Membership

 

  

The Society is open to all those who seek to live their faith loving and committing themselves to their neighbor in need.  Vincentians are not professionally trained social workers. We have many different backgrounds, and together encompass a great deal of expertise in various areas - working together we can move mountains!  The needy have need of your talents, your know-how, your concern, your love.  Even a little bit of your time is precious to the needy and distressed.  In coming closer to the needy, we are coming closer to God!

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Types of Membership

There are three types of membership in the Society of St. Vincent de Paul: Active (Full) Member, Associate Member, and Contributing Member (from The Rule, Statute 3).

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Active (Full) Member-Those who participate regularly in the prayer life, meetings, and charitable activities through personal contact with the poor of the community that the St. John's Conference serves. An Active (Full) Member accepts the Rule and Statutes of the Society, belongs to the Catholic Church, and is received as a Vincentian brother or sister into the St. John's Conference.

 

Associate Member-Those affiliated with the Society by formal action of the St. John's Conference.  Associate Members include those who sincerely and publicly accept the Society's Rule but may or may not belong to the Catholic  Church and may or may not attend Conference Meetings or engage in the works of the Society on a regular basis.  Associate Members are kept informed of the developments and activities of the group, as well as the general progress of the Society, particularly in the local area or diocese.  They are invited to attend the general meetings and special observances of the Society and to participate in its charitable activities.

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Contributing Member-Those who regularly or in a substantial way provide in-kind or financial support but who do not engage directly in the Society's work.  These members also are invited to the Society's general and festival meetings.

 

Our Activities at St. John's

Vincentians seek to serve the Body of Christ by direct contact with our fellow human beings. We are called particularly to seek out the poor and suffering. While we gladly respond to requests for help we also attempt to reach out into the community, assess what charitable efforts are necessary and useful, and work ourselves in order to accomplish works of mercy, charity, and justice.

 

Membership in St. Vincent de Paul is open to all members of St. John's parish. We meet on Tuesday evenings at 6:30 PM in the church basement. The meetings open with prayer, scriptural reading and discussion, followed by a report of the group's service activities, what has been done since the last meeting, and what will be done before the next.

 

Our most typical service activity is summed up in the statement "let us go to the poor." We receive calls from people who are in need, and we visit them to determine if we can help. These case visits are confidential and not judgemental. We must assess the need, not the individual, to determine if and how we are able to help.

 

At this meeting pairs of individuals will volunteer to handle cases over the coming week, and everyone who took a case during the last week will report to the group on the situation and any aid which they recommend being provided. Potential new members are welcome to come and observe if you want to go on a case visit be sure to speak up so you can be paired with an experienced Vincentian.

 

We also seek out other acts of service to our community that might take the form of a longer project. Occasionally we are contacted by a person in a unique situation, who might need to find new housing or specialized care. We maintain a resource guide of services that are provided in our area for our clients. At the time of writing this, we've begun reaching out to local schools to provide food for children to take home if they are in a living situation where food is scarce.