A long-awaited visit by Susan Dickson, national president of the Catholic Women’s League, to members in Hamilton diocese occurred late in October. It replaced her proposed address to the cancelled diocesan conference in March.
It was an occasion to launch a new handbook of resources for branches, compiled by Colleen McMurchy, the board member responsible for international connection with the World Union of Catholic Women’s Organisations, who was present.
Excerpts from the handbook were acted out, creating participation and fun.
The new handbook was just one example of promotional material available to members. These included banners, posters, flyers, prayer cards and a leaflet produced by Matamata branch.
The leaflet comprised a short history of the CWL’s patron, St Margaret Clitherow, a 16th-century martyr; the foundress of the CWL, Margaret Fletcher, a 20th-century pioneer of women’s education and Christian feminist; and the beginnings of the CWL in New Zealand.