Do you have a "women's group" at church?

  • Thread starter Thread starter twk001
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
T

twk001

Guest
DH and I have joined a new parish, and I’d like to start some sort of women’s group there. So many of our protestant friends have this sort of thing in their church, so why can’t I? I would like to propose to the priest to start a women’s group that could get together weekly for prayer, scripture reading, maybe a cooking demo for new recipes, exchange of tips for making the home more spiritual, maybe network with others for babysitting, etc. Whatever! I guess I’m looking for some sort of “mission” for the group so that I can convince the priest that we’re getting together for a purpose. Do you have a group like this, and if so, what goes on there? thanks-twk
 
Answered over on the other thread -

I’d suggest CCW and checking with your local KofC about the ladies aux.
 
Come to our Parish, our Priest has a difficult time saying no to anyone who wants to start a new group. Which is a good thing for the most part.
Have you joined your Alter & Rosary Society. I know it is a bit different from what you are talking about. Ours is a VERY good networking group and they try to pair women off into groups of similar interest.
One suggestion I will make, is be clear if you are going to be a stay at home women’s group or open to everyone. We have a woman’s group that keeps asking me to join, I would love to, if everything was not at 10am on Wednesday!
 
twk001 said:
DH and I have joined a new parish, and I’d like to start some sort of women’s group there. So many of our protestant friends have this sort of thing in their church, so why can’t I? I would like to propose to the priest to start a women’s group that could get together weekly for prayer, scripture reading, maybe a cooking demo for new recipes, exchange of tips for making the home more spiritual, maybe network with others for babysitting, etc. Whatever! I guess I’m looking for some sort of “mission” for the group so that I can convince the priest that we’re getting together for a purpose. Do you have a group like this, and if so, what goes on there? thanks-twk
Click to expand...
We have one–I have yet to join, but plan to do so soon. Basically, they meet once per week, on Monday evenings, and socialize, and then put together charity events–like gathering supplies for homeless shelters in the area…or helping the youth group when they need help. Pretty much–whatever is required, but they also believe in socializing and talking about parenting and being good Catholic moms…which is important for women to do…it’s important to have a network of women we can relate to, for well being, especially Catholic women. The group has about 40 women so far–I’m excited about joining!
 
Our parish started with just a “women’s fellowship” group that sounds a lot like what the OP is thinking of starting. Now almost 20 years later, it has disbanded because the parish has grown and so have the number of more specialized ministries/groups for women.

If you have nothing at all for women, then I would suggest that a general fellowship group might be a good start. A separate Bible study group may evolve as an offspring of the 1st group. Our fellowship group used to do an annual craft fair in the fall plus help out with other events at the parish. They met monthly.

We have had Christ Renews His Parish (CRHP) for more than 10 years which provides spiritual formation to men and women in separate “teams” over 6 months after an initial retreat at the parish. The purpose is to help people to develop a stronger spiritual life so that they can then in turn go forth and serve in their parish and revitalize it. Many ministries have been started by people who went through this process such as Sisters in Christ and Mothers of Young Children.

If you think that something like CRHP would kick start some new involvement at your parish, you can get a “road team” to bring it to your parish and get you started. It does require cooperation of the priest and some advance planning, but the rewards to the parish are pretty awesome.
 
Our parish is small…about 200 families. We have a Women’s Group that has struggled a lot in the 21 years I’ve been a member of the parish. I believe the main mission of the group was to provide back-up/service to the parish, along with providing a social outlet for women. In our parish, every woman is automatically a member. There are no dues or anything…just a hope that women will participate. My own involvement has lessened over the years, as I took on other projects in the parish (volunteer youth minister, school board member, etc.) The bottom line is, if most of the “jobs” in your parish are handled by volunteers, they get spread too thin to participate in the way you might hope. We have done many things to encourage women to attend and have had some small success in quarterly offerings that are spiritual in nature (a study on Mary, guest speakers, etc.). But sadly, it comes down to the same 5 or 6 dedicated ladies running the “business” side of things. I’ve noticed that we’ve simply had a rotation in the officers from year to year.

But, not to discourage you, let me tell you about the wonderful things our parish women do. They organize an annual Christmas bazaar and luncheon that draws many non-parishioners. (This is their big fundraiser that brings in enough to do things in the parish–This year they bought our youth group the T3-Teen Bible Study program. 😃 )They organize weekly soup suppers and Stations of the Cross during Lent. They also organize a reception for those coming into the Church at Easter, as well as the First Communion breakfast. They work with the Knights of Columbus to put on our parish picnic on the feast of Sts. Peter & Paul. These ladies do a lot!!

I think you should go for it! Good luck and God bless!

Kathy
 
I am a Protestant here (Mennonite Brethren). We have such a group in our church. We base it on the Bible verse which talks about that the older women should teach the younger women. We expand our usage of the word “older” to include “more experienced”. Sometimes we may have a woman who is younger than some other women in the group who shares something with the others that week with which she is more experienced than the rest. We publicize each month the subject matter for each meeting.

Every meeting starts with a Bible study/Devotional, group prayer, sharing time. Then we get into the subject matter for the day. We have lots of different subjects and our attendance varies based on the subject of that week. For example: Cooking demonstrations, house cleaning tips and demonstrations, family finances, internet demonstrations (some ladies showed the others how to get hooked up on Myspace.com so that they could network with each other), childcare issues (breastfeeding, discipline, early childhood education, how to filter you kids internet usage), homeschooling pros and cons, sewing demonstrations… The list can literally go on and on.

We have a lot of fun and get a chance to grow our spiritual life at the same time.
 
Katie1723 said:
I sure wish we had a prayer group at my parish.

Kathy
Click to expand...
Do a little research on the type of group you have interest in starting. Ask your priest for permission to start one. Reserve a room or find a home to host. Put a notice in the parish bulletin. Talk with the ladies who show up about what format you would like to follow for your group. Get it started! It only takes one dedicated person to get the ball rolling!
 
I’ve never been involved in a woman’s group I liked. It seemed like everything degenerated into cliquishness and subtle sniping. My guess is it’s the area I live in - very affluent, lots of gated communities. Don’t know.

I would think that so long as everyone is really there to grow spiritually, it could be good.
 
we have Catholic Daughters of the Americas
Altar and Rosary Society
Legion of Mary (this is supposed to be open to all but in fact is all women at this time)
Guadalupanas
many of the prayer groups and Disciples in Mission groups are women only
there is a support group for homeschooling moms that meets here
there is a group starting a MOMS group
 
I’d love to start one. Especially one where people can bring kids if necessary. shrug I’m home all day by myself, it would be nice to have company
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top