National Council of Catholic Women launch Alaska chapter

CatholicAnchor.org
Longtime Anchorage Catholic Kerry Whitney has accepted a position as the local representative for the National Council of Catholic Women (NCCW). With this role she will represent regional efforts to engage Catholic women as a province director on the council’s national board.

Founded by the U.S. bishops in 1920, National Council of Catholic Women is represented at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ biannual meetings, is a member of the World Union of Catholic Women’s Organizations and advocates Catholic views to the U.S. Congress.

According to the group’s website, it exists to give to the Catholic women of the country a common voice and an instrument for unified action in all matters affecting Catholic or national welfare; to ensure proper Catholic representation on, and the proper recognition of Catholic principles in national committees and national movements affecting the religious, moral and material well-being of the country. The group also aims to support the work of existing Catholic women’s organizations in meeting the needs of modern culture.

The NCCW is organized into geographical provinces. When asked about how she was selected to serve as head of an Alaska chapter, Whitney described a happenstance meeting of Anchorage Archbishop Roger Schwietz and NCCW president Sheila Hopkins, who inquired about an Alaskan chapter of the nearly 100-year old organization. Archbishop Schwietz pursued a nominee from the Catholic Daughters of the Americas Court at Holy Family Cathedral in Anchorage, and Whitney was chosen. She and her husband have two grown sons, one of whom is training to be a priest for the archdiocese.

Whitney said she sees her life as answering the abundance of God’s generosity to her.

“I don’t say ‘no’ to much, when it comes to volunteering,” she told the Catholic Anchor. The youngest of 14 siblings and a native of Buffalo, New York, Whitney has been retired for five years and is involved in various parish ministries at the downtown Anchorage cathedral. She reiterated that her service in the NCCW will not seek to replace any of the apostolates already in existence, but rather to mobilize and amplify their efforts.

Her enthusiasm for the council’s mission is a major source of motivation and she hopes to meet groups of women at various parishes around the archdiocese. Meetings are informal and designed to support family life, as well as take concerns from the parish level to the U.S. bishops in a proactive sense. The group aims to sustain all efforts to guide Catholic women in finding sustenance in the nuts and bolts of the faith.

Whitney’s goal for the budding local effort is growth in numbers, and eventually passing her role on to another woman.

NCCW records indicate that Eagle River had a parish chapter at one time and Whitney is eager to hear from past members. Whitney said she has been encouraged by the response so far and invites women to contact her directly or join the council’s public Facebook page, found under National Council of Catholic Women, Anchorage, Alaska. Dues are $60 per year and include a quarterly magazine subscription and the opportunity to vote at annual meetings.