"So How does your Council...?" Monthly Zoom Meetings

Ideas generated from So How Does Your Council Engage and Involve New Members?

Meeting Format:

• Have it be less meeting-ish and more of a gathering
• Do the Socializing first and business afterward
• Keep business to a minimum; reports can be emailed and most business can be done at Exec.
  • Shorten the business. Presidents should look at their agenda before they send it out to the members and if there are 5 business items see if you can reduce it.
  • Presidents should allocate time on the agenda for introductions of new members and guests, have it on the agenda so it is not forgotten, it makes welcoming a priority.
• Have everyone wear nametags (those dollar store sticky ones if people forget or don’t have a CWL nametag). Every meeting
• Lean into Faith and Social; that is why most women join
• Invite your Spiritual Advisor; give him a duty/task to make him feel included and have a purpose
• Consider having meetings during the day or on Zoom during the winter months so that people don’t have to drive / be out in poor and dark weather
  • Virtual meetings enable members in other towns (hard to drive in winter) or senior homes (shut-ins) to join
• Consider having a meeting in person and virtual at the same time
• Have the agenda, minutes, any spiritual programs handouts and sign-up sheets in one place for the ladies to pick up when they arrive

Ideas:

• Have a buddy system; someone “assigned” to sit with a new person, get her number, text her about upcoming meetings/events, look for her at the next
  gathering
• Someone outside of Exec who “meets and greets” women as they arrive and anyone new, bring over to some established ladies to sit with
• Introduce and welcome new members or anyone who hasn’t been around for a while
• It may take sacrifice to remove yourself from your group of friends to sit with someone new. Without meaning to, we can be cliquey and we need to make a
  conscious effort to not be; offer to be a mentor
• The meeting before, advertise a “bring a friend” event. That way, they’re not by themselves
• Learn about the new members’ skills and interests. Make an intentional effort to match those to skills and interests to upcoming events.
• At membership drives use forms to indicate “What do you want to sign up for?”
  From those answers, create spreadsheet and then personally phone and invite to meet outside the church, i.e. for coffee
• Meet with younger groups in the parish to tell them about the League, why they may join, find out what they like to do. Sometimes younger groups would like
  CWL to babysit, this may or may not be feasible
• Create and provide new members with an orientation booklet or package, letters from the Spiritual Advisor, President, calendar of events, etc.
• Use games or ice breakers to meet other members
• Prayer Partners – monthly draw a member to pray for (see below), or have a secret prayer partner all year and “reveal” the partners at Christmas social
  Monthly Prayer for All CWL Members
  Dear Lord God,
  I thank You for all Gifts & Blessings You have given to me.
  I especially thank you for the love & support of other Catholic Women
  through the Catholic Women’s League! I ask You to Bless all CWL
  members. Especially Bless________________________________.
  Grant her and each member Your Grace & Wisdom, Peace & Joy!
  May all members always keep You, Lord God, at the centre of their lives.
  We ask this in Jesus Holy Name. Amen