VINCENTIANS AND THE PAPAL VISIT

The Trail is Made by Walking

On September 30^th, 2022, our country of Canada will celebrate a second National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. I have been asked to share some thoughts on the recent events involving the Canadian bishops and the Indigenous who met with Pope Francis in Rome, and here in Canada, that might be helpful for us as Vincentians in the light of this upcoming national commemoration.

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NORTHWEST TERRITORIES PILGRIMAGE TO SEE POPE FRANCIS IN ALBERTA

It's been an eventful summer. After arriving back in Yellowknife from my stay in BC we started to prepare for the Papal visit to Canada. Our diocese, which covers all of the NWT and some of Nunavut, chartered a plane to take us to Edmonton. We had 40 pilgrims and 4 staff including the bishop and myself.

Most of our pilgrims were elderly but we had some younger folk as well including Izaak from Tuktoyaktuk who had never been out of the North. He was quite an excited 12-year-old.

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WORLD DAY OF THE POOR

The Sixth World Day of the Poor will be observed on 13 November 2022. This year’s theme “For your sakes Christ became poor” is a summons to responsibility and commitment as men and women who are part of our one human family, as we can read in Pope Francis’ text:
https://www.vatican.va

Material for the World Day of the Poor available here:

WDP 2022 CAMPAIGN MATERIAL

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES - SSVP NATIONAL OFFICE

Administrative Assistant, SSVP – National Council Canada, Part-Time

Executive Director, SSVP – National Council Canada, Full-Time

VISIT TO THE GRAVE OF CO-FOUNDER JULES DEVAUX IN COLOMBIÈRES, FRANCE

Continuing the “International Theme Years” project, members of the Council General International’s Board of Directors, accompanied by territorial youth delegates, travelled to Colombières (Normandy), 300 km from Paris, to visit the tomb of co-founder Jules Devaux (1811-1880). The trip took place last September 11.

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DOMINICA

The Holy Rosary Conference, Milton, Ontario is twinned with the St. Patrick’s Conference, Commonwealth of Dominica. Here is a message from their twinning partner.

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BE THE LINK FROM AWARENESS TO ACCESS!

The Registered Education Savings Plan/Canada Learning Bond (RESP/CLB) project is one of a suite of opportunities available to the families we serve under the umbrella of Health, Education and Wellness (HEW)

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GREEN INITIATIVE: YEAR 6 UPDATE

In January, 2016 membership of St Vincent de Paul, St. Teresa’s Conference, resolved to move to eliminating as much as possible the use of plastic in our pantry. This initiative resulted in a move to using green bins for grocery packing instead of using plastic grocery bags and to encouraging each family to bring reusable bags with them when coming to pick up their groceries.

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QUESTION

What are the major areas of responsibilities for a Board?

ANSWER

As servant-leaders with the primary focus to be stewards of the organization, it is important to include the Duty of Care, the Duty of Loyalty, and Duty of Obedience in the areas of responsibilities as the governing body on behalf of all members.^{1 2}

Duty of Care: A Board member is expected to act as any ordinary, prudent person in similar circumstances. This requires diligent, attentive, informed participation, i.e., reasonable care when making decisions in stewardship of the organization.

The duty of care is evident in the following activities:

• The Board holds regularly scheduled meetings.
• Board members have received and read the by-laws and policies.
• Information is provided to the Board in a timely manner and in advance of meetings.
• Board members arrive at meetings prepared, having read the minutes and advance material.
• Financial reports are furnished on a regular schedule and are reviewed by the Board.
• The Board makes informed decisions based on information provided.
• Minutes accurately reflect Board votes and decisions, including dissent.

Duty of Loyalty: Board members are expected to act in good faith, giving undivided allegiance to the organization when making decisions that affect it. They should not operate for personal gain against the best interests of the organization. When a conflict arises between the interests of a Board member and the well-being of the organization, the Board member should immediately disclose the matter and recuse from both the discussion and the decision-making. If the matter proceeds, the terms of any transaction with a Board member must be at least as favorable to the organization as that which could be obtained from a party with no ties to it. Board members should observe confidentiality regarding the Board’s deliberations and decision-making, and respect and adhere to all Board decisions, regardless of whether they voted in favor of the motion. Only designated spokespersons (usually the President) may speak publicly on behalf of the organization.

Duty of Obedience: A Board member is expected to act in a manner that ensures the organization operates in keeping with its mission and by-laws and in accordance with the laws and regulations governing its formation and status. To maintain the public’s trust as a non-profit organization, Board members must be fully conversant and compliant with the organization’s mission, by-laws and policies, and ensure that the policies, goals and activities (including competent management of its funds and other resources) are executed in accordance with the mission.

It is under these duties that National Council of Canada had adopted in 2021 a series of Board governance policies; they are visible under the Operations Manual, section 6.6.

¹Source: Anne Dalton, “Three Major Areas of Board Responsibility,” The Association of Junior Leagues International, Inc., 2014.

² US SVdP, https://files.constantcontact.com/fd89f49d001/6973e70b-c88a-412e-b4a4-3a83b874923f.pdf