Fr. John Garden is the youngest of ten children of the late Elroy and Elda Garden. His formative years were lived in Prince George, B.C., and White Rock, B.C. Prior to entering seminary and theological formation, he obtained a Bachelor of Education degree from U.B.C. (Vancouver, BC), and subsequently taught at Catholic elementary schools in the Diocese of Prince George and the Vancouver Archdiocese. He then entered seminary and theological formation at St. Joseph’s Seminary and Newman Theological College (Edmonton, AB) where he obtained a Master of Divinity degree.

Fr. John was ordained to the ministerial priesthood on June 15, 2004, by Most Rev. Gerald Wiesner, OMI. After ordination, he completed graduate diplomas in ethics and canon law from St. Paul University (Ottawa, ON), and a Master of Education (Counselling Specialization) degree from U.N.B.C. (Prince George, BC). He presently serves in the Diocese of Prince George as chancellor, counselling therapist, and pastor of Immaculate Conception parish-school community located in Prince George, BC.

Besides his interest in theology (particularly theological anthropology), and the richness of our Catholic Christian tradition, Fr. John’sfavourite past times are music and singing, reading, socializing with family and friends, and eating good food (Yum!).

Christa was born in Vienna and immigrated to Canada with her parents when she was ten years old. Married to Norbert for 56 years, they have two children and four adult grandchildren. After living in Calgary, the Okanagan and Lower Mainland, they are now enjoying retirement in Nanaimo. At Holy Trinity, Christa is a member of the parish executive committee, chair of the pastoral council and serves as Eucharistic minister.

Her education and work history primarily focused on management, marketing, sales and training. She has developed, implemented and managed marketing programs and provided strategic direction and relationship management to clients. Since retiring, she has had consulting contracts at Vancouver Island University on change management and policies and procedures.

Christa joined the Catholic Women’s League in 2008 at St. Claire of Assisi in Coquitlam and soon became organization chair and president. After moving to Nanaimo in 2013, she joined St. Peter’s CWL council and held positions in resolutions, communications, organization and president.

When she served as Victoria diocesan council president from 2018 to 2021, she launched a new council at Holy Trinity and hosted the 2019 BC/Yukon provincial convention in Nanaimo. From 2021 to 2023 Christa served on the BC & Yukon council as chair of communications and 2nd vice president.

In 2019, Christa joined National as a member of the strategic plan implementation team where she facilitated working groups from across the country to create resources for marketing, effective communications, training and development, recruiting parish leaders and evaluating spiritual programs. In 2020, she was awarded the Maple Leaf Service pin.

During her 17 years as a member of the CWL, Christa has developed and delivered educational workshops and webinars, including leadership, mentoring, communications, misconceptions, recruiting and social media. She has written several articles that have been published in The Canadian League magazine and The Victoria Diocesan Messenger.

Christa values each person’s unique talents and contributions and as BC & Yukon’s new provincial president, she encourages her team to be open to new ideas and to build an inclusive and engaged provincial council fostering hospitality and belonging.

“To accomplish great things, we must not only act but also dream; not only plan but also believe”. (Anatole France)

Laura has been a member of the Catholic Women’s League for 32 years becoming parish president of her local council in 1999 and, over the years, has held many committee chairs at the parish and diocesan level. She was appointed BC & Yukon Provincial Communications Chairperson in 2015 in the middle of a term and was asked to continue in this role after the election in 2016. In June 2018, in Whitehorse, she was elected BC & Yukon Provincial Secretary. In 2021 Laura became the Provincial Spiritual Development Chairperson, in 2023 the Provincial Chairperson of Service and in 2025 was elected as the Provincial Vice-President.

Laura volunteers for a variety of organizations. She is treasurer on the Board of the Prince Rupert Friends of the Library and was also on the planning committee of the city library’s 100th Anniversary which took place on May 6, 2022. Laura is also a lector in her parish and regularly helps make soup for Annunciation Church’s soup kitchen which, every Saturday and Sunday, helps feed those less fortunate in the community. She is on the Pastoral Council and organizes the list of lectors, greeters and eucharistic ministers for each of the Masses, and publishes when each person is scheduled to serve.

She enjoys a variety of crafts, especially crocheting, knitting, cross-stitching and embroidery. Making crafts is totally relaxing and rewarding. Yearly, Laura, along with others in her parish, makes many scarves, mitts, and toques which are distributed to those less fortunate in her community and who frequent their weekly soup kitchen. She is also an avid reader who especially enjoys reading historical fiction, travel books, biographies and autobiographies. Laura belongs to a book club which meets once a month and where she is challenged to read books which are sometimes outside of her comfort zone. She has had the privilege of travelling to many destinations in the world. It has opened her eyes to the richness of a variety of cultures and a variety of people. The fact that she can speak four languages (Italian, French, Spanish and English) has helped her immensely when travelling.

Laura is a teacher. Teaching is and never was a job for her, but a vocation. Retired now, she continues to help in the catholic school whenever she can, and it is a blessing when she is called in to substitute for one of the teachers. In the last couple of years, Laura has become a tour guide on the trolleys which offer tours to cruise ship passengers when cruise ships dock in Prince Rupert. Having lived in Prine Rupert for many decades and loving every day of it, she loves to impart her knowledge and love of her community to others who visit it.

Laura is passionate about the League and all it stands for. She is especially passionate about all that can be learned when attending conventions at all levels of the League. Her deepest passion is in Social Justice, here at home and abroad. The resolutions which are presented to provincial and federal governments every year are crucial. CWL members make a very positive difference in the church, in communities all over Canada, and in the world at large. She is very proud to be a Catholic Women’s League member and encourages all women to join this wonderful organization.

Lynne was born in New Westminster and raised in Coquitlam and Maple Ridge. She moved to Quesnel with her family for “one year” and never left. She fell in love with the small-town friendliness and the all the opportunities to enjoy nature.

Together with husband, Ray, she shares the joys and challenges of a blended family that includes four children, three grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren who are the absolute delight of her life. With family spread over most of the province as well in Alberta and Saskatchewan, she and Ray try to visit them whenever possible.

Lynne is a retired professional accountant and worked in both public practice and the forestry industry. She took early retirement to coordinate the care of both her mother and her mother-in-law. This left her with a deep awareness of the need for advocacy for the vulnerable in our medical system.

Lynne has been a CWL member for a total of 37 years. During that time, she held most positions on her parish council including president and diocesan convention convenor. She will soon finish her appointed term as parish secretary and membership chairperson. On the Kamloops Diocesan council, Lynne served as chairperson of Christian family life, communications, resolutions, and organization before assuming the presidency in 2022. She is currently Diocesan Past President and a member of the Diocesan Resolutions Committee. She had also started serving on the Provincial Resolutions Committee before Covid shut things down.

In her parish of St. Ann’s, Quesnel, Lynne currently serves as lector. She was active as part of the RCIA team for many years and was a leader of the Mystagogia team. Currently, she enjoys participating in the small group format of the “Walking with Purpose” program, a Catholic Women’s Bible Study series which she initially helped bring to the parish.

Lynne has a long-time love of the League and a deep appreciation of its potential. She is aware of the challenges that parish councils face, having listened and learned during her time as diocesan president — especially during the Unity Outreach presentations she facilitated. She is excited and eager to work as part of the provincial executive team to continue in the theme she chose for her diocesan presidency of “serving together with love and joy.”

Laurel was born in Princeton and was raised on a cherry orchard just outside of Kelowna. She moved with her family to Campbell River where they thought they would live for three years. Falling in love with the ocean and the weather has kept them there forty-five years.

She has been married to Doug for fifty-two years and together they have two adult daughters and three grandchildren. During her spare time she volunteers in the community for the Red Cross in the Health Equipment Loan Program and is treasurer for the Campbell River Fish & Wildlife Association.

She has been retired for sixteen year and previous to retirement was employed for seventeen years by St. Patrick’s Parish as Administrative Assistant. She has also volunteered at St. Patrick’s as a Lector; a Minister of the Eucharist; the coordinator of Greeters and served several years on the Adult Education Committee.

Laurel has been a member of the CWL for a total of 38 years. During this time, she has served on her Parish Council as President, Treasurer and Convention Convenor. At the Diocesan level she served as President, Vice-President, Treasurer and Secretary. She has especially enjoyed the camaraderie and fun times she has had with her CWL sisters.

Strong women are not simply born. We are forged through the challenges of life. With each challenge we grow mentally and emotionally. We move forward with heads held high and a strength that cannot be denied.– Alysia Helming