Most
Holy
Redeemer
Saint
Vincent
de
Paul
Society
W
e
A
r e
V
i n c e n t i o n s
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Active
Explained |
Associate
Explained |
Contributor
Explained |
S O P's
Standards |
When
I have food
Oh
GOD
when I have food
Help me remember the
hungry
When
I have work
Help
me remember the jobless
When
I have a warm home
Help
me remember the homeless
When
I am without pain
Help
me remember those who suffer,
And
in remembering,
Help
me destroy my complacency
And
better my compassion.
Make
me concerned enough to help
By
word and deed those who cry out
For
what we take for granted.
Jesus
said to
His
disciples:
“My heart is moved
with pity for the crowd”.
He took seven
loaves and a few small fish,
“Bless these and
distribute them”.
About four thousand
people ate their fill.
MARK 8:2-9
Contributing
Members:
Are the
people we could not exist without. They are the caring folks that donate money
and food to our cause.
Active
Members:
Active members are known as
Vincentions and they respond, in teems of two, to help any person when their
affairs have become devastating and unmanageable. They go into the home of the
unfortunate assuring them that someone really does care about them and will help
them get their lives back in order. The help we give comes in various forms such
as: paying of bills to prevent evictions and utility shut-offs; provide food
from a well supplied Food Pantry at no cost; essential transportation when
needed; help with medical services and medications; help in finding living
quarters; help in finding employment; help with funeral expenses. When the
Client needs a service we are unable to provide we direct them to some other
agency that will provide the service.
Providing material help is not
the only thing we do for the Client. It is our obligation as Christians to bring
spiritual comfort to these depressed people. We are careful not to come across
as overbearing religious zealots when we attempt to awaken the love of God in
people that may have rejected Him for various reasons. This facet of our mission
is not always successful and we hope that the example we set in dealing with the
individual will cause some reflection by them on our loving of God.
The Client is assured of
absolute confidentiality as we take a family history and establish at what point
things went wrong. We also examine all bills the Client is unable to satisfy.
The team then reviews all the data obtained and formulates a plan to restore
the Client. They will write a report of their findings and recommendations and
the report is presented to the entire membership for consideration. The
membership will then dictate how we will serve of the Client.
It is not unusual for our
Conference to network with other agencies to provide essential relief to a
Client. This networking has proved very successful for us and allowed us to
accomplish things we could not have done alone.
The Catholic Church and the St
Vincent de Paul Society have worked hand in glove for many years. However, it
should be noted that the Society is completely independent of the Church and
this separation is enforced by Canon Law. The Clergy may not be active members
of the Society nor may they dictate their wishes. This does not mean that we do
not depend upon them for spiritual guidance as well as logistical support. Today
with the shortage of priests a sad reality the St Vincent de Paul Society
relieves priests with much of the task of administering to the poor.
We do not receive funding from
any monies donated to the Church for it's operations, (i.e. Collections at Mass;
Contributions to Catholic Charities; The Bishop's Collection, etc.). That does
not mean that the Clergy do not donate their own money as they do most
generously. We receive
no Federal, State or Township grants. All of our funding comes from the generous
donations put into our "Poor Box" once a month by the members of our Parish.
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Associate
Members:
Associate
members are people that are unable to devote the time required by active
membership but wish to be involved to a lesser degree in helping the poor. They
do not attend Conference meetings and have no vote in Society matters. They are
called upon from time to time for advice on matters they have expertise in, or
they may be asked to perform some task, on a one time basis, not related to
Client contact.
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Facts:
Our
Conference will respond to anyone asking for our help. Race, color or creeds are
not factors in our mission.
We welcome
new members from all walks of life: Doctors, Lawyers, Accountants, Homemakers,
Construction Workers, Blue Collar Workers, Students, Social Workers, Truck
Drivers, Postal Workers, Nurses, Retired Persons, etc.
We meet twice
a month on the 1st Wednesday and the 3rd Wednesday. Meetings start at 7:30 in
the Annex.
We collect
donations outside of Church, before and after Mass, on the 3rd weekend of the
month. Food donations are accepted at every weekend Mass. Many of our
benefactors have expressed a desire to have a record of their donations for IRS
reporting. Unless you make your donation by check we have no way of confirming
your cash gift. When you receive your 2005 box of church envelopes there will be
a St Vincent de Paul envelope for every third Sunday of the month. Thereafter
you will be able to request a statement of your contributions.
We work in
close relationship with the Saint Lawrence Conference. The food we collect every
Sunday is delivered to the St Lawrence Food Pantry. All of our Clients may
obtain groceries including fresh meat at this Pantry.
Our annual
"Afternoon Tea" fundraiser is held every Fall. The exact date will be announced
in the bulletin.
We may be
contacted by calling the Parish Office at 732-566-9334, during regular business
days and hours, or anytime at 732-687-8075.
St Vincent de
Paul Society
Most Holy
Redeemer Church
133 Amboy
Road
Matawan, NJ
07747.
When
I have food
Oh
GOD
when I have food
Help me remember the
hungry
When
I have work
Help
me remember the jobless
When
I have a warm home
Help
me remember the homeless
When
I am without pain
Help
me remember those who suffer,
And
in remembering,
Help
me destroy my complacency
And
better my compassion.
Make
me concerned enough to help
By
word and deed those who cry out
For
what we take for granted.
Jesus
said to
His
disciples:
“My heart is moved
with pity for the crowd”.
He took seven
loaves and a few small fish,
“Bless these and
distribute them”.
About four thousand
people ate their fill.
MARK 8:2-9