St Vincent De Paul Society – Report for Period Sept 2018 – Aug 2019

 

SERVE – “Social well being can be learned, not from books … but in climbing the stairs to the poor man’s garret”  ……. Blessed Frédéric Ozanam (Society Founder)

 

At this time of year, the members of the St Vincent Society present their annual report and inform parishioners of the work done throughout the year and we once again give below a summary of the activities and work done during the period September 2018 to August 2019.

Our income is derived as follows: – the members’ secret collection taken at our fortnightly meetings;  generous anonymous donations;  and by kind permission of Fr Kevin, our collection box at the back of church once a month.

During the last year, thanks to your continued generosity, we were able to distribute the following amounts:-

Within the Parish:

• Birthday / Easter / Christmas Cards/gifts & sundries: £189:
• Mass Stipends for our deceased friends and special intentions: £40
• Sadly we lost 3 of our parishioners during the year and were able to assist with the refreshments after the funerals:  £71
• St Wilfrid’s Primary School:  An amount of £500 was given to aid 5 families in the school at Christmas;  donations totalling £62 were given to help the Mini-Vinnies conference in the school;   a further £490 was given to needy families.

Outside the Parish:

• Twinnage – Our conference is twinned with St Teresa’s Conference in Kerala, India and with Bimala Ladies’ Conference in Balasore and we pledge to donate an annual amount of £300.
• Tithes – Our conference pays a proportion of its income to the National Office once a quarter.  This money is redistributed throughout the society so that funds can be equalised to the less affluent conferences and to the disaster fund which is drawn on when national disasters occur.  Tithes paid this year: £215

General information within our parish

During the past year members visiting in pairs made:

• 641 visits to parishioners in their own homes
• 490 visits to parishioners in Residential and Nursing Homes
• 36 visits were made to parishioners in hospital
• Regular visits to a mum and young children in need in the local area.
• 1 member assists at Carecent homeless centre in York once a fortnight
• 1 member walked a dog daily for 6 months for a housebound parishioner until the parishioner was admitted to a care home.

 

• We visit 12 parishioners in their own home and 13 in residential homes and are at present assisting a family in the area.
• There is no longer an SVP Conference within the hospital, therefore as and when necessary, hospital visits are made to parishioners.
• In October, we held our annual parish Mass of Anointing which proved to be a very spiritual and moving occasion.  We were delighted that St Paulinus members and parishioners were able to join us.
• In December we were delighted to be invited to All Saints School Christmas party and were able to transport 7 parishioners who enjoyed a wonderful afternoon of fun and laughter.
• Arrangements are being made for the organisation of our annual Christmas party in December for retired parishioners.

The SVP organise the driving rota for Saturday evening Mass and we are indebted to the loyal band of parishioners who give of their time to provide this invaluable service to enable parishioners to fulfil their weekly Mass obligation.  During the last year we have had 7 volunteers who adhered to a weekly rota.  We have less parishioners requiring transport due to ill health, mobility difficulties, and sadly a few who have passed on to the Lord.  Therefore the rota has been greatly reduced, but if you know of anyone who needs a lift to Mass, please contact an SVP member.

Sadly during the year we have been privileged to organise the funeral catering in our Meeting Room for two parishioners who were called to the Lord.

 

General Information on the work of the St. Vincent de Paul society

A prime object of the Society must be the spiritual development of its members.  The more Christ-like the service, the more acceptable and meaningful it will be to the needy, thus ensuring that people’s real needs are met.

No work of charity is foreign to the Society and we aim to be involved in a diverse range of activities both in and out of the parish.  We meet fortnightly in a spirit of prayer and friendship.  At the heart of our work is a person-to-person contact and the Christian love for our neighbours – whatever their religious belief or lack of it.

In our parish we have 8 active members in the SVP society (3 men and 5 women).

We visit weekly in pairs whenever possible and all members have enhanced ‘DBS’ cover from the Diocese.  September being SVP Awareness Month, we have organised a recruitment campaign and hopefully we have been able to recruit some new members.  We would ask you to pray for the Canonisation of Blessed Frédéric Ozanam and for the work of the SVP worldwide.

Pope Francis calls on everyone who loves God to show their love in a practical way.  Concern is a great starting point, but without action, is not enough.

The members of the Society offer you our prayers and sincere thanks for your generosity and the support you give in our parish community and beyond.  Our thanks are also extended to Fr Kevin as our Spiritual Director and to Father Paul who has supported us by attending our meetings during his time in the parish.

Please pray for us in our work – but maybe you would like to join us in our mission to help those who are lonely or in need.  Contact numbers can be seen on the Notice Board in the church porch.

Thank you and God Bless.