The St. Jude Parish Women’s Club members enjoy social times together, but the foundation of the club speaks to faith and service.
“The introduction to our Facebook page states that the purpose of our club is ‘to promote the spiritual and personal growth of Catholic women through faith, service, and fellowship,’” says Mary Ball, Women’s Club President. “That sums up what we’re there for. There is a lot of fellowship, but there is the concentration on faith and service.”
Any Catholic woman who is 21 years old or older may join, and members need not be St. Jude parishioners. Currently, there are between 30 to 50 active members with ages ranging from 35 to 80.
“We would certainly welcome younger women to join,” Mary says.
The Women’s Club meets the second Thursday of the month at 6:30 p.m. in the Beatitudes Room. The group recites the Rosary, followed by the meeting at 7 p.m. If there is a social activity planned, however, there is no business meeting.
“We have a number of social activities,” Mary says. “We go to wineries, we have a game night, or we have a night for crafts. We do have a Christmas dinner and gift exchange as a meeting. We also get together informally and do activities for the parish. We stuffed Easter eggs for the hunt and we put together the raffle baskets for the Reverse Raffle. We had a day that we made blankets for the Holy Family Shelter. And at least once a year we serve dinner at Anna’s House.
“We do fun things and things to give back to the parish,” she adds. “If someone asks us for a contribution, we never say ‘no,’ such as a contribution toward an Eagle Scout project. We were asked to help with the Mary’s Way Dinner that was fellowship with women in the parish.”
As Mary emphasizes, any age-eligible woman is welcome and encouraged to join.
“We welcome anyone who wants to come,” she says. “You don’t really have to be a parishioner. If someone is interested in the Catholic faith, she can attend. All are welcome. Each meeting, whether some activity is going on, is a social time to get to know each other and pray the Rosary. There is also food served, so we can break bread together. It’s a very social atmosphere, and faith is an important part of it.”
Meetings are posted in the weekly bulletins. Women interested in joining or wanting more information, may contact Mary Ball at mmb0104@yahoo.com or attend the meeting posted.