AUGUST 2021 Volume 1, Issue 1 KNOXVILLE DIOCESAN
COUNCIL OF CATHOLIC WOMEN
Dogwood Connect
MEMBER NEWSLETTER RESURRECTED
The past 18 months have shown us the importance of keeping connected to our members! That is why we have decided to resurrect the KDCCW
"Dogwood Connect" newsletter. Initially started in 2016, the newsletter was intended to provide members with updates related to CCW activi- ties. We will be publishing the Dogwood Connect quarterly in 2021. If you have suggestions for articles or would like to provide us with infor- mation for future newsletters, please email Susan Collins at scollins51@hotmail.com
MEET THE KDCCW OFFICERS
Introducing the KDCCW 2021-2023 officers: Susan Collins, President;
Michelle Peckham, Vice President; Amelia Sweeney, Secretary; and Kathy Morin, Treasurer. Read more about the newly elected officers in the pages that follow.
Check out the KDCCW Website: http://www.kdccw.org/directors.html
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Susan Collins ... 2
Michelle Peckham ... 2
Kathy Morin ... 3
Amelia Sweeney ... 3
Ideas/ Save the dates ... 4
Convention News………...….5-6 Holy Trinity Flags/ Box of Joy Ministry ... 7
SPECIAL POINTS OF INTEREST
Get to know the New KDCCW officers
Highlights of the 2021 convention
Innovative fund raising idea
DOGWOOD CONNECT
Knoxville Diocesan Council of Catholic Women (KDCCW)Are you looking for a great service project?
Consider the Box of Joy Ministry.
Information on Page 7 of this
newsletter!
Michelle was born in Wheeling, West Virginia. She was raised in Cleveland, Ohio where she attended 12 years of Catholic school.
Since moving to Tennessee in October of 2016, Michelle attends Holy Ghost Church in the Smoky Mountain Deanery. Prior to that, Michelle attended St Thomas Aquinas in East Lansing, Michigan. Michelle said "St. Thomas was my parish during the first part of my marriage. Prior to my marriage, I attended Holy Martyrs in Medina, Ohio".
Michelle and her husband Steve have been married for 19 years. Michelle works for Knoxville-Knox County Community Action Committee as a Benefits Special- ist, helping people with disabilities to obtain their SSA benefits. In her free time, Michelle enjoys canning jams and pickles, baking and reading.
Michelle is currently the President of the Smoky Mountain Deanery and an ac- tive member of the Holy Ghost CCW. She serves on the Spirituality Commission for NCCW rosary sub-committee. Her meditation was used for the NCCW July 13th rosary. Michelle wrote meditations to be used for the Thursday rosary at
SUSAN COLLINS, KDCCW PRESIDENT
MICHELLE PECKHAM, KDCCW VICE-PRESIDENT
Susan is currently living in Greeneville Tennessee. Susan was born to a Catholic family in Easthampton, MA and moved to TN in the 3rd grade. Her grandparents (both her mother's and father's family) moved to the United States from Poland and settled in Massachusetts after World War I.
Susan has been a member of Notre Dame Catholic Church (5 Rivers Dean- ery) in Greeneville, for over 50 years.
Susan and her husband Danny are the parents of two adult children. Their son (Father Dustin Collins) is the pas- tor of St. Mary Church in Johnson City.
Their daughter (Stefania) is married to Vincent Livingston and lives next door with their grandchild, a vibrant 4 year old little girl named Sasha, who is the
"light of our life!"
Susan's college degree is in Advertis- ing and Commercial Art and in the past, she worked at an advertising agency, newspaper and printing firm until her son asked her to help with the youth at church. For the last 18 years, Susan has served as the Direc- tor of Religious Education and Youth Ministry at Notre Dame Church in Greeneville and enjoys teaching the faith to the youth of our parish.
Susan shared that "COVID-19 has brought back the Sunday Family Din- ner to our house". She enjoys cooking for a small crowd and delivering meals to some folks who live alone. Susan enjoys collecting Dalmatians, and cur- rently has her 3rd Dalmatian mix pound puppy, named Domino!
AMELIA SWEENEY, SECRETARY
Prayer to Our Lady of Good Counsel O Mother of Good Coun- sel, Star of the Sea, to you we turn for light to guide our uncertain steps through life. Throughout the world your gracious image is given an hon- ored place. Many people in prayerful petition, have obtained good coun- sel from you and through you countless people have been restored to good health, been given peace of mind released from worry and fear, cleansed from sin and restored to a strong and lasting faith. Beloved Mother of Good Counsel, this way we ask you to listen to the prayers placed through you before your only
Son. Show yourself a mother to us, and counsel to become your true and faithful children, and may the blessing of your only son come upon us . Amen
Amelia was born and raised in
Miami, Florida. She is currently attending St. Mary's Gatlinburg Ten- nessee and has been a member there for 5 years. She is married to her husband Mike and they have two sons, Carlos and Felix.
Amelia is the Administrative Director for Hospitality Solutions in Gatlin- burg. She enjoys reading and travel.
Amelia is a retired Naval Officer, a professional singer, Cantor and CCD teacher at St. Mary's.
Kathy was born in Vallejo, California. When she just three years old, her Dad was hired by General Motors which required quite a few moves for the family. Kathy attended Kindergarten in Kansas City, MO; first and second grade in Mission, KS; third grade in Kenmore, NY; and fourth thru
eighth grade (plus six weeks of high school) in Lockport, NY. The remainder of the high school years were spend in York, PA. Kathy and her family lived in North Olmsted, OH while she was in college in Dayton, OH. Kathy said “other than Kindergarten and my MBA program, all my school years were in Catholic Schools!” Kathy now attends St. Joseph Norris Parish (for the past 5 years). Having moved a lot in her younger years, Kathy has been a member of 23 parishes!
Kathy has a Bachelor's of Science degree in Chemistry and an Masters degree in Business Administration in Management. She currently works for H&R Block. Kathy has a daughter (Kimberly) , a Son (Sean), 4 grandchildren and 3 great-grandchildren. Kathy enjoys reading, picture puzzles and being part of Girl Scouts.
KATHY MORIN, TREASURER
Sharing some great ideas
NOTRE DAME CCW
GREENEVILLE, TN
GETS CREATIVE WITH FUND RAISING
When the ladies of Notre Dame CCW realized that COVID-19 was going to prevent them from conducting their primary fund raising activity (a parish wide bake sale), they came up with a
creative (minimal contact) way to generate some funds for charitable giving.
Andrea and Elaine Pletsch (VP and President of the Notre Dame CCW, 2021) organized a parish wide plant sale timed perfectly with delivery just before Mother's day in May. Using a pre- order only design for the sale and working with a local reliable greenhouse, parishioners were absolutely thrilled with the quality of the plants received. The sale was a huge success!
Now that is getting creative! Send your chapter success stories/creative ideas to Susan Collins and we will be sure to share!
Mark your calendar….
Planning is underway for the 2022 KDCCW
Convention! The convention is scheduled for April 28-30 , 2022. See the poster to the left for
details.
The KDCCW Board of Directors will meet:
Sat., Sept. 25, 2021 and Sat., Jan 15, 2022 from 10 am until 2 pm Eastern Time in the Shea Room
at the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Knoxville.
October is Council of Catholic Women recognition month and a good time for a membership drive.
Consider organizing a Box of Joy campaign in September-October (box collection begins in
2021 CONVENTION HIGHLIGHTS!
BY MICHELLE PECKHAM
* Convention was held on June 10 11 and 12 2021 at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.
* The convention’s dates fell on the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
*The convention began on Thurs- day evening with a Mass of Re- membrance celebrated by Bishop Stika. The women who have passed in the diocese from the last two years were remembered.
* The evening included a dinner and opening talk by national speaker Maria Johnson. After her talk titled “Encountering Mary in our lives- Lessons from the Joyful Mysteries,” she lead us in the ro- sary by candlelight in the cathe- dral. It was Thursday and there- fore the Luminous Mysteries were meditated on. The statue of Pope Saint John Paul II was illuminated.
* On Friday, the feast of the Sa- cred Heart of Jesus, we began the day with the Divine Mercy chap- let.
*National speaker, Katherine Bogner used the two feast days as inspiration for her talk, “In the Hearts of the Holy Family: Praying
with Lectio and Visio Divina”
* We ended the day with dinner and the movie “Love and Mercy:
Faustina“
* After Mass on Saturday, Na- tional speaker and Nashville resi- dent, Sonja Corbitt, spoke on
“Becoming Magnificat with Mary.”
* The final event on Saturday was the induction of the new officers.
Youngest attendee, Sasha.
Granddaughter of Susan Collins.
To the Ladies of the Diocese of Knoxville:
We have certainly experienced quite a year, haven’t we? When the board decided to cancel last year’s convention my heart was broken and I know I wasn’t alone. But through it all we have managed to thrive and grow in our faith despite the awful hardships experienced around the world. I wish to express my gratitude to all of you for bear- ing with me during this somewhat unprecedented time. It has been an honor and quite a privilege to serve as your president for the past two years. I especially want to thank the members of the KDCCW board who have been my mainstays, always making my job easier. So many projects had to be cancelled or put on hold and it has caused our dio- cese to suffer greatly because what you do is so very important. Im- portant to the diocese, important to your deanery, important to your parish, and important to the community as a whole. My heartfelt thanks goes out to you for all the work done in spite of the conditions that surrounded you. You’re, quite simply, the best and you’ve done your best. As we go forward I would like to congratulate the 2021- 2023 KDCCW officers, Susan Collins, President; Michelle Peckham, Vice President; Amelia Sweeney, Secretary; and Kathy Morin, Treasurer.
MESSAGE FROM KDCCW PAST PRESIDENT JULIE BOMAR
THE 2021 REMEMBRANCE MASS
The convention began Thursday evening with a Mass of Remembrance celebrated by Bishop Stika. The names of the women who have passed in the diocese from the last two years were read aloud.
We welcome future articles
for submission to the news- letter. Please send your
articles and photos to Susan Collins,
KDCCW president at scollins51@hotmail.com
HOLY TRINITY "FLAGS ON THE HILL"
Have you ever driven into the driveway at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Jefferson TN and seen the U.S.A. Flags displayed on the hill near the roadway? If so, you may be wondering – Who erects those Flags? Whose names are attached to the Flags? When are the Flags displayed?
During the beginning of each year, the Council of Catholic Women (CCW) at Holy Trinity Catholic Church holds its annual fundraising event for “Flags on the Hill.” This is a wonderful way to honor a beloved Veteran who served our Country or a loved one who is actively serving our Country in the Armed Forces. For a donation of $25 per honoree, a loved one’s name is attached to a Flag and displayed on the hill in front of the church throughout the year on the following days: Presidents Day, Armed Forces Day, Memorial Day, Flag Day, Independence Day, Patriots Day, Veterans Day, and Pearl Harbor Day.
This activity helps the CCW to meet its goals in donating to Life Outreach Cen- ter, Appalachian Outreach and the Joining Hands Health Center.
Submitted by Denise Frinzi
HISTORY OF THE NDCCW
Why were we founded? In March, 1920, NCCW was founded under the auspices of the U.S. Catholic bishops. The bishops had witnessed the important work done by Catholic women’s organizations during World War I and had the wisdom to call for the founding of NCCW to bring these organizations together. This gave U.S.
Catholic women a unified voice, a national service program and the ability to reach out to each other through a national organization.
KDCCW Board Contact
Information
President Susan M. Collins 43 Pinecrest Ct. W.
Greeneville, TN 37745 423-470-2560 (C) scollins51@hotmail.com
Vice-President Michelle Peckham
5762 Holly Grove Way Apt 533 Knoxville, TN 37918
865-234-2818
misha1109@yahoo.com
Secretary Amelia Sweeney 450 Lakeshore Drive Sevierville, TN 37876 865-430-5084 (H) 865-209-9097 (C) thesinginglt@gmail.com
Treasurer Kathy Morin 20 Valley Forge Dr.
Oak Ridge, TN 37830 865-230-1390 (C)
kathymorin69@gmail.com
Have you heard about the Box of Joy Project?
The Box of Joy project is a national Catholic ministry that provides gift boxes of items needed by children in developing countries. In 2020, 575 volunteers, united through the Box of Joy ministry blessed 61,422 children! Donations are collected during the Box of Joy Week (Nov 6-14, 2021). KDCCW members are encouraged to support this ministry. Information about this program is available on line at TeamJoy@CrossCatholic.org. To become a leader or learn more about it, check out the information on the Cross Catholic website.
7
