Servant Leader

  • No Comments
  • No Likes

3-31-2022 A Letter From Our Servant Leaders
3-31-2022 A Letter From Our Servant Leaders 1367 1520 SVDP USA

Dear Vincentian Friends,

For the past four and a half years, I have been privileged to serve as your National Council president. Now the process for identifying the candidates to be your next president begins. You will find the details of that process provided in next week’s edition of the e-Gazette. I have a year and a half left to continue in my leadership role. During that time, I plan to focus on advancing our Strategic Plan and strengthening the capacity of our network of charity to serve our neighbors in need.

An important element of a strong organization is a careful transition of leadership. The process for selecting the next president is established by National Council Resolution 131. The National Council Board has approved a committee chaired by Raymond Sickinger to oversee the process. Other trusted Vincentian members of the committee are Sr. Kieran Kneaves, Michael Syslo, Marie Wicks, and Gladys Hoerner, with David Barringer and me included as non-voting members. Please pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit to be with us throughout the process.

If you or someone you know is interested in being nominated for the position of president, please carefully read the documents provided. I encourage any Vincentian considering this service to then have a conversation with me, Dave Barringer, or past National Council President Sheila Gilbert. This is a servant leader position that is complicated and time-consuming but also richly rewarding.

Four and a half years have passed quickly, and we still have some important work to do together. It has been a challenge to navigate the changing environment, but thanks to the work of the National Council’s board, committees, and staff, we have adapted to the restrictions of the past few years and have created many resources to advance the mission of our Society. I hope all members of our National Council leadership find ways to share these tools, which were highlighted at our recent Midyear Meeting in St. Louis. These presentations were recorded and can be accessed by clicking here.

To meet the challenges of the future, we must return to the basics of our organization. Belonging to our Society is a vocation. Right now, we must actively invite others to join us, but we must be certain that we are living the vocation we wish to pass on.

We need to be meeting in person to maintain our spiritual grounding and the friendships that bind us together. If caution has prevented us from visiting our neighbors in their homes, we need to return to that practice whenever possible. Sending a check to a landlord after having a phone call with the neighbor in need cannot replace our Home Visit. Helping a family with groceries should be more personally engaging than putting a bag in the trunk of their car. The Vincentian vocation is to develop personal relationships with those we are privileged to serve.

I hope each of you commits to renewing our Society to build a network with increased capacity to serve those in need. That is what I will be focusing on in the months ahead, and I will be looking for Society leadership at every level to join me in that endeavor.

Developing dedicated and trained leadership is crucially important at all levels of our organization, not just the National Council. I encourage each of you to discern how you might be called to a servant leadership role. To ensure our Society will remain viable, we especially need to encourage greater diversity among those who serve as officers at every level of the organization. The National Council presidents and National Council Board members of the future need to be called and encouraged to become presidents of our Conferences and Councils this year.

Let us pray to the Holy Spirit to aid us in finding the servant leaders that Blessed Frederic Ozanam described when our founders looked for the successor to our Society’s first president, Emmanuel Bailly. Frederic suggested that our leaders must have the habit of devotion, the spirit of true fraternity, and the experience of good works. Our Society’s leaders, he observed, must join the zeal that founds with the prudence that preserves, and they must be able to maintain the Society in the paths of simplicity and prudent liberty along which God has led it.

Let those called to lead today continue to guide us along those paths.

Serviens in spe,
Ralph Middlecamp
National Council President

  • No Comments
  • No Likes

3-24-2022 A Letter From Our Servant Leaders
3-24-2022 A Letter From Our Servant Leaders 1363 1363 SVDP USA

More than 200 Society leaders attended the first live Midyear meeting since 2019 last week in St. Louis. It was great to see so many of us in one place!  A few National Council Members (usually the Council Presidents) attended only the Business Meeting by Zoom, and this was good as well to participate. Here are a few highlights from our time together.

President Ralph Middlecamp opened the gathering with a discussion on Capacity. He specifically discussed the situation in Ukraine and surrounding countries, and how the global Society of St. Vincent de Paul is structured to help refugees and other impacted by the current violence. (Please see a separate article in this eGazette on how your Council/Conference can participate beyond what has already been collected in our annual Disaster appeal.) This process is also used for natural and manmade disasters that occur anytime during a year.

National Formation Director Tim Williams provided the spiritual retreat, engaging the audience to see the various faces of Christ in our work. This is recorded for your viewing and sharing!

Father Patrick McDevitt, C.M., the Provincial Superior for the Vincentians Western Province, gave an insightful keynote address on Vincentian Synodality. This address is also available as a video.

Much of the Midyear time was spent in National Committee meetings, National Region meetings, and National Subsidiary meetings that produce so many products and services to our members through out the year. The Business Meeting featured reports/presentations from many of these groups, which are all available to you as individual videos (see accompanying article on Midyear videos).

The Business Meeting was unique in that there was no new business to vote on this time! However, it was full of information from the committees, included a recognition of new National Council Members, reviewed our very positive National Council financials, and provided the process and schedule for the election of the next National President. The Call for Nominations opens on April 1!

We closed the Midyear with a Vincentian Mass led by Father Jim Cormack and a Recommitment Ceremony, both at the Old Cathedral where our first U.S. meeting of the Society was held in 1845.

We are thankful for the many sponsors and partners who help make a Midyear possible with their meal sponsorships, and their exhibits that are so helpful to our leaders in finding resources for Council operations.

Perhaps the greatest value of a Midyear meeting is not in the activities outlined above but what happens between these activities. Vincentians take full advantage to learn and share in the hallways, meals and free time. Coming out of a challenging pandemic environment, and with so few live meetings in the past two years, this opportunity to be with each other and express our Essential Element of Friendship together is worth the trip!

We are already deep into planning our next big meeting, the National Assembly to be held in Baltimore on August 31 – September 3, 2022. We expect more than 800 members to be with us at the Marriott Inner Harbor – will you please join us?

Yours in Christ,
Dave Barringer
CEO

  • No Comments
  • No Likes

03-03-2022 A Letter From Our Servant Leaders
03-03-2022 A Letter From Our Servant Leaders 1367 1520 SVDP USA

Dear Vincentian Friends,

Right now, you should be reading a Lenten message from Bishop Hying, our National Episcopal Advisor. The events in Ukraine, however, have gripped all of us, and many have asked if our Society has been preparing to provide aid to refugees and other victims of the war. Please look for the bishop’s message next week, and allow me to tell you what I know about the Society’s response to the situation in and around Ukraine.

It may seem inadequate, but let’s not forget to pray for peace and the people of Ukraine. The Vincentian Family had a worldwide prayer call yesterday. You can still view that call here: youtube.com/watch?v=_fNGEm8ZGQM&t=168s.

As Vice President for Solidarity and Special Projects for the Council General International, I am engaged in our international twinning relationships and our disaster relief efforts through the Society’s Commission for International Aid and Development (CIAD). We are currently making inquiries of the Councils in the countries receiving thousands of refugees. There is clearly an immediate need in the countries that border Ukraine. What I can tell you is that the Society does not have a strong presence in this area of Europe. At the end of this letter, I have shared some detailed information about the Society in some of the countries near Ukraine.

Please do not plan to make donations until we have a clear purpose for your contributions. You may recall that when we made our annual disaster appeal last summer, a portion of those contributions were designated for international use. Our Councils and Conferences were very generous then, and we will therefore be able to provide help as soon as we receive more information. If we need more assistance, we will certainly let you know. I remind you that our Councils and Conferences cannot donate to any organization outside the Vincentian Family.

We are investigating our options for providing help, and those may include directing assistance through other member organizations of the Vincentian Family. We have funds from the U.S. already in place at our CIAD office in Paris; we just need to have appropriate proposals from the countries closest to the situation. Designated funds provided without plans for their appropriate use have left literally hundreds of thousands of dollars in accounts that can remain unused for many years. We must be sure we have the capacity to deliver the aid in the areas with the need. We also must be able to ensure accountability for the proper use of any funds sent.

Allow me to share some observations about our ability to help people suffering in these situations. First, I see that our members are very generous. If we lack an active presence and the mobilization capacity to put a generous response to work, however, our Society is not able to serve those in need. In the future we must also devote resources to building the Society’s presence throughout our country and throughout the world. Building the network of charity Frederic Ozanam envisioned is still a work in progress. There is no national Council in the world that is more generous in providing disaster relief than our U.S. National Council. We can do better, however, in our Twinning efforts to provide effective support for new and struggling Conferences in countries with limited resources. Let’s renew those efforts.

Even here in the United States, where the Society is strong, we have realized a need to strengthen our capacity to respond to disasters. That is why we have formed and supported our Disaster Services Corporation, which brings excellent know-how to our Councils when they are called upon to respond to unpredictable events that strike their communities. We are fortunate here to be able to draw upon DSC expertise.

I also observe how we tend to be moved to help people whose stories are part of major events covered for multiple days in the news. In my role, I see how our Society helps many suffering in the aftermath of disasters that may barely make world news. In the last several months, we provided assistance to our members in Brazil, where there was a major landslide that killed several hundred people. In the last few months, we have aided victims of disasters you probably don’t remember or maybe never heard about. With funds we provided through the Society’s office in Paris, we have helped address disaster-induced suffering in the Philippines, Madagascar, Tonga, Burundi, Malawi, and Mozambique.

As with all disasters, the need coming out of Ukraine will go on for many years. In Ukraine, we have a small Vincentian presence of just three Conferences. Last I had heard, we have not had any communication from them. Let us continue to pray for them and for all those suffering in and near Ukraine, as well as for those in our country and throughout the world coping with disaster and conflict. Let us pray for peace.

Serviens in spe,
Ralph Middlecamp
National Council President

P.S. Here is some of specific information that has been shared with me:
Poland – The Society has only a handful of Conferences here. As far as I know, there is no structured National Council and little tradition of lay Catholic organizations in Poland. This is probably the place most in need of our assistance, but information on the location and activity of Polish Conferences is lacking.

Romania – The Society does have a properly constituted National Council here. That Council’s twinning officer is in constant communication with Society twinning partners in England and Wales. The report is that Conferences from Turt and Oradea are working with refugees in Sighet, near the border with Ukraine in northwest Romania. At Traian in northeast Romania, members are providing food and clothing at a retreat center that has turned itself into accommodations for refugees. Within the Society, Romania also has twinning links with Italian South Tyrol & Austria and has received donations from Germany.

Hungary — There is a small National Council in Hungary, twinned with Scotland. Hungary has only a relatively short border with Ukraine.

Slovakia — There is a National Council here, but I have no detail about Slovakian members’ capacity to assist.

Moldova – Although there is no national structure here, a group from Romania did go to Chisinau (Moldova’s capital) and set up at least one Conference a few years ago.

  • 9 Comments
  • 1 Like

02-24-2022 A Letter From Our Servant Leaders
02-24-2022 A Letter From Our Servant Leaders 1363 1363 SVDP USA

It’s been too long since I have seen a cockroach.

Lying on a resort beach chair while on a mini-vacation a few days ago,  I thought about how much my life has changed since growing up fairly poor. Some people will tell you that they were poor as children but didn’t know it. I remember it vividly!

In a divorced home as the oldest of four children, I watched my mother scramble for rent, school clothes, and even food. We lived in a meager apartment, a roof over our heads, but not much more. Roaches are common in apartments, though they were not, and are not, value judgements. You could have an immaculate home but whenever a neighbor moved out, their pests lost a food supply, so they migrated to you until you beat them back. I remember being mortified when on a rare occasion I would invite a friend to our place and a cockroach appeared. By necessity I learned the art of misdirection! Living with roaches was a constant battle that the roaches always inevitably seemed to win.

In my 60s now, education, the values Mom and others taught me, and income have taken me far away from those meager times. It would be fairly easy now not to see poverty in others — one could spend your way out, right?

Not really. Poverty, like roaches, is all around us whether or not we choose to see it. It’s in the cashier we paid to buy our coffee, who is working her second, or third, job to make ends meet. Its in the apartments just behind the shopping center that house the workers in the shops and office who can’t otherwise afford to live where they work. Its the frail, elderly grandmother we see in the grocery store, buying food for her extended family because her adult child is ill or in prison. You would likely be surprised to know how many children in your local elementary school are on a free breakfast and lunch program. It will break your Vincentian heart.

Those of us who grew up poor rarely thank God directly for the experience. Instead we thank Him for helping us to have the persistence, providential breaks, and the loving hearts of others who helped us escape poverty and “graduate” to the middle class or above. We also thank God for Saints Vincent and Louise, Blesseds Frédéric and Rosalie, and others who both set examples of serving the less fortunate and who educated others not to judge people’s character by their surroundings, misfortune, and  current circumstances.  As Vincentians today, we carry on these examples and works. We choose not to be blind to the poverty surrounding us, and then to do something positive about it, even if it helps just one person.

Everything created by God has a purpose. Maybe God created the humble cockroach not as a symbol of those who are poor, but to remind us of poverty itself. No matter how hard we fight it, poverty will still be with us. Perhaps we can’t totally eradicate it, but neither should we approve of living with it, either. What can we do ourselves, and how can we enlist others to see what we see and then to act?

Your in Christ,
Dave Barringer
CEO

  • No Comments
  • No Likes

A Letter From Our Servant Leaders – 2-17-2022
A Letter From Our Servant Leaders – 2-17-2022 1368 1387 SVDP USA

As Vincentians we follow Christ’s example whenever possible in matters of our faith and love of the poor, each other and God. Why then do we resist another example He provides, of presence?

Would our Catholic faith be different if there was improved technology in Christ’s time? Without mass publishing, phones, and emails, Christ and later the Apostles used their feet. Christ was in person to recruit each Apostle, not relying on a temple poster. He spoke to the masses on the Mount rather than sending out a newsletter or Instagram post. And (Bible spoiler alert!) He came back from the dead and appeared in person to his Apostles. He didn’t send a text or a YouTube video. Even within those earlier times, He didn’t send an angel or messenger on His behalf. Some things you just gotta do in person.

I’d like to think that all this didn’t happen as described only because modern technology didn’t exist. Remember, God once provided simultaneous translation so that everyone heard the Word in their own language – without wires and earpieces! If He so desired, I’m sure he could have had us invent technology earlier and provide cellphones or whatever. No, I think He has always appreciated the singular value of being there in person.

It’s been nearly two years now since it seemed that everything shut down. Business, restaurant, and school closures. No in-person meetings.  Weeks of absolute quarantine. Not even what we assumed would always be with us, the Sunday Mass. In our Vincentian work, no Home Visits and no Conference meetings, the core strategies of our mission together.  It’s as if COVID was a virus that not only killed people, but also our institutions.

We slowly return now to normal, but with new tools, new systems, and perhaps, for good or bad, new strategies and habits. We have gotten used to doing our work and living our lives increasingly through the phone and the Internet. But just because we can doesn’t always mean we should.

Some people have immunology issues or are simply afraid of contracting the virus, and we need to recognize their situations and adapt as we can. For most of us though, it’s time to return to Christ’s example and get back out there, safely but in person. Technology was a necessary and welcome, saving fix to our challenges. In many ways it is best that we now view that fix as temporary.

From our beginnings, Conference meetings have been in person. Granted, we barely had phones when we started! But while tech has changed since 1833, the benefits of members experiencing our three Essential Elements of Spirituality, Friendship, and Service have outweighed the meeting technology conveniences.

The Home Visit has long set us apart from the many social service agencies and even other good Catholic groups seeking to serve the poor. We, and the person being served, see the Face of Christ only in person.

Our Council, regional, and national meetings are coming back on line as well. I hear from so many that they have missed their friends and the opportunity to share with each other, enhanced when in person relative to emails and phone calls. Breaking bread together is more than a meal; it’s a treasured relationship. I expect next month’s Midyear meeting hallways to be full of good cheer!

Sure, we have tools that can make our tasks faster, less expensive, and more efficient. Serving the poor, though, has never been an efficient undertaking. Increasing our spirituality, our core mission, has never had a shortcut!

As we follow Christ, let’s look to his engagement strategies. He never “mailed it in” to a gathering or a sermon. He sent disciples, often with no more than the clothes on their backs, to strange towns where they knew not a soul to spread the Word in person. At the very core of our faith, He presented Himself to be tortured and crucified. Only through these examples of personal presence could He then return and save all of us.

We have been forced to take cover, physically and often spiritually, for two years. The least we can do now in Christ’s name is to attend our meetings in person, ask friends and family to join and support us with personal invitations, and visit with neighbors in need where they live. Let’s return intentionally to Christ, not only in our prayers but through our lives of renewed presence.

Yours in Christ,
Dave Barringer
CEO

  • 4 Comments
  • No Likes

2-3-2022 A Letter From Our Servant Leaders
2-3-2022 A Letter From Our Servant Leaders 1367 1520 SVDP USA

Dear Vincentian Friends,

Welcome to the first week in February, when we celebrate the Feast of the Presentation, traditionally known as Candlemas Day and as the end to the Christmas season. But February 2 is also Groundhog Day. Tradition has it that the animal’s shadow predicts the end of winter weather. Winter is just one of the few things I wish we were done with right now.

This week’s odd observance is immortalized in the 1993 film Groundhog Day, which I happen to enjoy as a comedy and a parable. A Google search of the plot synopsis reads, “A cynical TV weatherman finds himself reliving the same day over and over again when he goes on location to the small town of Punxsutawney to film a report about their annual Groundhog Day.”

I have joked that some of our Council meetings have a Groundhog Day feel to them, with our reoccurring agendas and commentary. The experience of living in a repeating cycle is one to which many can relate. Right now, I think many of our days in COVID isolation feel a bit like that, too. Day after day, we may maintain a very familiar schedule. When will it end so we can move on?

If Groundhog Day is a film parable, what are the lessons we can take from it? Here are a couple of thoughts: After the reality of the situation is accepted and after moving on from being depressed, the lead character, played by Bill Murray, decides to work on being a better person. He starts to really observe the people around him.

With the luxury of getting to repeat each day, Murray’s character, Phil, sees things he previously missed about the people he interacts with. He is more intentional about how he lives each day. We can all benefit from being a little slower to judge, spending more time listening, and appreciating the people and places we encounter.

This big city weatherman thinks and acts as though covering this silly event is beneath him. After being stuck in this one day for months, his attitude changes. Sometimes, we think the tasks at hand are beneath us, and we miss the value of our own work and the work of others.

Eventually, Phil decides to try new and positive ways to make the day better for himself and those around him. Many of his efforts initially fail, but he takes the opportunity to try again and learn from the mistakes he made the previous day. Along the way, he gets things right. Unlike Phil, we really don’t need to be trapped in a time loop to learn from our failures. They are often our best teachers. In our conferences we often discourage creative ideas – especially those of new members – when we say, “We already tried it, and it didn’t work.”

The major lesson Phil learns is the power of simple kindness – of just being nice to people. He comes to find pleasure in helping others. Of course, he eventually gets the attention of his love interest, too. As Vincentians, we know the value of simple kindness. Mentoring our founders, Blessed Rosalie Rendu told them, “Be kind and love, for love is your first gift to the poor. They will appreciate your kindness and your love more than all else you can bring them.”

As the film progresses, the lead character is not only kind but also saves the lives of several people. Near the end of the film, however, he learns that he cannot save the old homeless man living on the street, even after multiple days of trying. This, too, is a valuable lesson for all of us. Some lives we cannot save, and some problems we cannot solve, but much of what matters is that we care enough to try.

I expect I will wake up tomorrow, and it will be a new day. Regardless of how life might feel at times, we are not stuck in a Groundhog Day time loop. We can all do better, however, at being attentive to the gift of each day we have on this earth. When our days seem difficult, it is an opportunity to place trust in the loving providence of God. Our Rule instructs Vincentians to accept and follow God’s plan, which “leads each one to nurture the seeds of love, generosity, reconciliation, and inner peace in themselves, their families, and all those whose lives they touch.” Let’s do that.

Serviens in spe,
Ralph Middlecamp
SVdP National President

  • 4 Comments
  • No Likes

1-27-2022 A Letter From Our Servant Leaders
1-27-2022 A Letter From Our Servant Leaders 1368 1387 SVDP USA

A priest was speaking to an audience of people devoted to helping the poor. “The poor don’t need to have you be their voice,” he said, “They have their own voices.”

This point is certainly debated, and the Society has a group named Voice of the Poor for a reason. While people in poverty indeed have their own voices, what they often lack is the access to places and people where those voices may be heard. The Society, from its Conferences and Councils, can be this access.

Speaking of voices, a truism is that Money Talks. If this is true, perhaps it is time we take stock of the various forms of “money” we may use as the Society to make good things happen.

If your Council has employees, then you are defined as either a small or large employer in your area. While you may not pay property taxes, your staff has economic impact through their wages, payroll taxes, maybe sales taxes, and spending choices. If you have more than 100 employees, you may very well be a major non-government employer in your town. Do others see you this way? Do you act like it when on the public stage?

Even if you have no staff, your Council (and many Conferences) are economic players locally. For example, collectively your Vincentians may be one of the largest customers at the utility companies. Do you use this leverage to get discounts, more favorable terms for the people we serve, or “a seat at the table” as a board member or advisory board voice to the companies and/or the oversight Commissions?

Anytime your Conference makes a purchase decision, some companies benefit and others don’t – that’s the power of the purse. Review how much you spend annually in rent, utilities, food and other supports, and think about how these expenses might give you an enhanced voice for the neighbors in need. This is a voice that others may already provide you, but more often than not, you need to demand it yourself. They think of individual transactions, while you may find strength and benefit in viewing these transactions as a total expense through one payor – the Society.

As friends, we complain about bad customer service to one another, and once in a while we even say something nice about a company or vendor who made our life a little easier. Whether it is done around a restaurant table or through the internet, this is now called “influencer behavior” that can make or break a company. By steering family and friends to, or away from, those who interact with the Society, we help those we serve through economic pressure that can change corporate behavior and responses. We may already do this, but it deserves to be intentional.

A friend of mine who leads a local nonprofit once related that at a weekly Rotary Club meeting, he realized that he was the largest employer present and oversaw one of the largest budgets. Yet many thought of his organization as “that nice little organization that helps people.” He became determined not to throw his weight around, but to remind his friends and the local government of his organization’s size, strength and most importantly, local impact. Changing perspectives improved the way he and his organization were treated.

We Vincentians often exhibit humility, and serve with little or no recognition. Yet collectively our dollars already make a local economic and caring difference. Let’s take this a bit further. Explore how our economic strength can bring the issues and solutions affecting the less fortunate to the table. You may be surprised to look at your Council’s annual report and see just how much money you devote to serving your neighbors. From fundraising dollars to events to store sales, and not even counting the value of volunteer hours, it is often formidable.

If Money Talks, we may have a bigger voice than we realize. How can we use it more effectively to help our neighbors? How can we use our spending power to introduce their voices, alone or collectively, where they need to be heard?

Yours in Christ,
Dave Barringer
CEO

  • 2 Comments
  • No Likes

A Letter From Our Servant Leaders 1-6-2022
A Letter From Our Servant Leaders 1-6-2022 1367 1520 SVDP USA

Dear Vincentian Friends,

Happy New Year! The month of January is named after the Roman god Janus, who is depicted as having two faces; one looks forward and the other backward. This matches what we often do when we transition from one year to the next. What was your Vincentian experience like last year, and what are you looking forward to this year?

As the year ended, news sources were filled with stories looking back at celebrities who had died, the year’s top news stories, the most-popular music and movies, and a host of other categories of happenings to be remembered. Looking back at 2021 as a Vincentian, I find some highlights in an otherwise difficult year.

During 2021 we moved into and dedicated our new National Council office in St. Louis. We had two “Invitation for Renewal” retreats and a very successful National Assembly in Houston. Our Society has also been blessed with hundreds of new servant leaders who stepped into office to lead our Conferences and Councils this October. We were blessed by their being ready to put their talents to the service of our members and the people we serve. I hope your Councils and Conferences were blessed with a few memorable 2021 highlights that have kept you serving in hope.

Certainly, there were many disappointments and losses in 2021. Events were canceled, and friends were missed. You probably experienced the death of family members and friends, including some fine Vincentians, during the past 12 months. The Society lost some beloved pillars this year; among them were Joe Mueller and Paul Collins. Let’s remember them all in prayer and keep moving forward, building on the strength and fortitude that are our Society’s legacy.

The other face of January looks forward. What will we make of this year ahead? Let’s keep hope alive by trusting in the providence of God. As we embrace our strategic plans or form a few goals for ourselves, I ask you to consider:

  • How can we help each other be better friends and Vincentians?
  • How can we make our organization function better?
  • How can our Society better serve Christ in the person of our neighbor?
  • How can the people we serve help us to be better followers of Christ?

These are the questions I that I shared in my inaugural speech four years ago. They are still my focus as I look to another year as your servant leader. Together, we can create that better Society of St Vincent de Paul toward which we all aspire.

Serviens in spe,
Ralph Middlecamp
SVdP National President

  • 4 Comments
  • No Likes

A Letter From Our Servant Leaders 1-13-2022
A Letter From Our Servant Leaders 1-13-2022 1363 1363 SVDP USA

The holidays are mostly behind us. We stare into our refrigerators now, looking for leftovers while they last. The cakes and cookies were the first to go, followed by anything we could put into a sandwich. Now we are left with items requiring a bit more creativity.

Behold, the humble can of cranberry sauce.

It sits in the pantry awaiting another holiday meal. We heard there was a national shortage of this stuff heading into the holidays, so we bought an extra can just because, and Heaven forbid it wouldn’t be on the table with the ham or turkey this year. Now we are into January, the meats are gone, and the can sits there, staring back at us. What to do? (Stick with me here, I really do have a point to this column.)

We could simply eat it with another meal, even though it might not feel quite right. I like to use it as a spread on a turkey sandwich. Some people create fruity spreads with it. A quick internet search will give you, believe it or not, at least 65 uses! I couldn’t read it all without laughing, so I’m not even sure that all of these uses are food related. Paint tinting? Edible finger-paint? Fragrant glue? The possibilities seem endless.

If we can do so much with a commodity food, imagine what we can accomplish with several Vincentian hearts in our Conference meeting as we discuss how to help someone in need. These neighbors may not be “leftovers” but “left behinds” by others.

It may be easy to do what we have always done, help in the same small way, and move on to the next family that needs our help. Or we can look with fresh eyes and hearts at alternatives. Some may be emergency assistance gifts while other might be systemic change solutions for the longer term. Some might solve today’s problem while others look to the root causes of this person’s poverty and present situation. Some answers may be comfortable, while others will require new thinking, new resources and new partnerships.

If we approach people with the same tools, we might miss some great possibilities. If the only tool you have is a can opener, every problem becomes a can! If instead we consciously add to our Conference and personal toolbox, we are prepared when a different problem needing our help comes along.

In this New Year, let’s resolve to approach our neighbors in need not as society’s leftovers but as treasures of potential, awaiting our innovation, discernment and most of all, love, to create newly imagined lives of purpose and value.

Christ did something amazing with just a few fish and loaves of bread. What can we do for our neighbors with our Conference’s love and so many blessings? Let’s think on it, pray on it together, and then think some more. Isn’t this what we would want Christ to do for us?

Yours in Service,
Dave Barringer
CEO

Enter your
text here
Skip to content