The Atlanta Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women (AACCW) will hold its 51st annual convention Sept. 28-30, at the Holiday Inn Select on Chamblee Dunwoody Road, Atlanta. This year’s theme is “A Woman’s Journey: To Teach, Serve and Empower.”

“The convention is an opportunity for the women of the archdiocese to come together to experience fellowship and to learn from each other,” Mayfern Barron, president of AACCW, said. “It is a time for sharing our experiences and see what we, as women, are doing in the archdiocese.”

There will be two workshops on Saturday, Sept. 29, and both will be presented in the morning and repeated in the afternoon.

Jane Carter, an individual member of the National Council of Catholic Women (NCCW) and who was recently appointed by NCCW President Ellen Bachman to serve on the leadership training development team will present the workshop entitled, “Put Pizzazz in Your Parish’s Council of Catholic Women.” Carter also currently serves on the Knoxville (Tennessee) Diocesan Council of Catholic Women (KDCCW) as church commission chair.

The subject of the other workshop during the convention is “Fair Trade,” which will be presented by Simone Blanchard. She is a program officer with the Catholic Relief Services Southeast Regional Office, located in Atlanta. Blanchard travels throughout the Southeast educating Catholics on international advocacy issues, fair trade, Catholic social teaching and global solidarity.

On Sunday morning, Sept. 30, Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory will concelebrate Mass at 8:30 a.m., which will include the installation of the new officers. Since this is an election year, new officers will be voted on at the business meeting on Saturday morning. A brunch will follow Mass.

Shirley Radican, a parishioner at Queen of Angels Church, Thomson, and Region III vice president for NCCW will be the guest speaker at the brunch. Her talk will be on “Welcoming Young Women into the Group: the Future of NCCW.”