Ladies’ Day Out continues...

It started on a car ride home from the Pilgrimage to Mariapoch in 2013. The comment was made, “I really would like to get to know the other ladies of the Eparchy. We were all side by side, but being new, there was no real opportunity for fellowship”. The others in the car started chatting, taking notes and two missed exits later, the ladies decided to do something about “it”. 

The “it” was to create a venue in which the women of the Eparchy could begin to reach out to one another in an effort to develop friendships and strengthen the familial bonds between parishes. Once approval was obtained from Father Miron of St. Nicholas in Barberton, the ladies of St. Ann’s Ministry began diligently working on the event.

After hundreds of e-mails, long talks into the night and a luncheon brainstorm session with the Sisters of Christ the Bridegroom Monastery, Ladies’ Day Out came to fruition with Liturgy, speakers and a variety of fun and friendly activities focused on women, fellowship and faith. It was a wonderful success. But…St. Ann’s Ministry felt they needed to do more.

One of the activities at Ladies’ Day Out was a “handprint” quilt square, created to form a memory quilt and the thought was to benefit the Sisters of Christ the Bridegroom Monastery. What was to be a single quilt, morphed into three full-sized large wall quilts, compliments of the talented tailor Joanne Angeletti. The question remaining was “how” to circulate the quilts in order for participants of LDO to view their creation. 

Once again, the ladies discussed, chatted and eventually decided that this year’s Pilgrimage to Mariapoch would be ideal! Upon receiving permission to add a booth to the festivities, St. Ann’s Ministry began preparations to establish their first booth at Mariapoch.  

They wished to extend their hospitality to all, and, as such, assembled and shared treat bags filled with prayer cards, snacks and miscellaneous trinkets. They displayed the stunning quilts, along with photo collages of LDO 2014, and sold raffle tickets for the quilts. Women stopping by the booth this year created a commemorative “Tree of Life” thumbprint tree on-site.   Upon the conclusion of the Pilgrimage, His Grace Bishop John chose the three winning raffle tickets, with the “Thumbprint Tree” and all proceeds from the quilt raffle presented to Mother Theodora of Christ the Bridegroom Monastery. 

By Carolyn King

Photos: www.facebook.com/media/set/