May Friendship Day Celebrated By Local CWU Chapters

BROOKFIELD — Ladies from Newtown and the greater Danbury area gathered to celebrate Church Women United’s May Friendship Day on May 6 at Valley Presbyterian Church. The event also honored CWU’s 70th birthday and its accomplishments in its work to celebrate diversity and human dignity without regard to race, gender, ethnic background, or religious preference.

The local program was written by the Reverend Sue Klein and Jean Conover, members of the CWU-Newtown unit, based on guidelines suggested by the National CWU.

Two speakers told of their faith journey during the worship program. Linda Manganaro of Newtown Congregational Church spoke of her faith, which began in childhood with Sunday School. Hers is a faith that has carried through marriage, motherhood, divorce, career years, semiretirement, volunteer work, remarriage, and her new position as executive director of Nunnawauk Meadows. She expressed herself with her own poetry, offering readings of works called “Guiding Light” and “Faith.”

The afternoon’s second speaker was June Carpenter, a member of St Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church. A lifelong Catholic, Mrs Carter discovered the Secular Franciscan Order in 1963. She has been an active volunteer with the order since 1965. It has been, she said, her calling and has guided her spiritual life since. She spoke with vigor, enthusiasm, and deep spiritual commitment.

The order has been in existence since 1221 and is based on the life and principles of St Francis: to live the Gospel in daily life. Characteristics of the order include simplicity, humility, peace, joy, and the building up of the kingdom of God in the market place.

Mrs Carter’s devotion and dedication has led her to volunteer for the past 35 years in a leadership capacity within the order. There are more than 18,000 members in the United States alone. Members are primarily lay people.

Judy Cunningham, a member of Valley Presbyterian Church, was the afternoon’s hostess. Elizabeth Ricci, Barbara Gates, June Ginand, and Jeanette Mayer helped lead the service, which included a Fellowship of the Least Coin. Attendees, who came from Bethel, New Fairfield, Danbury, and Pawling, N.Y., as well as Newtown and Brookfield, also enjoyed refreshments and fellowship after the conclusion of the service.