Realwomen of BC - Archives - August2003 - Letter from the President

THE REAL NEWS The R.E.A.L WOMEN of BC Newsletter August 2003, BOX 39068, Point Grey RPO, Vancouver, BC V6R 4P1, Tel/Fax: 604- 463-1611, website: http://www.realwomen.bc.ca, e-mail: lgeschke@almatree.net Back to contents
Letter from the President by Laurie Geschke I’d like to start my first letter to you by briefly introducing myself to you. I say briefly, because many of you will already be very familiar with who I am as I have been involved with REAL Women (of BC and of Canada) since 1984. My name is Laurie Geschke. I was President for a year before Doris so ably took the yoke of the office from my shoulders. Since then I have continued to be involved in the background: with the website, answering the phone calls, and writing and presenting briefs as my time and family commitments permitted. The Board of Directors reluctantly accepted the resignation of our past president, Doris Darvasi, at the AGM in May. Doris is leaving to finish an undergraduate degree at TWU in Communications, and her four children, ages 10 to 18 all have busy schedules which she must co-ordinate with her own. We will miss her wisdom and gentle spirit, but she has assured us that she is willing to help out whenever she is able. I know we’ll see her back again as time goes by. We look forward to it! I would like to publicly thank Doris, her husband, Zoltan, and their family for their friendship, Doris’ tireless work, her flawless public speaking, and her support for the past several years. I appreciate you more that I can say, Doris. Thank you. As for my family, I have been married for 26 years (this September) and our four children range in age from 10 to almost 21. Our 18 year old was recently diagnosed as autistic. My interest in issues that will affect her has broadened my reading material considerably. In this issue of the newsletter we will recap for you, in brief, the National Conference, which I attended with another boardmember and at which I caught a vision for how we can take full advantage of our democratic system, as long as we continue to have the freedom to do so. We’ll put you up to date on the activities of our provincial organization, review a few of the more important email alerts that have gone out, and are still pertinent, and give you a copy of a petition which you may want to fill out and send back in to Ottawa. In light of the recent events on Parliament Hill (since our last newsletter in April), I have thought much about their ramifications to our freedom as Canadians to speak out on issues we feel strongly about. Some Canadians, even some Christian pastors and leaders, remain trusting of the secular media and our parliamentary system as it is today. They feel that the freedoms of thought, expression, and association for Christians and the church in general will be protected by our current federal and provincial government. They are only vaguely, if at all, aware of the actions of judges in our land and how these judges’ decisions will effect their life in the not too distant future. Many of them trust the secular media (now devoid of even the REPORT) as their only source of Canadian current events and are comfortably unaware of the situations of people such as Chris Kempling and Lisa Haeck – and there are many others like them, who are unprotected by our social agencies, courts, and/or legislative authorities. Some are being persecuted for beliefs they hold based on the religious philosophy that undergirds their thoughts and actions. How can this be? you may ask. The majority of British Columbians do not have all the information about everything that is going on in our province and our country. They need to receive the newsletters of REAL Women of BC and REAL Women of Canada. They need to be receiving our email Alerts. Without YOU, our members, inviting them to read your copy of the newsletter, and inviting them to become members on a trial basis (they can let us know anytime to stop delivery of our materials) they will NEVER know the full story of what is happening and how it will affect them and their children. I continue to be involved in this wonderful organization of women and their families because of my children and future-grandchildren. But also because of the future and how it will affect my neighbours’ children and grandchildren. Won’t you help me and all the other board members to spread the message of truth on the critical issues confronting our nation at this time? With that in mind we have a work-intensive time ahead of us all for the next few months (if we are diligent and faithful to the task now). Please use the information in the following articles and contact your MP in person or by handwritten or typed letter before September 15th.
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