President’s Message
This month as I contemplated what to write for the newsletter, I began to think about the liturgical calendar. We start the month of November with the feast of All Saints, where we remember all those whose souls are in heaven. The “named” saints and those private saints we know as our departed family and friends. The month ends with last day of the liturgical calendar as December 1 is the first day of Advent. The saints gave of themselves to God and to their fellow men. They reached outside of their own desires to do good for others. Advent begins a time of waiting and preparation for the feast of Christmas when God gives us his greatest gift, his son, Jesus Christ.
These thoughts brought me to some of the important work we do as an organization, reaching out in service to our communities. This is one of the hallmarks of the Nashville Catholic Business League. When I reviewed the history of the NCBWL in the minutes from the First Anniversary, the organizers identified three aspects of the group; intellectual, spiritual and social. In response to the Bishop’s expressed wishes, the committee determined that 90% of the activities of the NCBWL would be spiritual in nature. This included the charitable activities of the group. In September we hosted our annual Pearls of Wisdom event, last month we collected for Catholic Charities Refuge Program. This month we continue this commitment with our collection of items for the Religious Sisters and our fall service event at Book’em.
The Book’em activity is a great event for us to step out into the community and give service. In the Spring of 2019 a group helped with the Habitat for Humanity Women’s Build in Davidson County. These events extend our commitment to service beyond the Catholic Community.
Every year one of my favorite activities is the collection of items and the visit to the Sisters of Mercy and the Dominican Sisters. The sisters in the infirmaries appreciate the items in the gift bags, but more than just dropping off gifts, we visit with the Sisters. It doesn’t take a lot of time, but to give these wonderful women, who have dedicated their lives in service to God and others, a little of our time is certainly an important part of our organization. The visit gives them time to celebrate with us and to share their stories with us. Though the Sisters are not saints yet, they have given their lives in service and we try to give back to them. I encourage each of you to see if you can’t help by donating items or money for the gift bags and join us when we visit the Sisters. The visit will be in December and more is posted in the announcements.
In December we will be collecting for another charitable cause at the Christmas party and our Spiritual Activity will be the Christmas concert at the Cathedral.
We are an organization of business women; active, retired, and those in between, but we are so much more. That is why we have members who have been members for decades. I recently met a woman who told me she had been a member since the 70's. We are an organization of business women always looking to see how we can help our community and be role models for other Catholic women.
In the months ahead, I will try to incorporate some of our history into each newsletter message. We are all saints in training. Let us remember others as we prepare for Advent.
Teri Gordon, NCBWL President
