By Gretchen R. Crowe
Herald Staff Writer
(From the issue of 3/17/05)

Teenagers, 90-year-olds and everything in-between gathered for a day of speakers, breakout sessions and worship at St. John School in McLean last weekend. The common denominator: they were all women.

The biennial general assembly of the Arlington Diocese Council of Catholic Women (ADCCW), titled "Reclaiming the Culture of Life through Sprirituality, Peace and Justice, Community and Education," provided an atmosphere for women to learn how to uphold the culture of life by listening to the stories, sharing ideas and learning more about their roles in the Faith.

Father Frank Ready, pastor of Holy Spirit Parish in Annandale, has served as the ADCCW moderator for more than 10 years. According to Father Ready, the organization, part of the National Council of Catholic Women, strives to be a resource for women in the diocese and to support them in whatever capacity they may be serving.

"We try each year to have a time for them to get together," Father Ready said, explaining that the general assembly is a "grassroots examination of what we’re doing, where we are and what we could be doing."

According to Liz Schiavone, president, over 100 women attended the conference, which she described as a hands-on way to put prayer into action.

"You’ve got to have the prayer, but you’ve got to act, too, if we’re going to reclaim the culture of life," Schiavone said.

The day began with Mass celebrated by Arlington Bishop Paul S. Loverde. Following Mass, Bishop Loverde honored Anne Carroll, principal at Seton School in Manassas, with the first national Our Lady of Good Counsel Award. The award recognized Carroll’s outstanding service, both in the council and in the diocese.

Dr. Marie Anderson, from the Tepeyac Family Center in Fairfax, a newly nonprofit medical organization that integrates modern medicine and spirituality, gave the keynote speech on her conversion story.

"(Tepeyac) provides for me more than a job. It’s a vocation," Anderson said, as she outlined the series of events that led to her practice of medicine at the specialized center. "God was calling me through medicine to come back to the Church."

Anderson reminded the women that, in order to be part of the culture of life, they must be ambassadors for Christ.

"Now that I’m at Tepeyac, I realize it’s not enough to keep the faith — we have to give it away. That why we’re here today."

Leona Choy from Sacred Heart Parish in Winchester is a former Protestant missionary who is converting to Catholicism at the Easter vigil. She said attending the assembly gave her insight on Catholic women.

"I’m being exposed to Catholic things for the first time," she said. "I have to learn about Catholic culture and what women are doing."

Following Anderson’s talk, four breakout sessions were held in classrooms where prayer cards hung next to subject charts and teacher recognition certificates overlapped with schedules for eucharistic adoration.

Gerri Laird, coordinator of education and training from the Office of Family Life, led a session called "Unraveling Babel: Practical Applications of John Paul II’s Theology of the Body." Focusing on abortion and changing hearts, Laird said it was important to reexamine pro-life strategies, look at facts and examine "the thought processes of women who choose to have abortions."

Laird said the general assembly was "rejuvenating" for Catholic women.

"They’re getting more education on issues of the day so they can take that back into their parishes and into their homes," she said. "We all have a role to play in this. I think it’s important to get together and appreciate the gifts that others have."

Two doors down, Andrea Albanese, program director at the Office of Family Life, presented "Life Principles: Four Levels of Happiness," in which she outlined four tiers that relate to happiness and highlighted the "drive for perfection" that haunts so many women, especially in the Washington area.

"Our goal is to move from level one and two (food love and self-love) to level three (other love) and four (God love)," Albanese said. "Level four happiness is the ultimate happiness."

Sessions on human trafficking and leadership were also offered, followed by a talk by Joseph Worthing called "Project Moses — Living Life the Way God Intended It," which focused on the Eight Beatitudes and the Ten Commandments.

Thelma Garry, a parishioner of St. Mary of Sorrows Parish in Fairfax, serves as the treasurer of the ADCCW. According to Garry, more than anything the conference provided an opportunity for women to come together in their faith.

"(They) meet one another, share activities and find they can unite for a Catholic cause," she said.