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Supplement To The Georgia Bulletin. November 15, 1984
□ Faith Toda
A supplement to Catholic newspapers,
published with grant assistance from Cath
olic Church Extension Society, by the Na
tional Catholic News Service, 1312 Massa
chusetts Ave. N.W., Washington, D.C.
20005. All contents copyright ® 1984 by
NC News Service.
Getting the job done
By Dolores Leckey
NC News Service
Rita McGovern is a wife and
mother of five children, ages 7 to
21. Since her marriage, this
Catholic woman has acquired a
master’s degree in counseling and
has been actively involved in
several lay movements.
Most recently Mrs. McGovern
took a full-time job. Her office is
in two places — at home and in
the company’s main office
building. The dual arrangement
allows her maximum flexibility
with an 11-year-old and a 7-year-
old.
In addition to home and work
responsibilities, Mrs. McGovern
serves on her parish’s religious
education committee.
With her husband, Mrs.
McGovern is facilitator for the
parish’s marriage preparation
course.
From time to time she serves as
a rector for the women’s Cursillo,
a program involving weekend
retreats.
And, of course, there are still
evening meals to prepare, laundry
to organize, grocery shopping to
do, friends to entertain, relatives
to comfort. This is called “the
busy life”!
□ □ □
While it’s true that Mrs.
McGovern’s teen-age children help
with the logistics of home life,
and a supportive husband is learn
ing to shop and clean, the major
responsibilities for a smoothly run
home fall to her.
The fact is that Mrs. McGovern
oversees a long list of respon
sibilities. She is a woman of the
church who brings the values and
the ideals of her Catholic Chris
tianity not only to religious educa
tion meetings but to her office,
her clients, her Pre-Cana ministry
and her family.
There are hundreds of
thousands of women just like her
today. They live demanding, com
plex and rewarding Christian
lives.
Just look around your own
parish at the people who serve
Take a look around you, suggests Dolores Leckey,
and you will discover, if you don't already know, that
women are the driving force behind o vast number
of neighborhood and church ventures. Today's Chris
tian woman leads a productive, complex and giving
life.
the church community. Who is
teaching religious education
classes? Who leads the pro-life
prayer vigils?
Look at the faces of the Sunday
morning lectors. Watch to see
who’s bringing Communion and
comfort to the homebound. Who
prepares the Sunday morning
hospitality hour or the monthly
peace and justice programs?
Chances are you’re seeing a lot
of women.
Now look at your
neighborhood. Who knocks on
your door each year to collect for
the heart fund or for cancer
research? Who hosts political teas
and distributes campaign
literature? Who’s the backbone of
the PTA?
And if you look around on a
weekday evening, you’ll see
many, many women on the move
from their responsibilities on the
job to yet another set of respon
sibilities at home.
A recent study by the U.S. Dept,
of Labor showed that women who
work a seven-hour day in a
middle-management or executive-
level job also average four hours
of additional labor at home. Men
working at the same level of pro
fessional responsibility average
one hour of home labor.
Not all women work outside the
home. Some mothers are able to
be at home full time. But in addi
tion to the challenging tasks of
the home, these women often
undertake the many volunteer
duties that all communities require
for their well-being. They too find
themselves stretched for time.
The contemporary Christian
woman, married or single,
employed or not, leads a complex
life — and often a generous one
as well.
□ □ □
Women need support as they
balance so many different respon
sibilities. What do they want?
Women I talk to around the
country tell me they would
welcome pastoral care and
counsel. They feel this might help
them tap into the spiritual core of
their many activities: What
motivates their activities and what
is the value in them? How do
these activities contribute to their
Christian identity?
Some actions women might
welcome include:
—Parish-sponsored “quiet
days”: a day of solitude, prayer,
guided meditation; in short, a day
of genuine, deep rest. These quiet
days could be scheduled flexibly,
several times a year, to accom
modate women working at home
or away from home.
—Forums and learning days
where women’s concerns, in
terests and needs can be voiced
and heard, along with discussions
of developments that influence
the roles of women and men.
Recent research into women's
hopes and spiritual development
emphasizes that women are clear
ly different from men. These
researchers conclude that the
presence of women and their gifts
in every institution of society are
important, precisely for this
reason.
(Mrs. Leckey is director of the
U.S. bishops’ Committee on the
Laity.)