Catholic Women's League looking to reconnect with community

The Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Catholic Women's League will be holding a white elephant sale at Holy Rosary Hall on August 27.

“A white elephant sale is kind of an old term for a garage sale,” says the league’s president Linda Merrill, in an interview with ThoroldToday. “The Catholic Women’s League at Holy Rosary has had a white elephant sale for over 60 years. A lot of people know our sale. They just come to find the bargains, find the goodies.”

A variety of used items will be on sale at the indoor garage sale, including books, housewares, jewellery, and ornaments.

“We also have a craft table with knit items which is not our usual thing but that’s available this year,” says Merrill.

The Catholic Women’s League has been around for over 100 years and seeks to bring women together women to experience their faith and support the local community.

“It’s a combination of faith, community, and caring,” says Merrill. ”Each catholic parish that has their own league. Across Canada there are 60,000 league members. It’s the largest women’s organization in Canada. You won’t find a bigger group of ladies.”

When the pandemic broke out, the league had to put their meetings on pause.

“What I tried to do is keep in touch through email and telephone,” Merrill says. “We have a telephone committee that contacts those without email so we kept that going. A lot of ladies found it very difficult but I think the phone calls helped a lot. We might even have gotten to know members a little bit better because it was a one-on-one thing."

Merrill says she’s excited about the league re-entering the community.

“This is our first big event since COVID,” she says. “It’s an open door to the community. We want to see them again. It’s all very open and inclusive.”

The white elephant sale will take place at the Holy Rosary Hall on Saturday, August 27, between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.