Women's Club Ministry

• What is Women's Club?
• Purpose
• Joining this Ministry?
• Meet Dates
• Information
• Guild 1 — Mary's Merry Worker's
• Guild 4 — Guardian of Angels'
• Guild 5 — St. Gerard's

The St. Thomas of Villanova Women's Club consists of a group of female parishioners who are committed to helping their parish and community through prayer, by providing donations and volunteering their services.

The purpose of this organization shall be to further the spiritual, intellectual and social interest of the members; to assist the members in participating more intimately in the life of the Church through Christian service; to further the development of parish and community interest through mutual help and united effort.

Female parishioners may learn more about this ministry by attending one of the Parish Welcome Meetings held monthly in the Parish Center. Representatives are present to talk about the many facets of the Women's Club and to answer any of your questions.

Anyone interested in joining our ministry is welcome to stop by any of our functions. Some of our functions include:

• The annual Women's Club Blitz Weekend held each "Fall" to invite new members to join.
• Our Bake Sales held each "Fall" and "Spring" in the Gathering Area and Narthex of our Church.
• The annual Labor of Love Craft Auction held each November in the Rowley Activity Center.

The Women's Club consists of three Guilds. Each Guild holds a monthly meeting, usually during a weekday evening, in a member's home. The Women's Club actively meets from September to June. A meeting generally begins with prayers for each other, our parish and our country, and continues with the regular business at hand.

The three Guilds and when they meet are listed below:

• Guild 1 — Mary's Merry Worker. . . First Thursday of the Month
• Guild 4 — Guardian of Angels. . . First Tuesday of the Month
• Guild 5 — St. Gerard's. . . First Thursday of the Month

You can obtain more information about our ministry by contacting the Parish Office at (847) 358-6999 or through our email service at stovparish@stov.org. The Parish Office will then put you in touch with one of our representatives.

You are also welcome to come to one of our Women's Club's sponsored events; or you can receive more information by attending one of the monthly Welcoming New Parishioners' meetings.

WE are the women of Guild One.  We are all ages and all have gifts to share.  We have a common objective.  To live our faith by helping in our parish and community and by supporting each other with love and friendship.  We support the Hug A Bear program by tracing and cutting bears that are used on ambulances in the city and suburbs.  We crochet, knit and sew blankets for Renew Through Sharing program at Northwest Community Hospital and other local hospitals.  We also make blankets for needy Moms who complete a childcare class at Northwest Community Hospital.   We have a commitment to mental health issues and collect craft and other needed items for the day center at Alexian Brothers.  We make angel zipper pulls for the health center to remind patients there that they are not alone.  We participate in the St. Thomas Prayer Shawl Ministry which has given comfort to many.   The warmth and spiritual embrace of the shawl blesses the maker and the recipient.  During the year we bake for our Club's bake sales, have our own Labor of Love auction, adopt a needy family at Christmas, help with Parish events, and support all Women's Club activities.

Regular Meetings Guild #1 — First Thursday of the Month.

Service Project Meetings — Third Thursday of the Month.

Active, involved, dedicated, friendly and motivated—
that describes the commitment of the busy women in Guild 4.
We are all in different stages of life. We have small children, teens, or grandchildren. We work full time, part time, or at home.

We all share a common faith, and a strong desire to do God's work. We contribute our own unique gifts and talents to the tasks at hand. We accomplish a lot, and form strong bonds of friendship at the same time.

Our guild makes baptismal garments for all St. Thomas babies. At Christmas we participate in the Adopt-A-Family program, and then get together to wrap the gifts and have an ornament exchange while feasting on homemade treats.

We support all Club activities,
including making craft items for the Labor of Love Auction, and baking delicious treats for the bake sales. Each Fall and Spring, our guild cooks and serves dinner to homeless guests at the PADS shelter at Christ Lutheran Church in Palatine.

We enjoy socializing at our meeting,
the first Tuesday evening of the month in a member's home with the assistance of a co-hostess. At our June, end-of-the-season, meeting, we celebrate with a special dinner out.

Regular Meetings Guild #4 — First Tuesday of the Month.

We meet on the first Thursday of the month, in meeting Room A at 7:30 pm from September through May.  In June we hold our meeting at a local restaurant.  We set aside a portion of our monthly meeting as a time for reflection and prayer.  By sharing, we have become close members.  We believe in the power of prayer.

We are always ready to petition on behalf of a sister.   We also choose a secret sister for the year.  We remember our sister through the year with prayers, cards and small remembrances for special occasions.

Our meetings are quite lively and a lot of fun.  We support all Women's Club functions, and this year are responsible for the Plant Sale. We have a meals-on-wheels program.

We are involved in the coordination and making of rosaries for the overseas' missions and our military troops.  We currently have eleven women making the rosaries from our guild and the congregation of St. Thomas.  We also supply every fourth grader in a Catholic school in our Northwest suburbs with a rosary.

Our main service project is Project Linus.  We meet on Tuesday of every month for those who care to join us through the year.  The blankets we lovingly make are joined with the National Project Linus to provide anyone in need in area hospitals nursing homes, those who are victims of fire or neglect.  We contribute to these projects wholeheartedly and receive much joy from the accomplishments.  Each month we make a donation of either food or clothing to PADS or to the STV food pantry.  We also contribute food baskets to the STV Ministry of Care at both Easter and Thanksgiving.  We participate in the "Gift of Love" program by adopting a needy family at Christmas.

We look forward to our guild meetings and to the times we get together for our service projects.

We do all these things in the name of the Lord.  "Whenever two or more of you are gathered in my name...:"

Come join us!

Regular Meetings Guild #5 — First Thursday of the Month.
Service Project Meetings — Third Tuesday of the Month.