Leadership

At the national Invitation For Renewal (IFR) experience, we utilize a protected conversation environment in which the participants can share their joys and challenges, frustrations, victories, and concerns. At times we get some real doozies!

This recent time though was different, and not in a good way. Several participants expressed that they were close to quitting – either their Society leadership role or their Vincentian experience entirely – before they journeyed to St. Louis to undertake a five-day, four-night immersion into the Society’s culture, history, and governance as well as into their own relationship with Christ. The experience “pulled them from the abyss” and, thank God, re-energized them to continue their Vincentian journey.

Okay, so 28 members and leaders got a positive shot in the arm. What about the rest of our 90,000 brother and sister Vincentians? How are they feeling these days, after months of isolation due to COVID, and extreme changes in how we conduct the Society’s services and businesses? If they have not been able to go to Mass, or to meet in person with their Conference, has this dampened or eliminated sense of fellowship affected them? Overall, how has their relationships with God and with their fellow Vincentians changed over the past two years? And what can any of us do about it?

Our focus throughout the pandemic, as always, has been primarily on the people we serve. We recognize their challenges before we see our own. After all, on average a family in poverty has fewer resources – financial, faith, and friendship resources – than we likely have. We knew that life would be tough for them as pandemic conditions changed, especially for people in need. Yet while we raced to act to keep up with our services, and even to create and nurture needed new ones, did we leave our own needs behind?

We have seen this in others, such as first-responders who kept serving in the hospital, police, and fire stations at the sacrifice of their own mental and physical health. Without asking for it, they were often celebrated in the community and nationally as the heroes they are, because everyone learned of their sacrifices and risks, often voluntarily taken. Vincentians, however, often work behind the scenes, humbly and in the “shadows.” They don’t seek recognition; in fact, they often actively avoid it! They would rather the attention be on the plight of the poor, the unemployed, the sick and others who need our help. “I’m good” they might say to anyone asking. But are they really?

We may have recently taken stock of our Society locally to ask how our programs are delivered, and if what we have always done still works in times of changing conditions, technologies and outside resources. Now we must also take dedicated time to ask how we ourselves are holding up. We may have been through a faith and volunteerism Hell, and it isn’t getting that much better very quickly unless we act. The first step is to recognize where we are, then we can do something about it.

What can we do as brothers and sisters? As always, we can pray together, share with each other, and get back to meeting in person not just to perform the Society’s business but also simply to be there for each other. We can share all those frustrations we have seen and experienced recently, and ask for help. Chances are that what you experienced was the same for others in the room. How can we support each other, and perhaps make it better? We start with our ears and our hearts, and then our heads and hands. Break out the tissues, the beer, the laughter or whatever it takes to have honest conversations about our Vincentian experiences.

We talk a lot, including in this space, about the continuing need to recruit new members. Can we honestly recruit truthfully and joyfully if we ourselves are beaten down and battered by life over the past year or more? Can we invite others to join us if we’re not sure ourselves if we can continue?

It may be easier to keep the members we have than to find new ones, but it will still require conscious effort. Let’s take time to retrench and renew. Don’t put it off, start now! Despite the challenges, we know deep down that there is still much to celebrate. There is much to look forward to in our service and commitment to each other and to God. We can and must take the necessary steps to re-discover the joy we had when we started.

God still lives in us. The Face of Christ is still within us and in each other. Step back to take a breath, to re-center and to check on our fellow Vincentians. We need to be okay before we can make it more okay for others. Whether to ask for help or to offer it, please reach out to a Society member today.

Yours in Christ,
Dave Barringer
CEO

My son the 20-something high school teacher and coach challenged me to a 100-yard foot race. I accepted, knowing I would lose, because that’s what dads do. I can pull a hamstring just thinking about running, so I told my wife to go to the finish line and get the oxygen ready. We took our starting positions, and I told him I wanted the Lynyrd Skynryd option. While he thought about it I took off, yelling “Gimme three steps!”

He was kind. Sure, he beat me like a drum. I won’t say by how much, but he made me a sandwich before I got to the finish line.

The real win for me was being asked to race. Of course, that’s what us losers say all the time! This time I mean it. When we have a chance to participate in anything with someone younger, related or not, it’s a good thing.

Our country recently has elevated its thought and language about diversity and inclusion. One area we forget about too often is the diversity that comes with age, and how important it is to reach across age groups in all directions to find different skill sets and certainly different perspectives.

It’s not as hard as we think. In our respective lives, we have the commonalities of careers, relationships and parenthood, to name just a few. These may not always be comfortable to discuss at first, so we can consider others. Sports, for example. Every generation loves or hates Tom Brady or the Yankees. I find it easy to talk about Marvel movies with young friends. They know the characters mostly from the films, while I read the original plotlines years ago from the comics. This leads to passionate conversations of absolutely nothing of consequence! Unless we consider friendship a consequence, that is.

At the recent Young Catholic Professionals annual conference, I was the oldest Vincentian present by at least 30 years. I was energized by the enthusiasm of our younger members for their faith, our Society’s impact on their lives, and their evangelizing spirit in discussing our works with others. If this is the future of the Society, we are in good hands and hearts.

A lot of younger adults think differently about volunteerism than older generations. They aren’t able to commit to the same number of service hours, at least not as performed in weekly meetings over years. They tend to prefer service commitments made one day at a time. If the service was fulfilling for them, they do it again. Their friendships and volunteer service mirror their careers; they tend to be portable. What’s more lasting, fortunately, are their marriage and family vocations, and faith. All need to be nourished.

What an opportunity this presents for all of us “seasoned” Vincentians. Most of us have younger relatives, whom we can ask to join us. We may also have “Church friends” and other relationships with younger adults in our lives. They have been watching you, learning about what you consider to be important and the examples you provide – whether you know it or not. That’s how all of us grow into adulthood in every generation; by learning from the ones who have already travelled our roads.

Please don’t assume that because they are young they aren’t ready to get closer to God, or that they don’t want to serve the poor. The exact opposite may be true! In fact, a younger person with a good introduction to a concept, person or experience often becomes a lifelong believer! Why else would anyone still be a Cubs fan?

If we wait to recruit someone when they retire from their careers, all those past relationships and good experiences preempt a bit the ability to create new ones. Let’s work across generations to find new ways to serve, and new ways to communicate and share our faith that work for younger adults. Let’s work together to create and fan a spark, even if it doesn’t burn brightly right away.

We can show how every song the younger music fans listen to started with traditions laid down by Chuck Berry or the Beatles. In turn we can appreciate that some things are entirely new! We can argue who is better, Babe Ruth or Shohei Ohtani, Bill Russell or LeBron James. The answers don’t matter, really. What counts is the dialogue and the friendships that result.

Yours in Christ,
Dave Barringer
CEO

Every week, it seems we Catholics are asked for our positions of the social crisis of the day. For a religion that is so often ridiculed or ignored by the media, they sure do ask often for our opinions!

It fascinates me that our brothers and sisters in different faiths are rarely asked how they feel as a religion about the issues of the day. No, the Catholics are the standard. I choose that word intentionally.

We know that Catholics disagree with each other – just attend any Conference meeting! We also know that some Catholics are at odds with the Church on various issues including life, immigration and borders, climate, and others. We overlook sometimes that our faith is somewhat unique in that it has actual positions, derived over years – sometimes hundreds and even thousands – and that these positions are written down for everyone to see. When a Pope even suggests a departure through imprecise words from these positions, it makes worldwide news.

When some disagree strongly, they may face a crisis of conscience leading even to a departure from the Catholic faith, although many would tell you that they disagree only with the Church and not with the faith. They still believe in Christ and how He died for our sins. They just disagree with the “politics” of the Church. Which is also interesting in that using political yardstick measures, the Church is liberal in some regards and conservative in others. This is not inconsistency; in fact, the Church is remarkably consistent. Maintaining clear and consistent values can lead the Church to the right for some individual issues and to the left for others.

As a Vincentian and as a Catholic, you may be asked for your opinion of the Society’s position on the topic of the day. The Rule provides us with guiding elements to help us. The first is in Part III, Statute 29 on our Relationship with Civil Society. The Society does not identify with any political party, we are nonviolent, we bring Christian values to political matters, and those holding political offices are asked not to hold any “mission of representation” within the Society while in office. That alone covers a lot of ground these days!

The second relevant element is in the Rule, Part I, 5.3, in which the Society recognizes the right and duty of the diocesan bishop to confirm that the Society acts in accordance with Catholic faith and morals. In other words, while we are officially autonomous of the Church (see I.5.2), we maintain a close relationship with the church hierarchy and its values. Many of the political battles and policy decisions we face come down to moral decisions, don’t they?

The third relevant element is not in the Rule but in the Manual of the National Council of the United States, in Section 2.1: Speaking for the Society. It’s one simple sentence: “Only the National President may ‘speak for the Society’ on national issues. For local issues, this is delegated to the Council President.”

It is tempting, when asked for your opinion, to give it! As Americans, we enjoy freedom of speech. This freedom, however, does not extend to us speaking on behalf of most organizations to which we belong, including the Society. It can be challenging to hold one’s tongue when the issue is important and we have such brilliant commentary, but please do resist when asked about “your take” on any Society position.

Allow me to offer two alternatives. When asked for my opinion “as a Catholic” I can often respond by directing the inquirer to the local bishop or to the USCCB. When asked by media for my view as a Vincentian, I let them know that even as the national CEO I don’t speak for the Society, but often I will add a question of my own. “What are the consequences of this issue, intentional and perhaps unintentional, for the poor? Please consider them in forming your story.”

Catholics, through the formal Church and its many informed and cause-related organizations, have a voice, even if this voice is sometimes ridiculed or ignored. The poor, however, often have no voice at all. It seems that every social issue affects them more than everyone else, and usually negatively. As Vincentians we can work to free their own voice, or if not possible, work to speak on their behalf.

As noted above, the Catholic viewpoint is often used as a standard. Let our Vincentian actions speak as standards of love and care for our neighbors, humility, and everyday work to make our world a better place for all. Our own lives are testament to our Catholic faith and values. By our lives we can be the standard for Good.

Yours in Christ,
Dave Barringer
CEO

The establishment of the U.S. Census by our nation’s founders was a genius move. While originally designed to help apportion members of the National Congress, later Census tallies helped us all to know more about our growing country’s population, its shifts from one region to another, its ethnicities, and its economics over time. A lot can happen in the ten years between the full Census counts!

We are now at a time when such a Census of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul’s membership is vital to understanding our capacity to serve. We have all heard about decaying Church membership – our “member prospect universe” – and the anxieties over whether or not some of the U.S. Catholic membership can rebound or is lost forever. A national pandemic that shut down Mass attendance along with so many other faith-based activities certainly did not help.

Within the Society, we are proud that during the pandemic, we kept going. It was for us a simple matter: people were still poor, so we kept serving them. We adjusted with virtual Home Visits and Conference meetings where we could, though we missed seeing the Face of Christ in person. What, though, has been the lasting impact on our membership numbers? Recruiting was more difficult when we could not meet with anyone interested in joining us, and many of the informal service opportunities that attract future Vincentians were suspended for weeks or months at a time.

Conversations among some of the Society’s English-speaking National Councils uncovered a disturbing recognition that up to 70 percent of their membership has not returned to serve. Some died, some moved away and others changed their contact information, and this happens all the time. The disturbing big change was that the habit of Vincentian service was so severely disrupted that some members “dropped out” either to express their faith in different ways, to retire from active Society services, or to fade away from the Society and perhaps from the Church itself.

For years now we have maintained a membership of approximately 100,000 Society members in the United States, serving in nearly 4,500 Conferences and other locations. For the first time, I’m not very confident that these numbers are accurate. You likewise should not assume that your local numbers, names, and contact data are the same as they were just three years ago.

We aren’t structured to perform a national Society Census; we are a grassroots organization at our core. I ask you to please be intentional in seeking out everyone you believe are your members, see if they are still willing to serve, and if you have all the membership data you need to operate your Councils and Conferences. We can’t assume this data any longer; we need to verify it to see where we truly are and then plan, likely much more vigorously, for member and Conference growth. While we pray that we have not lost 70 percent of our members, we should not be surprised that some loss has occurred at least temporarily.

A Society member census can be performed not just to count, but to re-engage our members. Consider the counting as a series of wellness checks on where our members are, and also what they need to come back into Vincentian service and regular meetings. Let’s work together to re-count, re-engage, and re-inspire our members toward their own spirituality through Society membership and service to others. And by the way, if you encounter potential new members along the way, invite them in!

We will only know where we are nationally with our membership numbers after we start to know more locally. In your counting process, please take the time to send the information up the line toward your local Council and the National Council with updated database input, improved Annual Report completion, and subscriptions to this e-Gazette. All this has benefit for your members to stay informed and to stay connected with all levels of the Society nationally.

With today’s inflationary pressures, which always affect the poorest the most harshly, we are needed in our neighborhoods more than ever. We don’t intend to be “small but mighty” to do our works. We prefer the “many hands make light work” approach! No matter our membership size, can’t we always welcome, or welcome back, someone else who desires to be closer to God?

Yours in Christ,
Dave Barringer
CEO