Story by Mary Kroner
Lincoln (SNR) – The Lincoln Diocesan Council of Catholic Women (LDCCW) will celebrate LDCCW Sunday Oct. 24 to acknowledge the accomplishments of its members.
The LDCCW is an organization of all Catholic women in the Diocese of Lincoln which aims to enrich the lives of Catholic women by pursuing projects designed to further spiritual and family life.
Organized in 1932, the LDCCW has undertaken dozens of projects which fulfill the corporal and spiritual works of mercy as outlined by the Church.
According to LDCCW President Kathy Rowell, some of these projects include supporting Pi Alpha Chi, the Catholic sorority at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln through prayer and donations, collecting “Funds for Nuns” to help pay debt for an incoming candidate or for educational needs, encouraging prayer for the priests through the Seven Sisters Apostolate, providing Parent Educator books, and supporting St. Gianna’s Women’s Homes, an apostolate of Catholic Social Services of Southern Nebraska.
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Speaking on the significance of the LDCCW Sunday, Rowell said it provides an opportunity to acknowledge the work done by the women in parishes and throughout the diocese.
“Each parish Altar Society or Parish Council of Catholic Women (PCCW) is made up of the ‘Women in the Pews’ who do so much of the unseen work in the parish,” Rowell said.
The work of the LDCCW directly affects not only the local parish and each family, but also impacts on the state and national legislative scene as well as on the needs of the missions and the poor around the world. The vision and scope of the LDCCW is at one and the same time local and global.
According to Connie Consbruck, president of St. Michael’s PCCW in Hastings, for example, their October meeting will include a showing of the movie Roe v. Wade, to which they invited all men and women of St. Michael and St. Cecilia parishes in Hastings, as well as all area high school and college students.
Involvement in the LDCCW is not limited to those who actively perform works of service however.
Rowell pointed out, “Not everyone is called to be an officer or a worker bee. We need the prayers and support of those who are not able to be actively involved.”
Currently, more than 22,000 women work to fulfill the Gospel mandate by becoming involved in their parishes and towns in humanitarian, religious, pastoral and educational endeavors.
“I am in awe of the women of this Diocese who do the Lord’s work without need for recognition or pay. God sees what is done and sends His blessings,” Rowell said.
The LDCCW officers for 2020-2022 are: Kathy Rowell from the Orleans Deanery, president; Trudy Burenheide, Falls City Deanery, president-elect; Janice Erickson, Orleans Deanery, first vice-president; Diane Synek, Lawrence Deanery, second vice-president; Valerie Able, Falls City Deanery, third vice-president; Karen Dey, York Deanery, treasurer; Chris Cooney, Hastings Deanery, financial secretary; Barb Janda, Lawrence Deanery, recording secretary and Teresa Koch, Fairbury Deanery, auditor.
