New Court: On Saturday, November 21, 2009 Court Mystical Rose #2628, located in Philadelphia, Pa. will be instituted at the 5:00 pm. Mass in St. Katherine of Siena church, 9700 Frankfort Avenue, Philadelphia. The mother Court is Court Rose Cecilia #1641. Immediately following Mass there will be a reception in the church hall.

Congratulations: Hearty "congratulations" are in order for the institution on August 22, 2009 for the institution of Prince Gallitzin #2625 in Altoona, in the Altoona-Johnstown diocese. The institution of the Court occurred at the Mass in St. Rose of Lima church in Altoona, PA. The "mother Court" was Our Lady of the Alleghenies #1755. Immediately following the ceremonies a buffet reception was held in the church hall. The Court's Chaplain is Father Timothy Grimme, and the Regent is Judith Wood, 5239 Colclesser Avenue, Altoona, PA. 16601

Supplies: The supply list was updated in November, 2008 - See the National web-site.

State Calendars: All the calendars for the period June 1, 2009 through May 31, 2010 have been sold. THANK YOU to all who purchased and/or helped sell our "Lucky Daily Calendars." Good Luck to all!

National Convention: The 53^rd Biennial National Convention will be held in Buffalo, New York from July 14-18, 2010. We hope that Pennsylvania Catholic Daughters will consider attending since it will be hosted within our neighboring state. Information will be sent out this Fall from the National office. Read it carefully as soon as you receive it since it will contain time-sensitive information. Start planning now for saving money and possibly car-pooling to attend it. This is the closest it will be for some time, and a very rewarding experience to attend it. Remember, if you want to take a side trip prior to, or after the National Convention to Niagara Falls, Canada, you must have a valid passport, or a "special" passport identification card (which is cheaper than the passport) issued by the Department of State, so you can return to the USA without any problems.

Year of the Priest: Don't forget to pray "daily" for vocations to the priesthood and religious life to comply with Pope Benedict's declaration of the "Year of the Priest." There is a prayer for priests on the State web-site under "Chaplain's Message." This can be done along with our annual "Priest Appreciation Sunday" celebration the first Sunday in June (June 6, 2010), which we have been doing since approximately June, 1972!

Disaster Relief	$580.00
Habitat for Humanity	$435.00
Holy Cross Family Ministries	$625.00
Smile Train	$1,392.34
SOAR	$725.00
Total National Projects	$3,757.34
————————
Apostleship of the Sea	$255.00
Catholic Relief Services	$355.00
Covenant House	$768.00
Morality-in-Media	$740.00
Mother Teresa	$505.00
Am. College- Louvain	$145.00
No. Am. College-Rome	$458.00
Tutwiler Clinic	$510.00
Project Handclasp	$210.00
Total National Charities	$3,946.00

General Fund	$526.80
Advertising	$833.82
Haiti Birthing Center	$906.00
Mustard Seed	$130.00
Total	$2,396.62

All donations to both National and State Projects are to be sent to Peg Rafferty, State Secretary. Use of the updated "Local Court Donation From" (dated June, 2009) that was mailed in your August, 2009 from the State Regent should be used. This form can also be found on this web site under Local Courts. Any copies of prior forms are outdated and should be destroyed.

Pro-Life March 2009: The State Court received a check in the amount of $92.50 from the March for Life Education and Defense Fund as designated charity from participation in the March-a-Thon at the annual March for Life in Washington, DC this past January. Anyone attending the annual march needs to complete the form indicating their charity.

"Pennies for Pro-Life": The State Court is still collecting "pennies" (acceptable are also silver coins and bills) for "Pro-Life" so that we can continue our efforts to raise awareness for the unborn by placing a pro-life message on buses, cabs and other "moving" advertisers. "The greatest destroyer of peace is abortion because if a mother can kill her own child, what is left for me to kill you and you to kill me? There is nothing in between." Mother Theresa. Courts are to use the updated "Local Court Donation Form" which was included in the June newsletter, and is also found on this website under Local Courts.

Audit Forms: An audit form was included with the August, 2009 mailing to the Local Court Regents. Local Courts should ensure to use it (you can make copies) when you schedule your audit in October. The deadline for the audit to the National Office is November 1, 2009. Don't forget to send a copy to the State Regent, State Secretary and your District Deputy, besides making a copy for your Court files (Regent and Treasurer).

State Convention Information: Refer to the State web-site section under "State Regent" for information regarding the State Convention and the increase in State dues. Pictures of the elected State Officers can be found under the "State Officer" section.

National/State/Local Education Contest: Information on the 2010 National Education Contest was released by the National office in the August, 2009 mailing to the local Courts. You can view this information under the "Information" category on the State web-site.

The following Pennsylvania Courts were announced as winners at the National Conference in August, 2009:

Laura McGuire Newsletter Contest

Court Patricia #998, Kittanning, PA

1st place, Category II, Division II

Education Contest

Court Queen of Peace #1023, Lancaster, PA
	Veronica Hylak		1st Place, Music, Division II
	Conner Marchese		2nd Place, Computer Art, Division I
	Ann Marie DeCarolis		2nd Place, Poetry, Division II
Court St. Bernard #339, Indiana, PA
	Joan Lazor		3rd Place, Poetry, Division IV

District Deputies and State Chairs: The State Regent thanks those District Deputies and State Chairs who have served the State Court for the past two years. New District Deputies will be appointed for a two-year term (January, 2010 through December, 2012) Currently, the State Regent is contacting the State Chairs to serve for a two-year reappointment.

Do You Know About Downloading National Forms? Go into the National web-site from this State web-site (see above category). On the front page of the National web-site, scroll down to the section "Frequent Downloads." Under the Financial Section, you can download and print the Financial Review form, and the current Supply list. Under Membership the Applications for New, Renewal and Transfer Members can be printed (but you must remember to photocopy the required number of copies for appropriate distribution.)

Under Local Court category there is download and printable the list for New Court Officers, IRS, Change of address form, and Request for Membership Rosters, which is available ONLY to the National Board, State Officers, District Deputies, Regents and Financial Secretaries. YOU MUST identify what office you hold in order to receive a membership roster.

Five National Charitable Projects: It is suggested that a $75.00 check be sent to the National Office which will allow the organization to serve the needs within our five charities. The Disaster fund has been used frequently for the many disasters this past year. Many letters have been received from affected areas and from many Bishops around the country. Recently donations were sent to the diocese in the Philippines for deaths due to contaminated water; the dioceses in California for the wild fires, and to the dioceses in North Dakota due to flooding.

Important: All checks should be made payable to "Catholic Daughters of the Americas" or CDA. Checks will not longer be accepted written incorrectly to the National Projects or Morality in Media, etc. You cannot just cross-out the incorrect name and write on top CDA. You also must have two signatures on each check. No personal checks are accepted by the National Office.

Membership Drive: The Fall season usually has brought to the order the most new members. The National Membership team urges each Court to plan a vigorous Fall Membership Drive. The theme for the membership drive is "CDA Angels for God," which means each Catholic Daughter is a recruiter.

"We are each of us angels with only one wing,
And we can only fly by embracing one another."
— Luciano de Crescenzo

Every Catholic Daughter member should "share their story." The goal is to increase our membership by 5% or more. The National office implemented a contest to run from April, 2008 through April, 2010 to present a prize to the local Court, State Court, and Territorial Court with the highest percentage increase in membership to be presented at the 2010 National Convention in July.

National CDA Sunday: National Catholic Daughters of the Americas Day will be observed on Sunday, October 18, 2009. This year's theme is "For in Him, we live and move and have our being." Make this a "special day" for your Court.