A Special Invitation to Lead and Serve with the St. Paul Women’s Group (AOW)

Since 1941, the St. Paul of the Cross Women’s Group, the Apostolate of Women (AOW), has been a vibrant part of our parish and community, helping us grow in our faith, establish lifelong friendships, and help those in need.

Our mission is simple yet powerful: to work together with our Pastor to make the kingdom of God come alive in our community.

Our work is rooted in three key pillars - Spiritual, Service and Social - and carried out both through group-wide initiatives as well as small groups called guilds that operate independently yet under the umbrella of the AOW. They each have their own mission and focus; some have been around for decades and others were more recently formed.

After six fulfilling years serving on the Women’s Group Executive Board, it is time for us to pass the torch. We need new leaders to step into five open Executive Board roles. This is a wonderful opportunity for women in the parish who want to get more involved, grow in their faith, and give back in a meaningful way.

We truly hope the Women’s Group will continue to thrive, and it can only happen with your help.

These roles only take a few hours each month, from September – May. We are happy to support the new Board in an advisory capacity during a transition period and lead the Women’s Group into the next chapter.

Here are the open roles:

President

The President plans and leads all meetings. She helps guide the leads of the various activities and events. She supports the guilds as needed.

Vice President

The Vice President assists the President and serves in the President’s absence (alternatively, there can be co-presidents).

Communications Chair

The Communications Chair keeps the minutes at all Women’s Group/AOW meetings and is responsible for communicating important news and events to the general membership via the Women’s Group e-newsletter, parish bulletins, parish Facebook posts, etc.

Treasurer

The Treasurer is the custodian of all funds raised by the Women’s Group. She deposits funds from members and makes disbursements and reimbursements per AOW guidelines. She records all receipts and expenditures and communicates balance sheets to the guild treasurers and the AOW Executive Board.

Membership Chair

The Membership Chair works with the parish to welcome new members to the Women’s Group. She coordinates the annual membership registration and payment of dues, ensuring payments are received and recorded in coordination with the Treasurer. She keeps an up-to-date list of current members and shares all new and updated contact information with the Communications Chair.

Some of the Women’s Group initiatives that the Executive Board supports: Women’s Retreat, Honor Guard, volunteer opportunities (such as Feed My Starving Children, Uncle Pete’s Ministry and Our Lady of the Angels), Parish Fish Fry (with the Knights of Columbus) St. Nick’s Party, and Donut Sunday.

Whether you are new to the parish or have been involved for years, this is a unique chance to play a key role in shaping the future of a group that has brought faith, friendship, and service to life for generations.

If you are interested or have questions, please email us at aow.spc@gmail.com or call us directly – we’d love to talk with you.

We hope you will consider serving in a leadership role to help reinvigorate and keep the Women’s Group alive.

Co-presidents,

Melissa Poindexter, 312-804-3316

Jessica Armour, 312-543-5633