caps for Infants In order: Past, Present & Future NCCS Presidents L-F: Anne Kelley, Marybeth Baucco; Carol Pickle Mass at the Cathedral of Christ the King in The incoming NCCS Board Atlanta 3 T THE CORRESPONDENT HURRY & READ!! NO TIME TO LOSE… THIS IS HAPPENING NOW!!! In honor of Mary Virginia Merrick’s 150th birthday on Wednesday, November 2nd, your Connections team is organizing an evening celebration and Recipe Exchange. The timing will be perfect to gather and inspire fellow members with your favorite recipe for the holiday season! Attendance will be limited, so please call Kelly Rouse right away so you may attend and celebrate with us. Elita Balfour and Kelly Rouse (626) 564-0442 …Come on it’s lovely weather to be sharing our Baked goods with you! Did You Get Yours? Did you receive your 2016-2017 Membership Handbook pages? By October 15th you “should” have received the handbook pages by mail or hand delivery to your address as listed in the roster. IF you have not received your pages, please contact Mary Marthe at [email protected] or 626-441-1296. Also, if you need a new Handbook Binder, Mary does have a limited number of the older ones for free, or you can purchase one of the new ones with the updated logo ($10). Contact her if you need one. 4 THE CORRESPONDENT JustECORRESPONDENT hear those sleigh bells jingling ring ting tingling too…… Christmas Open House Tuesday, December 6th at the beautiful home of Ana Raptis. Save the date for this festive holiday party! Plenty of parking - bring a friend. Delicious brunch catered by Mary Pat Christmas Open House Co-Chairs: Mary Hatton Valerie McAndrews Lisa Mohr Watch for your invitation!! Christmas Stocking Fund – Help Fill Those Stockings with Love! As we rapidly approach the Christmas Season the excitement and happiness grows each and every day; unless, of course, you are a child in a home that struggles to put food on the table.