St. Vincent de Paul

The Saint Vincent de Paul Society Christmas Hamper Program was underway this weekend, December 16-18 at Our Lady of Grace!

How does it work?

The Saint Vincent de Paul Society depends heavily on the generosity of others to continue to help those families currently in need of assistance.  So while donations of food and clothing are accepted throughout the year, this is a huge need for items during the holiday season specifically for their Christmas Hampers.

1. Grocery bags are handed out after masses at least once during the Christmas season.  Parishioners are invited to fill the bags with non-perishable food items and return them to the church.
2. Then once the food is amassed, it needs to be sorted! In the weeks following, a ‘grocery store’ is set up and help is required to set up shelving and to begin the sorting process.
3. Volunteers are then invited to ‘grocery shop’ for the families and pack the boxes of food.
4. Deliveries are then scheduled to the families Saint Vincent de Paul Society serve.

A big THANK YOU goes out to the society’s greatest riches  … their volunteers and benefactors who are making a difference in the lives of those who access these  services.

 Click on the thumbnails below to view full images.

The Society of Saint Vincent de Paul, Our Lady of Grace Conference – HEAD: Lucia Vella

 The Society of Saint Vincent de Paul is a lay Catholic organization whose mission is to Live the Gospel message by serving Christ in the poor with LOVE.  We are extremely fortunate at Our Lady of Grace to have a Society of Saint Vincent de Paul Conference to support the ambition of it’s founder in searching and finding those in need and providing everything possible to lighten their burden.  Saint Vincent de Paul is a remarkably effective organization and like all hard working groups it requires the generosity and deduction of everyone in order to succeed.

 MISSION STATEMENT-

• See Christ in anyone who suffers
• Come together as a family
• Have personal contact with the poor.
• Help in all possible ways.

 If you are interested in joining our group, monthly meetings are held the 2nd Wednesday of every month, everyone is welcome.  In these very difficult times with the economy, the needs are great, and we are always looking for support.

The present letter officially proclaims the creation of this Conference and its affiliation to the Society of Saint-Vincent de Paul.

The purpose and scope of our service:

The Vocation of the Society’s members, who are called Vincentians, is to follow Christ through service to those in need and so bear witness to His compassionate and liberating love.  Members show their commitment through person-to-person contact.

No work of charity is foreign to the Society. It includes any form of help that alleviates suffering or deprivation and promotes human suffering or deprivation and promotes human dignity and personal integrity in all their dimensions.  The Society serves those in need regardless of creed, ethnic or social background, healthy, gender or political opinions.

Faithful to the spirit of its founders, the Society constantly strives for renewal, adapting to changing world conditions.  It gives priority to the poorest of the poor and to those who are most rejected by society.

Our personal encounters with the poor:

Vincentians endeavor to establish relationships based on trust and friendship. They do not judge those they serve but listen and understand with their hearts, beyond both words and appearances. They share the discomfort, needs and sorrows of the poor in whom they see the suffering Christ.

Vincentians endeavor to help the poor to help themselves whenever possible, and to be aware that they can forge and change their own destinies and that of their local community.

Vincentians are sincerely concerned with the deeper needs and the spiritual well-being of those they help.

Spiritual inspiration:

Vincentians are aware of their own weakness and need for God’s grace.  They seek His glory, not their own. Their ideal is to help relieve suffering for love alone, without thinking of any reward or advantage for themselves.  Inspired by the spirituality of St Vincent de Paul and Blesse Frederic Ozanam, they hope that in their caring, the poor may catch a glimpse of Gods great love for them. Vincentians are called to journey together towards holiness, because true holiness is perfect union with Christ and the perfection of love, which is central to their vocation and the source of its fruitfulness.

Communities of faith and love:

The members meet as brothers and sisters with Christ in the midst of them, in Conferences that are genuine communities of faith and love, of prayer and action. Meetings are held in a spirit of fraternity, simplicity and Christian joy.  Members of all ages strive to preserve the spirit of youth, which is characterized by enthusiasm, adaptability and creative imagination.

Work for social justice:

The Society is concerned not only with alleviating need but also with identifying the unjust structures that cause it. It is, therefore, committed to identifying the root causes of poverty and to contributing to their elimination. As citizens of one world, Vincentians participate in creating a more equitable and compassionate social order, promoting the culture of life and a civilization of love. In this way, the Society shares the Church’s mission to evangelize the world through visible witness, in both actions and words.