New women's group forms at St. Anthony

By Roni Gehlke

St. Anthony Church in Oakley had been without a women's auxiliary for a couple of years, when Fran Kennealy decided that that needed to change. She had been looking for a place where her young family could thrive and her church was a logical choice. She had long been aware of the Knights of Columbus and the good works the men's group provided to the community, but when she heard the phrase "Columbiettes," she wondered about them.

The Knights of Columbus is an icon in many Catholic churches. Oakley's own St. Anthony Church has an active group that works on fundraisers and donates members' time and talent whenever necessary in the church and in the community. The Columbiettes is the women's version of the club, Kennealy said.

"The Columbiettes have a lot of charters on the East Coast, but there was none on the West Coast," Kennealy said.

Kennealy first heard about the group from a women's group president from Our Lady Queen of the World. "It sounded like what I was looking for in a group to join," Kennealy said.

After doing the research and working with the church, Kennealy founded the first West Coast chapter. The group was installed on June 14 and so far it's gained quite a bit of popularity throughout the church. At present the group has 32 members.

"Our primary mission is to bring women together and to raise money for the church," Kennealy said.

She said she hopes to focus on helping nonprofits and to move outside of the church community in the future, but for now helping the church is a big goal.

Kennealy said that the truly wonderful part is that now that St. Anthony has brought the Columbiettes to the West Coast other churches have become interested and started their own chapters. Already there are two other Catholic churches that have started the auxiliary and Kennealy hopes that others will follow.

As part of their fundraising efforts the Columbiettes are hosting a bingo game on the second Saturday of each month. Bingo is open to the public on a first-come, first-serve basis. The doors open at 5:30 p.m. There are door prizes, a $100 payout, two special blackouts and a $200 game. The bingo night comes with dinner. The $30 buy-in includes dinner and bingo. Those who want to just play a little, can purchase dinner for $5.

"At the first bingo game we held in September we had 68 people playing," she said.
Kennealy said that the Columbiettes will also offer other activities during the day on the second Saturday of the month. This month they will host a fashion show and luncheon from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 10. The event will feature a fashion show with clothing from Kohl's Department Store. Tickets are $15 each. Tickets can be purchased at the door or in advance by contacting Anna Kennealy at 679-8564.

Kennealy said that in the future the group plans to hold a holiday boutique on Nov. 10, a Halloween all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast on Oct. 31 and a Breakfast with Santa on Dec. 20. All of the events are open to the general public and not limited to just members of the congregation.

"Our auxiliary of the Columbiettes is open to all Catholic women, even if they aren't a member of St. Anthony Church," Kennealy said.
She encourages anyone who wants to get involved to contact the church at 925-625-2048 for more information.