All Catholic women invited to DCCW's 90th convention

Courtesy graphic/DCCW, Tracy Ehring

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SALT LAKE CITY — The Diocesan Council of Catholic Women’s 90th annual convention will take place April 28-29 with Sheri Wohlfert as the keynote speaker, presenting two talks on the convention theme of “Be Full of Joy.”

This theme is a continuation of the one from last year, “Catholic Women – Instruments of Joy.”

“I think we are all looking for more joy in our lives, and in following the Scriptures and having the Father in our presence – that brings us all such great joy,” said Marcie Downs, DCCW president, explaining the reason for the theme.

Downs heard Wohlfert speak at the National Council of Catholic Women convention in Grand Rapids, Mich., and thought she would be an excellent speaker for the local event, she said, because Wohlfert “had so much joy. She just spoke to us on such a level that everyone in the room  – we were all spellbound.”

Wohlfert is a Catholic wife, mother and sixth-grade teacher, as well as a certified Religious Education instructor for the Diocese of Lansing, Mich.

“The mission of her ministry is to encourage others to take a good look at the simple ways we can all find God doing joyful, blessed, amazing things smack dab in the middle of the laundry, ball games, farm chores and the hundred other things we manage to cram into a day,” according to her website, joyfulwords.org.

“She has such great sense of humor,” Downs said. “She has such a deep faith, and she just brings it all into the joy of God’s work.”

At the convention, Wohlfert will give two presentations: “Joyfully His: The Art of Living and the Joy of the Lord” and “Go Forth and Spread His Joy: Our Role in the New Evangelization Begins with Sharing Christ’s Joy.”

Other speakers at the convention will be Salt Lake County Sheriff Rosie Rivera, whose topic will be “The Rise of a Female Sheriff,” and Deacon Scott Dodge, whose presentation is titled “Women of Faith: Six Portraits of Greatness.”

The Most Rev. Oscar A. Solis, Bishop of Salt Lake City, will preside at the April 28 vigil Mass that the women will attend; he also will speak at the Women of the Year banquet that evening.

Among the new features this year will be a contemplative rosary led by Deacon Dodge, and a timeline of significant events from the past 90 years of DCCW.

The convention is a chance “to come together with all the Catholic women in the state. We don’t always have an opportunity for all the sisters of council to come together,” Downs said, adding that the weekend also deepens the participants spiritually and allows them to renew friendships and gain knowledge so that they can “go forth and be the Christians we should be and evangelize. It is such a beautiful and rewarding weekend.”

The convention will be April 28-29 at the Sheraton Salt Lake City Hotel. Registration deadline is March 26. For information or to register, visit dccwutah.org.