Society of St. Vincent de Paul

Friends of the Poor Grant Awardees — April 2023

Friends of the Poor Grant Awardees — April 2023 150 150 SVDP USA

We received 57 grant applications totaling $285,000. Grant awards for this round total $75,000.

Through simple application process, SVdP Conferences and District Councils can apply for up to $5,000 from the National Council’s Friends of the Poor® Fund. The Friends of the Poor® funds available to grant is normally limited to the amount raised and/or approved by the National Council budget process. Individual grant award amounts may vary from the application amount but will not exceed $5,000.

Grants are targeted to specific areas of need, above and beyond available Conference resources: assistance for rent/housing, utilities, food, clothing, medical, transportation, and baby/children needs. No systemic change projects.

 

Local and National Stores Committee Team Up With Great Results in Richmond

Local and National Stores Committee Team Up With Great Results in Richmond 320 240 SVDP USA

Written by: Ed Markiewicz — Eastern Region, Council of Greensburg

The Council of Richmond initiated a new endeavor to support the mission and invigorate efforts to serve those in need.

When faced with the question of how to meet the increasing need for help, the Richmond Council discussed the idea of opening a SVdP Thrift Store and Donation Center and decided to form a committee to explore the idea.

Initial steps included:  finding funding sources, locating a suitable building and location, identifying donation sources, leasing & legal requirements, operational set-up and management details.

Realizing guidance was available through the National SVdP; the Council knew where to turn for help.

Members Dan Kearns-Executive Director and Deacon Andy Cirmo-Spiritual Advisor, traveled to the National Assembly in Baltimore, MD to attend the National Stores Thrift Store Committee meeting to gather more information and assistance.  They met with the Stores Committee Members and learned what resources and expert help was available on the National Stores website www.svdpusa-thriftstore.org.

Dan & Deacon Andy returned home with new enthusiasm and continued determination to make the first SVdP Thrift Store and Donation Center in the Richmond Diocese a reality.

Both Dan & Deacon Andy recognized the importance of the project, so Dan then visited the SVdP National Training Store in Phoenix, AZ to view the operations and procedures implemented in a successful store.

Dan met with Jeff Beamguard-National Stores Director, as well as other members of the Stores Committee who shared ideas and information that would help make the Richmond Store’s planning and opening as smooth as possible.  Using the advice and guidance available, along with the resources on the website, the process began to move forward.

Deacon Andy’s extensive retail experience provided hands-on expertise with the layout of the site, utilizing every feature to create an effective presentation with an unobstructed views of all the goods, as well as a Boutique area, furniture displays and a children’s area, all creating a welcoming atmosphere.

On the right of the entrance, a small area was dedicated to advertising what the Society of St Vincent de Paul does, with informational flyers and an invitation to support and join.

After much planning and effective implementation, the opening day was set for Saturday April 15, 2023.  A Dedication Blessing, sanctioned by the Bishop, took place on March 28, 2023, attended by the many volunteers and supporters.

Now open, the store can become just what was needed, not only to financially support the needs of the Council, but to create a visible presence for the Society.  The store will become the face of St. Vincent de Paul in the Diocese of Richmond.

The opening day results and the days that followed proved to be astounding.

Congratulations to the Richmond Council on your first SVdP Thrift Store!

If you are considering opening a store in your region or are interested in ideas to improve your store’s operations, please consider attending the National Assembly Stores Meeting on September 6, 2023 in St. Louis, MO.

Please encourage your store personnel to subscribe to the to the e-Gazette, by emailing mboyer@svdpusa.org

If you have a topic that you would like addressed in a future Stores Corner article, please e-mail Jeff Beamguard,  Director of Stores Support at jbeamguard@svdpusa.org.

Contemplation — From Day to Day

Contemplation — From Day to Day 1080 1080 SVDP USA

One of the most treasured tenets of our Vincentian spirituality is trust in Providence. When our treasuries run low, we trust in Providence to refill them. When we are not sure of the path to take, we trust in Providence to guide us. But Providence is more than simply a generous donor, or a wise friend, and our trust demands much more from us than simply expecting things to work out well.

In our households and our businesses, we prudently set aside money for “rainy days” rather than spend it all on payday, because we have obligations – bills – that will remain, even if our income does not. But what about the works of the Conference, particularly the assistance we give to neighbors in need? These are not, strictly speaking, obligations, and there is no amount of saving up that will assure we can meet them. As an earlier edition of the Rule explains, our works, “being entirely optional, should be from day to day; besides, nothing is more Christian than to trust one’s self to Providence and to count upon its inexhaustible care when the work is undertaken for God. To make a reserve, to have before us a disposable capital which we never touch, to lay out beforehand a budget as in a relief association, are proceedings essentially contrary to the spirit of our Society.” [Rule, 1898, 87]

Our tradition seems almost to defy common sense. Surely it is better to set aside money for those neighbors who will certainly call us next week than to give it all out today! Or, perhaps, giving all we have to meet today’s needs makes the most sense. After all, if a homeless shelter had three vacant beds, who would ever turn away a mom with two kids just to keep those beds open for tomorrow?

The needs presented to us are as unique and unrepeatable as the images of God who present them, and we can never know in advance the best way to help. This is why we are called to “assess each home visit as a unique encounter and … not set predefined limitations on the amount of help to be given or the type of help to be given or the number of times to help someone.”

This apparent conflict between prudence and Providence is as old as the Society. As Bl. Frédéric once explained, “in such a work it is necessary to give yourself up to the inspirations of the heart rather than the calculations of the mind. Providence gives its own counsel through the circumstances around you, and the ideas it bestows on you. I believe you would do well to follow them freely and not tie yourselves down with rules and formulas.” [Letter 82, to Curnier, 1834]

To trust in Providence means to abandon ourselves completely to the will of God, and it is from Providence that both donations and the needs of the neighbor are placed before us. If we have the means, we give generously. When we are poor ourselves, we give what little we have. Money can be saved in a bank, but it isn’t money we are trying to save.

Contemplate

Are there times I let worry about tomorrow’s funds obscure the needs before me today?

Recommended Reading

The Manual

SVdP News Roundup April 15 – April 21

SVdP News Roundup April 15 – April 21 1080 1080 SVDP USA

With 100,000 Vincentians across the United States and nearly 800,000 around the world, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul provides person-to-person service to those who are needy and suffering. Read some of their stories here:

INTERNATIONAL

NATIONAL

A Week in Prayers April 17 – April 21

A Week in Prayers April 17 – April 21 1080 1080 SVDP USA

Monday, April 17

Lord when I see Your face
How can I help but smile?
The face of hunger, the face of joy,
The face of need, the face of love,
The face of the neighbor,
Unique and unrepeatable.
Open my eyes to see You, Lord,
Open my heart to smile.
Amen

Tuesday, April 18

Lord Jesus, Your bore Your cross for me
Up the rocky path, buckling under its weight.
Open my eyes to see the struggling neighbor
Bending low under the weight of a cross.
Give my heart the strength to share the burden
And the love to wipe the neighbor’s brow.
Lead me on the way of the cross.
Amen

Wednesday, April 19

Father in heaven,
Hear my prayer;
Hear the groanings
Of my heart.
Hear me, Lord,
In the silence.
Answer me, Lord,
In Your mercy.
Answer me, Lord,
In Your love.
Answer me, Lord,
In the silence.
Amen

Thursday, April 20

I am in Your hands, O Lord,
Carry me where You will.
Lift me up from darkness,
Give me rest when I am weary,
And when my neighbor is in need,
Lord, let me lend Your hand.
Amen

Friday, April 21

Lord Jesus,
Help me guard against the false humility
That shows empty hands to the needy
Because I believe what I have to offer
Is not enough.
Teach me instead to find abundance
In five loaves and two fish.
Help me to share
My time, my possessions, and myself
With all who hunger.
Amen

Daily Prayers are written by Tim Williams, National Vincentian Formation Director.

DSC Update — Tornado Relief Efforts

DSC Update — Tornado Relief Efforts 2560 1920 SVDP USA

Elizabeth Disco-Shearer, CEO of DSC, recently visited the tornado-ravaged areas of Rolling Fork and Silver Springs, MS and McEwen, TN, where she witnessed the ongoing recovery efforts of Vincentians in response to the devastating floods that had hit the area. She was struck by the extent of the damage in these towns, which left many dead and many homes and businesses flattened.

During her tour, Elizabeth had the opportunity to meet with local Vincentians and other community leaders, as well as the Chair of MS Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster. The tornadoes that hit Rolling Fork and Silver Springs struck communities already grappling with high levels of poverty and social disadvantage, meaning that many survivors faced additional challenges in their recovery efforts, including limited access to resources, healthcare, and social support.

In response to these challenges, Elizabeth Disco-Shearer and her team have been working closely with local Vincentians and other community leaders to provide targeted support and assistance to those who need it most. This includes providing grants, training with Conference leaders, and technical support for recovery efforts, as well as helping to connect survivors with vital resources and services to address their basic needs.

Despite the ongoing challenges faced by these communities, Elizabeth remains hopeful and committed to the long-term recovery process. By working together and providing sustained support and assistance, she believes that we can help to rebuild these communities and create a brighter future for all those affected by these devastating disasters. However, the recovery process will be a long and difficult one, requiring sustained support and commitment from everyone involved.

Elizabeth would like to express her gratitude to Council President Carrie Johnson, Carol and George Evans, Tommy Jordan, Donavan Guilbeau, and Henry Barclay for their Vincentian Servant Leadership in the field. Their dedication and hard work are an inspiration to us all, and their efforts are making a real difference in the lives of those affected by these devastating disasters.

Please pray for the Vincentians who are enduring so much tragedy in these impacted areas. To learn more about our other projects visit: www.svdpdisaster.org.

04-20-2023 A Letter From Our Servant Leaders

04-20-2023 A Letter From Our Servant Leaders 1080 1080 SVDP USA

Dear Vincentian Friends,

This Sunday we celebrate the 210th birthday of our principal founder, Blessed Frederic Ozanam. We continue to hope and pray that he may be recognized by the Church as a saint. Those of us who know him have no doubt that he is in heaven and worthy of being known as Saint Frederic Ozanam.

What Frederic Ozanam means for me — or what any saint means to those of us still on earth walking what our Rule describes as a “journey into holiness” — is best described by Ozanam himself when he writes about our patron St. Vincent de Paul. Blessed Frederic tells us, “… he is a model one must strive to imitate, as he himself imitated the model of Jesus Christ. He is a life to be carried on, a heart in which one’s own heart is enkindled, an intelligence from which light should be sought; he is a model on earth and a protector in heaven. A twofold devotion is owed him, imitation and invocation.”

If a saint is to be a model on earth, Frederic Ozanam is such a person for laypeople. St. John Paul II wrote in his encyclical “Christifidelis Laici,” “There cannot be two parallel lives in your existence as lay men and women: on the one hand, the so-called spiritual life, … on the other, the so-called secular life.” The integrated life of holiness is the one Ozanam led as a professor, lawyer, husband, father, journalist, and friend of the poor. He himself wrote, “We are not blessed with two separate lives — one for seeking the truth and the other for putting it into practice.”

We are very fortunate to have so many ways to know this man so that we may better follow his example. Many of those resources are available thanks to the dedication of his widow, Amelie, who preserved his letters and worked with early biographers. (I encourage you to read the newly published biography, “Amelie Ozanam: A Heart with Much Love to Give,” which is available from our national office.) We are currently working on a multiyear project to have all of the known letters of Frederic Ozanam translated into English. The first volume, covering his early years, will be released by the end of the year.

Reading Ozanam’s letters and articles shows us a man who struggled with the challenges of a culture that frequently did not value religion or faith. The founding of the Society was one identifiable way that Frederic responded to these challenges. Reading his letters, we see the struggle woven through his life in choices about his career, in decisions regarding his marriage and family, and in the way he responded to his physical suffering.

In his last testimony Frederic leaves us this profound final challenge, “I die in the Holy, Catholic, Apostolic, and Roman Church. I have known the difficulties of belief of the present age. … If I set any value on my studies, it is that it gives me the right to entreat all whom I love to remain faithful to the religion in which I found light and peace.”

In his message to the Holy Father on the cause for canonization of Frederic Ozanam, Cardinal Pironio described Frederic as “really the man of the Church in the heart of the world and the man of the world in the heart of the Church.” I hope that through the imitation and invocation of Frederic Ozanam, much the same can be said about all of us members of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.

Serviens in spe,
Ralph Middlecamp
National Council President

SVdP News Roundup April 8 – April 14

SVdP News Roundup April 8 – April 14 1080 1080 SVDP USA

With 100,000 Vincentians across the United States and nearly 800,000 around the world, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul provides person-to-person service to those who are needy and suffering. Read some of their stories here:

INTERNATIONAL

NATIONAL

A Week in Prayers April 10 – April 14

A Week in Prayers April 10 – April 14 1080 1080 SVDP USA

Monday, April 10

Help me to see the neighbor, Lord,
Help me to see the friend.
Help me to see the face of Christ.
Make me the one You send.

Help me to serve the neighbor, Lord,
Help me to serve the friend.
Let me bear wordless witness
Through the love that I extend.

Help me to love the neighbor, Lord,
Help me to love the friend.
May we be saved together
In Your loving arms, amen.

Tuesday, April 11

For the poor and the hungry,
The thirsty, the cold,
Extend Your loving hand, O Lord.
For the lonely and mourning,
The prisoner, the sick,
Extend You loving heart, O Lord.
For all those who suffer,
For all those who weep,
Make me Your hands and heart, O Lord.
Amen

Wednesday, April 12

Deep in my heart, O Lord.
Through each day’s troubles
I trust in You, God.
Deep in my heart lies faith.

Deep in my heart, O Lord.
Though darkness may fall,
Lord, You are my light.
Deep in my heart lies hope.

Deep in my heart, O Lord.
Only there to be shared
For Your sake, my God.
Deep in my heart lies love.
Amen

Thursday, April 13

Holy Spirit, Breath of God,
Live within me, fill my soul,
Light my heart on fire.
Help me to know
The will of the Father
Help me to see
The face  of the Son
Help me to share
The Flame of Your love.
Amen

Friday, April 14

Lord, clear my eyes
With the light of Your truth.
Clear away sleep,
Wipe away tears,
Help me see through
The fog of the day’s troubles.
Help me walk with my neighbors,
Still lost in the fog,
Until you clear their eyes, too.
Amen

Daily Prayers are written by Tim Williams, National Vincentian Formation Director.

04-13-2023 A Letter From Our Servant Leaders

04-13-2023 A Letter From Our Servant Leaders 900 900 SVDP USA

Back in 1985, the song “We are the World” was created using the vocal talents of more than 40 American music artists including Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Ray Charles, Billy Joel, Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder, Willie Nelson, Michael Jackson, and Paul Simon. In other words, artists who were unlikely to team up otherwise but who came together, mostly by invitation, to sing to end hunger in Africa.

One notable tale from the evening recording session was that everyone saw a sign at the entrance, asking to “Please leave your ego at the door.” Otherwise, as producer Quincy Jones noted, the evening might have been a disaster with performers arguing over who would sing each line and even where they each should stand.

Egos do not disappear in the name of charity.

The story told not quite so much about the historic recording is that more than 50 pretty famous artists were turned down or purposely not invited, including Madonna, Joan Baez, and John Denver. Others such as Barbra Streisand and Prince declined to participate. They doubtless had egos, too, and thus had to deal with rejection and their own sense of importance and relevance.

When serving as Vincentians, we ask people to “come to the table” either to serve or to receive whatever blessings we may offer. We focus on those who arrive to give them the best interaction possible, whether it be service at a food pantry or a volunteer experience. But what about those, probably much greater in number, who are not asked or whom we turn away?

Imagine being in the tyranny of the moment, trying to make it from one week to the next with food or shelter, and no one even returns your phone call asking for help? Imagine being the reluctant volunteer who finally says Yes to God and the Society after an Invitation to Serve plea, only not to be greeted warmly at the introductory Society meeting or asked otherwise to contribute in some meaningful way.

Our responding to those who make it to our door in a Christ-like, friendly manner is maybe only half, even less than half, of our task. If one of the great services we offer to the world, one family at a time, is hope, what about those for whom we ignore or under-serve? Are we saying to them that once again, their hopes are dashed? Regardless of our intentions, do they hear that they aren’t welcome, or even worthy, to receive God’s blessings from us? The poor have egos, too.

We accept that the poor will always be with us, and that we can’t provide for every need and for every person. What can we as Society of St. Vincent de Paul members do about this?

First, we can be fair. It is unfair enough that some people receive services and others don’t, simply based on where they live and our Society’s geographic coverage. When people do get to us, we owe it to everyone to have rules about who receives what and how much. Help should not depend on the generosity of an individual Home Visit team, but rather on the agreed-upon standards of the Conference. This is part of our culture of not judging; we share in a fair manner based on our resources and ability to give.

Second, we can focus more on the aspect of respect. We can spend more effort on those whom we can’t help, or perhaps can’t help right now. We can return every call, even if we can’t offer much more than a friendly, listening conversation. Dollars aren’t our greatest gift; it’s love for our fellow neighbors, which is able to be given more freely. This is a perfect venue, by the way, for the members of your Conference who can’t provide a traditional Home Visit. They can still serve via the telephone from home to provide the dignity of a response.

Third, we can reach back. Maybe we don’t have a Vincentian volunteer experience today, but we sure need more help next week or next month. Maybe we don’t have any more funds to help with rent right now, but imagine how welcome a call later this month would be to someone not in the front of the line earlier.  We know that in almost every case, the needs are still there.  While a waiting list seems impersonal and defeating, an internal list that we act upon is a great planning and fairness tool. It can also help to solicit twinning help from other Conferences, outside donors and government resources.

An act of charity without love is just another transaction. Vincentians offer so much more through our smiles, our prayers and our respect for our neighbors.

Yours in Christ,
Dave Barringer
CEO

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