1 About the Society of St Vincent de Paul
2 Annual Report (1999) of the Sacred Heart Conference of the Society
Catholic Church of the Sacred Heart, Edinburgh
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CONTENTS
1 About the Society of St Vincent de Paul 2 Annual Report (1999) of the Sacred Heart Conference of the Society |
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ABOUT THE SOCIETY
The society of St. Vincent De Paul has approx. 875,000 members around the world. Founded in 1833 by six university students in Paris under the patronage of St. Vincent de Paul, today the Society includes almost 900,000 members spread among 46,000 regions in 130 countries of five continents.
The Society's purpose is to provide direct aid to those who suffer, and to help individuals reduce and even eliminate the causes of their suffering, themselves. Society members use their own resources, sharing not only possessions but the valuable gift of their presence.
A Prophetic Intuition
"The question which divides the people of today is no longer one about political structures but a social question. It is to find out which will win, the spirit of egoism or the spirit of sacrifice. Is society to be just a huge exploitation for the profit of the strongest, or a dedication of each person to the benefit of all, and especially to the protection of the weak?"
"There are many people who have too much, and who want still more. There are very many more who do not have sufficient, who have nothing and who want to take if people won't give. A struggle is starting between these two types of people. This struggle threatens to be a terrible one. On one side is the power of gold, on the other the power of despair. We must jump in between these opposing armies, if not to prevent at least to soften, the encounter. And the fact that we are young middle-class people makes it easier for us to fulfill the role of mediator to which our title of Christian obliges us. That is why our Society of St. Vincent de Paul is useful."
If you had not got to the end of that quotation you might well have wondered from which contemporary writer it came.
It comes, in fact, from the generous heart and intuitive intelligence of a young man named Frederic Ozanam who already, more than a century and a half ago, by 1836, had had this prophetic vision which permitted a foretaste of the great social struggles and, altering the planetary scale, the tensions between the third world and the industrial world.
From Dream to Reality
Anticipating that human relationships were running the risk of being more and more reduced to manifestations of force, he romantically dreamt "that all young people of generosity and spirit would unite in some charitable work..."
On 23 April 1833 this dream became reality at the first meeting of the "Conference of Charity placed under the patronage of St. Vincent de Paul. Six students, including Ozanam who was just 20.
An On-going Expansion
Ozanam liked to recall the "humble origins" of the Society which however, was to experience a lightning surge through France, Europe and the world.
In 1860 the society had already 2,500 Conferences, with more than 50,000 members.
After a particularly difficult period during the Second Empire, when the Society was sometimes seen as an association outside the control of authority (in the circular letter of Duke Victor Fialin de Persigny, Interior Minister, to the French Prefects, 1861), its irresistible onward march resumed after the Franco-Prussian War.
That is how the number of groups had risen to 8,000 with 133,000 members by the start of the First World War.
In the centenary year, 1933, 12,000 conferences had more than 200,000 members, while by 1983, the 150th anniversary of the foundation, the number of Vincentians reached 750,000, with 38,500 conferences in 107 countries. In 1995 there are some 875,000 members spread among 46,600 teams in 130 countries on five continents.
Most of the groups are mixed, comprising men, women, boys and girls, and they work within the framework of city or country parishes, city districts, large groupings, schools or universities, professional or cultural associations.
Today!!!
But let us put aside history and statistics and look at the essentials, namely the spirit, aims and means.
The Society of St. Vincent de Paul, is seen today as a huge international movement of the apostate of charity and social action. Thanks to the spiritual bonding and human formation of its members it wants to witness to the fraternal love of Christ among the poorest.
In collaboration with them and with others it tries to help them to overcome their various types of need. In all the countries of the world it appeals to men, women and young people, from every background and every level of society, who want to live out their faith in the giving of themselves, radiating around them their hope and joy.
Right from the start the aim of universality was stated in Ozanam's enthusiastic hope: "I want to wrap up the whole world in a network of charity." In 1835 there were weeks of animated discussion, sometimes rather heated, ending with a decision on 17 February to divide up the founding Conference into different sections. With this decision the members of the fledgling Society showed that they wanted their movement to spread outside the borders of their parish, their city, their country, even their continent, in order to take root in all regions.
As happened with the Church itself, the richness of this dynamic association of fervent Christians had, in the future, to lie in its diversity. Its unity had to be forged in plurality and difference.
A Spiritual Search
If Frederic Ozanam and his original companions were worried about human and social matters as they set up the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, if their on-going care was to bring relief to the needs of their day, at the same time they felt the need and urgency of a solid spiritual formation as the only possible foundation for their vocation and mission. The harmonious balance between prayer and activity which Vincent de Paul achieved struck them early on as the unchangeable element in Vincentian commitment. It draws its inspiration, strength and fidelity from a life of faith.
A Commitment for Social Justice
In the middle of "The Great Century," whose splendour did not hide its harshness from either his eyes or his heart, Vincent de Paul stated: "There is no charity which is not alongside justice."
Thinking along the same lines Ozanam, who wished 'charity to do what justice cannot do on its own," underlined the shortcomings of justice, the impersonal nature of which needs to be completed and humanised by sensitivity and kindness, something freely given:
"Order in society is founded on two virtues, justice and charity. But justice already presupposes a lot of love, for one must love a person a lot if one is to respect his rights which border one's own rights, and his freedom which limits one's own freedom! Justice, however, has limits; charity knows none."
It was this need which, in the 1930s, gave Emile Romanet, a member of a Conference in Grenoble, the revolutionary idea of family allowances. Following his Vincentian vocation, as defined above by Ozanam, he had understood that there was no charity worthy of the name that did not do something to bring about greater equity. The Council Decree on the Apostate of the Laity reminded us of this when it said: "The needs of justice must first be met, so that what is due I,' justice may not be offered as a gift of charity". The Society of St. Vincent de Paul, therefore, with all its available human and material resources, and in close collaboration with public bodies and local groups, shares in the common effort to remedy the causes of these social evils and to bring about development in the institutional structures.
A Personal Contact with the Suffering
But if a Vincentian (a member of the society of St. Vincent de Paul) thinks this struggle for justice is primary he still won't find the fulfilment of his vocation unless he personally directly and constantly serves the most deprived, following the example of Monsieur Vincent whom the members of the Conference chose as their patron saint. They try to "live, as he himself did, according to the divine example of Jesus Christ. "
Didn't Paul VI, who had been a member of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul himself when he was a student, call Vincentians "the friends and servants of the poor"?
Varied Activity and Constant Adaptation
This is the framework within which all the operations of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul are carried out for the benefit of those whom the world wounds, oppresses, isolates, rejects, marginalises:
Help for children and young and old people.
The type of help given by the St. Vincent de Paul is listed below:
The common denominator of all these initiatives, activities and undertakings is the desire to help the lost and the have-nots by listening, friendship, spiritual, moral and material support; to give them back their dignity, to ensure their personal development, to give them back hope and, if possible, the joy of life.
This is one of the ways in which the Society of St. Vincent de Paul is innovative. The innovative element, which was daring at the time of Ozanam and his friends, was to have insisted that the destiny of their dear Society, essentially ecclesial and deeply attached to religious authority, should be in the hands of lay people who regarded themselves as totally mature and responsible.
The Society of St. Vincent de Paul was officially recognised by Church authorities in Gregory XVI's briefs of 10 January and 12 August 1845, and has been confirmed by succeeding popes. It has always faithfully retained its lay status, the essential immutable element which characterises it.
A Church Association with a Lay Character
The Society of St. Vincent de Paul was officially recognised by Church authorities in Gregory XVI's briefs of 10 January and 12 August 1845 and has been confirmed by succeeding popes. It has always faithfully retained its lay status, the essential immutable element which characterises it.
At the Service of the Church and the City
Though born in the heart of the Church the Society of St. Vincent de Paul is at the service of the city. Under the inspiration of the gospel message, attentive to the teaching of the magisterium, it operates in the midst of the human community and regards it as its duty to bring about "being better," over and above "being more." Isn't faith without works dead? That, anyway, is what the Fathers of the Council appropriately remind us of in "Gaudium et Spes" ("The Church in the Modem World, N 43), when they urge
"Christians as citizens of both cities to carry out their tasks in this world under the guidance of the gospel. They are far from the truth who knowing that we have not here a lasting city but are heading towards the future one, neglect their human tasks, not realising that the faith itself, taking into account each one's vocation, makes this a more urgent duty. But they are equally in error who, on the other hand think that they can devote themselves totally to the affairs of this world as if they had no connection with their religious life. They regard the latter as being confined to taking part in worship and obeying certain fixed moral obligations. This dichotomy between the faith which is professed by a large number and their daily behaviour is to be counted among the greatest errors of our day."
If the Church expects from us an authentic witness to faith and spirituality it also invites us to be totally present to this deeply changing world which is suffering, struggling and looking for itself.
The vocation to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul makes it a definite duty for each member to be involved in the human tapestry where the struggle for a better and more just world is being carried on.
That is what leads a number of them to commit themselves, as Ozanam did personally, to defending the cause of the poor. One the most notable examples was Giorgio La Pira, mentor of the Christian Democrats in Italy and former mayor of Florence, who campaigned passionately in favour of the common people.
Thanks to a flexible structure, reduced to essentials and which does not cost much, and above all made up of willing people, technical and material human means can be rapidly mobilised, set up and adapted to circumstances of time and place.
Also, the existence of indigenous teams in most countries of the world allows as rational, economic and disciplined action as possible, with regard to local conditions.
This organisation and these methods have proved their worth in the midst of the human dramas and natural disaster which afflict our world from time to time.
The Vincentian Vocation: an Attempt at Unity of Life
The Vincentian vocation, then, sees itself in this 20th century of science, technology and efficiency as a humble, yet authentic, witness to fraternal charity and social initiative.
It invites its members to service, to sharing and to the total giving of self: having, being, knowing, in order to better respond to the anguished appeal of so many today, sidelined by a progress which does not help the weakest.
It is a real social school, especially for the young, which by means of personal contact makes them aware of the poorest people and the biggest problems of our time. An act of one-to-one love does not in any way shut out reality but rather opens the heart and the mind to the world-wide dimension of suffering, to the demands of justice, and the rights of human dignity.
The Vincentian vocation is not an artificial veneer. When it is accepted in its totality it leads one to a fundamental unity of life bringing thought, word and action into harmony. A harmony between faith and work in service of the neighbour is the ideal which the heirs of St. Vincent de Paul and Frederic Ozanam seek with patience, going beyond their weakness and insufficiency. Looking to the future with determination, far from the glare of footlights and the artificiality's of the media, they hold this thought of their founder deep in their own hearts:
"Charity must never look backwards, but always forwards. What it achieved in the past is small in quantity; present and future needs which it has to meet are infinite.":-Fredric Ozanam
Frederic Ozanam, an Exemplary Life
On August 23, 1997, Blessed Frederic Ozanam was beatified -- declared "Blessed" -- by Pope John Paul II. Celebrations of the beatification took place in Paris, where Frederic was the primary founder of the Saint Vincent de Paul Society. The Saint Vincent de Paul Society includes 875,000 members in 47,000 Conferences (teams) in 131 countries of five continents. A husband and father, Blessed Frederic Ozanam offers an example of living with integrity and charity. His efforts anticipated the attention given by Vatican II to the lay apostate, and he worked also to infuse a vision of service and discipleship in youth.
Why Join the S.V.D.P
Volunteering in a Youth SVDP Group will be good for your own personal and social development. It will give you confidence, make you feel good about yourself and improve your leadership qualities. It will also improve your record of achievement or CV, and any future references you may need. It also counts for the service section of schemes such as the Duke of Edinburgh award. Youth SVDP also has its own award scheme.
By doing voluntary work in the community, you will also be doing something positive to improve the quality of life of other people. The SVP gives you an opportunity to put Christianity into action. It's also good fun. You meet other young people and will make friends.
What is my role in the St Vincent de Paul
My skills lay in practical applications. I find the jobs I get are the laying of carpets for people that either have just moved in to a newer flat or houses that have got poor quality carpets. The type of people that I do this for are single mum's, OAP and people that are in need.
For the little time that I spend on doing these small tasks the amount of appreciation that you get for helping people that need that wee bit help is the greatest feeling. And well worth the hour ( if that) in a month. You come out of finishing a job feeling that you have done something worth while for someone that need it.
Case Studies:
Case 1:
A single mum with two young kids, staying in a very small flat asks for help. For furniture and household vouchers.
How do you go about helping her?
Where would you get the furniture and household items from?
What kind of help do you think would benefit her?
Case addition: She moves into a larger flat. The new flat needs some work to make it "homely".
How does the help change?
What else can you do to help them?
Case 2:
A very elderly man has phoned the church and request a visit form the priest. On arrival the priest finds that the house is very messy, gas is cut off. The priest find out that the man suffers from depression and has numerous breakdowns. He also attends a day centre. Contact with his only son ( who lives in Australia) had broken down.
What can be done to help?
Case addition: The man has a fall and is house bound.
How do you think that the this man's needs are changed?
What are his major priorities?
Case 3:
A new homeless person comes to Jericho house. He attends for a number of weeks. One day he attends lunch and was found to be very drunk and abusive. We discover that this gent was not needy and hand a home but chose to live as he did. He has requested a visit from the priest and the St. Vincent de Paul.
How would the abusive behaviour be dealt with?
What type of attitude must you have if you were asked to visit this man?
Case addition: He has asked for financial help for heating his house.
Do you think that financial help is the best way to solve this problem?
Case 4:
A retired lady in debt. hopeless manager of money. Most of her possessions being repossessed by sheriff officers. Her house is clean but has no cooker. Asks for assistance.
Case additions: The member of the St. Vincent de Paul that visit her noticed that her health is deteriorating mental and physically.
What can be done to help her?
Additional questions:
What type of meal/help should be saved for the homeless? Keep in mind cost, production time etc.
What type of materials should be kept in the store?
How do you think money could be raised to find the poor?
Conclusions about the St. Vincent de Paul Society
A 21 year old college student, Frederick Ozanam, in 1833 was inspired to confront the poverty of his contemporary society in Paris, France. His movement became the St. Vincent de Paul Society dedicated to relieving suffering through person-to-person contact.
The society is concerned with alleviating need and redressing the situations that cause it. All individuals in need are served regardless of creed, opinion, colour, origin, ethnic background or gender. Assistance provided prevents homelessness, hunger and illness. Employment and job training is provided through St. Vincent de Paul thrift stores.
The example of helping needy families spread at first in Paris, then to the French Provinces, then the world.
The society, as of 1980 comprises 38,000 conferences (neighbourhoods) made up of 750,000 members, men and women, young people and adults, in 112 countries: 35 in Africa, 32 in the Americas, 28 in Asia, 17 in Europe.
Neighbour To Neighbour Care.
Assistance is essentially local. It is adapted according to particular needs, places and circumstances. Volunteers visit the homes and apartments of those who call for help. They come as neighbours -- not caseworkers.
Flexibility is emphasised to tailor assistance to individual circumstances. The encouragement is multi-faceted and gives families hope facing difficult times.
Cost effective way to help the poor.
100% of financial donations received are used to help the poor. No administrative costs are deducted from gifts given from the general public. (The low operational costs which do exist are covered by separate funding.)
Most all donations are distributed within the neighbourhood in which they are donated providing support to the local community.
Helping Children and Families
Children are helped through financial assistance, clothing, furniture (beds), food and feeding programs. 70% of the families are single parents with children.
Funds are provided to help needy families avoid shut-off of power, heat and water and avoid evictions. During the Holidays, gifts are often provided.
Feeding the Hungry.
Millions of meals are provided through food boxes, grocery certificates, feeding programs and Holiday projects. All year long, the society addresses hunger in communities around the world.
Ministry to the Homeless.
Clothing, blankets, identification cards, emergency housing and referrals are provided to homeless and street people.
Beyond local Neighbourhoods.
Volunteers helping neighbours in the developing countries are often considerable and generous by giving time, work and good will. When the financial and technical capabilities of the local conferences are too small and needs are great, members of better off conferences inside the country or of another country offer their friendly, financial and/or technical collaboration.
Not a Cure to All.
St. Vincent's is not a cure all, but is rich in person-power: Men and women who know the local conditions and who seek, together with others possessing greater means, to apply the most effective solutions to the needs of the poor and suffering, not by words, by acts.
How can you Help.
Become a volunteer -- members of St. Vincent de Paul ("Vincentians") personally visit the homes of those in need. Through friendly contact, you can help families in temporary crisis and help prevent homelessness, illness and hunger.
Adopt a needy family. You can help a special family during the Holidays, take needy children to the zoo, or help the family all year long.
Donate reusable items to a St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store. The clothing, furniture, appliances and household items sold by these stores provide employment for individuals, affordable merchandise for the needy and funds for the Society's charitable pro grams.
Or just give a bit of your time to help others, doing whatever you can.
More Information.
If anyone would like some more information on the society please contact:
Thanks and God Bless.
INTRODUCTION
This report covers the work of the Sacred Heart Conference of the Saint Vincent De Paul Society during the year to October 1999.This has once again been a very active year for conference members. The core work of the conference continues to be visiting older people. In addition a number of other activities have been undertaken. The following table summarises our year and provides some comparisons with the previous two years:
ACTIVITY OF THE CONFERENCE
| Activity | 96-97 | 97-98 | 98-99 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Members | 14 | 13 | 10 |
| Associates | 1 | 5 | 8 |
| Total active individuals | 15 | 18 | 18 |
| Number of individuals/families on regular visits list | - | 57 | 50 |
| Number of visits | 1886 | 1556 | 1590 |
| New Referrals for Assistance/change of circumstances 64 Of which were for Furniture assistance | 5 | 8 | 12 |
Families / individuals assisted financially| - | 9 | 13 | |
| Financial turnover (donations distributed) | £9,868 | £7,264 | £10,799 |
Active Members and associates
There appears to be a trend towards less full members of the society who attend each meeting and more people becoming associate members of the society. Associate members are indeed members of the Vincentian family and contribute in a range of valuable ways according to their talents and ability to commit time.
Those we visit
The number of visits carried out remains very high and this is the core of our work. All members are aware of the major contribution in terms of the visits that is made by the parish Sisters and we continually give thanks for their contribution. Outside of the contribution of the sisters it is likely that the capacity of conference to keep up a high level of visiting will diminish if full time members diminish in number.
Our Financial Position
In the year to Dec 98 over £10,000 was given for the first time. This is an undoubted strength of the conference and enables the work to develop.
OTHER ACTIVITIES
Mass for the Sick
Around 45 people attended mass for the sick together with a number of helpers and volunteers
HOMELESSNESS
St Benedicts
The conference has continued to provide volunteers and financial assistance to the soup and sandwich kitchen at St Benedicts (Jericho House)
Starter Packs
A number of starter packs which give basic equipment to those starting up a household have been collected and distributed
The Scottish Churches Housing Agency
Sacred Heart Conference has affiliated to The Scottish Churches Housing Agency whose aim is to work with Churches throughout Scotland to assist those affected by homelessness.
Furniture Project
The SVP Group Council Furniture Project has been supported by the conference throughout the year and on average of 2 collections and deliveries of furniture per month have been possible.
Twinning
Conference has contributed financially to to members of the Mary Ma Parish, Kadampanad, Punalur, in Kerela India where needs are often acute, through the national SVP twinning scheme. In addition to our annual sponsorship, we have 'adopted' 1 vocational student and 1 technical student from the area. The impact of this sponsorship will hopefully be long lasting.
Caravan Project
The conference has sponsored the Archdiocesan Caravan Project which supports 2 local holiday mobile homes during the year and has helped to provide a holiday for a family from the parish.
Christmas
Additional help for those in need was once again be provided and a visit to a Christmas show at the Lyceum theatre was kindly provided by one of our associate members.
Annual Retreat
Our Annual retreat will take place later this year.
Additional activity
Financial assistance: 13 families and individuals were helped regularly financially during the year. In addition, Conference responded to a number of individual situations of hardship.
CONCLUSION
This report gives a flavour of the work of the conference not a complete list. One thing is clear however, the commitment shown by the volunteer conference members and associates continues to be strong, members are aware that impetus for the work comes only from prayer and openness to the work of the Spirit in the Sacred Heart Church Community. We look forward together to continuing the work in 1999.
Sources of Information