A blessed Advent to you all!
Dues Due
Remember to pay your dues. We don’t have a large budget and most of our work is done with volunteers, but to bring in quality speakers for our White Mass and other costs, we do depend on our dues to make it happen.
As for what is happening, read on below.
Board Meeting
I can’t believe it is December already. We will have a meeting some Thursday next month, but due to other commitments (see below), I won’t be able to get to it until the week after Christmas. Board, please look at your calendars so when I ask, you can tell me which one(s) is best for you.
Lenten Spark Morning of Reflection
If you haven’t already, please mark you calendars for our Lenten time of reflection for Saturday morning March 3, 2018. Fr. Schumacher will be giving the talks which will be in one of his parish churches. I know he is busy revving up for Advent and Christmas, so I will get you more details with the new year.
NFP Conference
Along with the WI Guild, we helping to sponsor the conference at Marquette honoring the 50th anniversary of Humanae Vitae July 20-21, 2018. Dr. Richard Fehring is collecting a great bunch of speakers. It will end with a picnic and will therefore take the place of our annual guild picnic, so even if you can’t make the conference, you can still join us at the picnic.
White Mass 2018
Mark your calendars and spread the word about our annual White Mass Thursday October 18, 2018 on the feast of our patron St. Luke the evangelist. Our speaker will be Dr. Grabowski. He is an associate professor of moral theology at Catholic University and serves on the Pontifical Council of the Family and was an expert at the Synod of Bishops on the Family. When I know his topic, I will tell you.
Don’t know yet where this will be held, but Archbishop Listecki will be the celebrant.
Legislative Dealings
Just to let you know, our guild and its members have been busy testifying and working with the legislators on recent legislation.
The first is AB 206/SB 633. There is a loophole in the present state law that allows ob/gyne attendings to supervise and teach residents how to do abortions. I have included my testimony above. Dr. Jim Linn, as an ob/gyn who supervises ob/gyn residents also gave powerful testimony on how this training is not needed. ACOG even admits it is done for political purposes, to “normalize” abortions.
The second is one that is coming up before the legislature: AB 633/SB 548 which would have the state set up a palliative care council. Dr. Franklin Smith and myself have been working on changing several problems with the bill.
We are working with in coalition with the Patients’ Rights Action Fund with Barbara Lyons (so this is what she does in retirement!) which includes the WI Catholic Conference, WI Right to Life, and other pro-life groups to prevent doctor prescribed suicide in this state.
White Mass 2017
For those of you who couldn’t make it, you missed a fantastic speaker. Sr. Dregger talked about what makes a Catholic healthcare system (and Catholic healthcare workers) Catholic.
Is it that we care for the poor? Secular systems care for the poor. Our crucifixes and Masses? That is just an external. No, what makes Catholic healthcare Catholic is that we see Jesus in everyone who comes to us. That should be our goal, even if we don’t work in a Catholic healthcare system. And in these days of EHRs, quality measures, Press Ganey scores, and healthcare as a business, I will be the first to admit that I struggle to do that.
Final Word
Assuming any of you are reading this to the end, I want to tell you all that I will be spending the next 2 weeks on pilgrimage to the Holy Land and Rome with my deacon husband and youngest daughter. You will all be in my prayers. And if anyone has any special prayer requests, please email me at [email protected] by Tuesday and I will take them with me. Some of my patients have been requesting stones, so if you want one, I will bring one home for you too.
God bless you all and the work you do. We agree on the goals even if we don’t always agree on how to reach them.