"Let Your Light Shine" will be the theme of the Springfield Diocesan Council of Catholic Women (DCCW) convention, which will be held on Tuesday, Sept. 11, at the Country Inn and Suites by Carlson in Quincy. The Quincy Deanery will serve as host of the convention.
{mosimage}The 79th annual convention will begin at 7:30 a.m. with registration and conclude at 4 p.m. with celebration of the Eucharist at St. Anthony Church, Quincy. Bishop George J. Lucas will be the celebrant.
Presenters include keynote speaker Father Jeff Vomund, pastor at St. Elizabeth, Mother of John the Baptist Parish in North St. Louis. He was ordained for the Archdiocese of St. Louis in 1997. In addition to his parish work, Father Vomund produces and hosts Faith Matters a bi-monthly television program for KMOV and also appears monthly on the Dave Glover Show in the "Priest and the Rabbi" segment. Father Vomund serves on the Presbyteral Council as well as the Board of Education for the archdiocese.
Father Vomund's talk is titled: "Turning the Other Cheek: Discipleship in a Violent World." Its premise is that reverence for all life is the most distinct way that Christians can allow the light of Jesus to shine through us. This is not a weak response to give in to violence, according to Father Vomund, but a proactive position to stop violence in its tracks. If one's light does not shine beyond the violence in our world, then the darkness is dark indeed, he says.
Elizabeth Smarjesse, director of communication for the Peoria Diocese also will give a talk called "Are You Communicating?"
Attendees will have time for spiritual enrichment, renewal of friendships, meeting new friends, viewing DCCW displays, sharing and learning about each other's parishes and deanery activities.
A silent auction, attendance prizes, raffles for pot-of-gold, a quilt crafted and donated by the ladies of St. Joseph Parish, Quincy, and the DCCW manual, will be available.
Registration is $35 prior to Aug. 20, when it increases to $42. A registration form was published in the July 29 Catholic Times and the DCCW newsletter, Catholic Women in Focus. It also will be available from parish Council of Catholic Women presidents, and deanery presidents at August deanery meetings. For further information contact Lilly Eckert, DCCW president, at (217) 877-7711.