SSVP CANADA - October 16, 2024 | MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT | Thank you to the many Vincentians on the east coast who welcomed me when I visited Halifax and Cape Breton, NS, Charlottetown, PEI and Moncton, NB. It was great meeting Vincentians and hearing about the good work the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul is doing in the Atlantic region. It was also a great opportunity to share information from National Council, answer questions and build relationships. | The visit started in Halifax with a Halifax Particular Council meeting attended by about 20 members, and meeting 4 new Conference Presidents. I toured the SSVP Hand in Hand Thrift Store and Hope Cottage, a soup kitchen where I served meals to people in need. I then toured Ozanam Place, a supportive housing project that will have 38 private living units providing housing to those experiencing homelessness. | | Congratulations to Halifax Particular Council for these amazing special works projects. We celebrated Mass for the Feast Day of Saint Vincent de Paul at Saint Mary’s Cathedral Basilica, followed by a reception where Vincentians celebrating 10 years to 35 years milestone anniversaries were presented with SSVP recognition certificates and pins. | In Cape Breton I participated in a Multicultural Mass for the Feast Day of Saint Vincent de Paul, as well as the 75th year anniversary celebration of Our Lady of Fatima Parish in Sydney. I had the honour of installing Father Conrad as the Conference’s new spiritual advisor. Several Vincentians from Sydney and Glace Bay attended Mass, followed by a multicultural potluck where musical entertainment was provided by Fr. Conrad Edwards, Fr. David Rankin, seminarian Joe MacMaster and parishioner Mike Finigan, which included guitar and fiddle playing, singing and dancing. | | In PEI the 5 Conferences came together for the first time to celebrate Mass at St. Francis of Assisi Parish, part of the Good Shepherd Family of Parishes, followed by a potluck meal. I heard about the good work being done by the Conferences helping people in need and their desire to continue gathering in the future to share information. Thank you to Father Peter who posted a message on October 1 on the Good Shepherd Pastoral Unit Facebook page: www.facebook.com/goodshepherdunit | | During my last stop in Moncton, NB, I attended the Executive meeting and Conference member meeting of Conférence Mère Teresa, the only Conference in New Brunswick. It was attended by about 18 people including 2 from Dieppe. They are planning to start a Conference there with Moncton mentoring and walking alongside them. I had the honour of going on 3 home visits with 2 different members to see how they help people in their community. | | Thank you to everyone who helped to plan my itinerary on these various stops and a heartfelt thank you for the amazing hospitality shown by everyone on my visit to the Atlantic region. Linda Dollard, National President | SAVE THE DATES! We’re excited to announce that the 2025 Annual National Formation (ANF) will be held from June 19-21 2025 in Hamilton, Ontario. We look forward to seeing you there! | On November 17 this year, the SSVP will participate in the eighth national campaign for the World Day of the Poor (WPD). The theme this year is “The prayer of the poor rises up to God” (cf. Sir 21:5). For the SSVP, this yearly event represents a great opportunity: | | - To educate the public about the needs of those we help in our communities.
- To increase the visibility of the SSVP’s mission and activities.
- To recruit new Vincentians, and
- To collect funds and/or non-perishable goods to ensure the long-term viability of our good works on behalf of our neighbours in need.
This year again, the national council is offering you materials that you can use as is or adapt according to your needs. You can access it on our site: ssvp.ca/members/resources/world-day-of-the-poor-tools-for-members | BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU PUBLISH ON THE WEB! We’ve recently been approached by an organization demanding that royalties be paid due to the unlicensed use of a copyrighted picture, that was included in a publication on our site. It’s very easy to inadvertently use an image from the internet subject to copyright, but the consequences of doing so are expensive. Unlicensed reproduction of the intellectual property of others may violate the owner’s rights, who then have the right to seek recourse against those who have harmed this property. Intellectual protection and obtaining licensing rights is the responsibility of anyone managing SSVP’s websites, social media, and other outreach programs; you must only use licensed or free imagery in your communications. There are plenty of free images sites available where you will find acceptable content with no strings attached, like freeimages.com, flickr.com, pixabay.com or unsplash.com. Make a habit to verify the source of your content, you’ll sleep sounder! | | | NORTH OF 60
THE SHIPS HAVE SAILED… The SSVP North of 60 program has had a very successful summer sending sea containers and crates of food from Ontario across nine different communities in Nunavut. Some communities have already received their donated food due to mid-summer shipments dates. READ MORE | | | | TWINNING
SSVP ABEJORRAL, COLOMBIA The Saint Vincent de Paul Conference in Abejorral, Antioquia, Colombia, shared some of the work they have been able to carry out, thanks to the twinning funds received from the York South Particular Council, Ontario. READ MORE | | | | | SSVP WINDSOR-ESSEX STREET OUTREACH The SSVP Windsor-Essex Street Outreach team continues to be busy reaching out and helping people who are homeless. Read some information shared by them. Our Street Outreach team expanded our offerings to further aid & support our friends on the street and the youth from Holy Name of Jesus and Windsor-Lake St Clair Family of Parishes responded to fulfill the labour portion of this project (bread, peanut butter, jam & baggies all donated). In total we have now made and delivered 850 PB & Jam sandwiches to our friends. READ MORE | | | | VISIT TO PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND On Tuesday, October 1, 2024, members of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul (SSVP) from across Prince Edward Island gathered at St. Francis of Assisi Church in Cornwall to welcome their National President, Linda Dollard, who was visiting conferences in the Maritimes. Her visit to the Island was an opportunity for her to meet the members of the five SSVP Conferences on PEI and to exchange information and answer questions about the SSVP in Canada. READ MORE | | | BEING HUMBLE ‘For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted’ (Luke 14. 11) The virtue of humility, one we are all called to live, runs consistently through the Gospel and epistles. READ MORE | | It is with grief-stricken hearts that we announce the passing of our founder and mentor Joe Ouellette on September 27, 2024. For those of you who did not have the pleasure of meeting Joe, he was a formidable man. Joe had a soft spot for those on the streets and saw their needs. He started this ministry alone, feeding as many homeless individuals as he could and financing it on his own. Several months in, he then onboarded Glenda and Margaret to help him because he noticed that the women on the streets were somewhat reluctant when a male approached them. READ MORE | | We regularly publish exciting facts about the SSVP. Visit our Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn frequently to find out more about the Society. To promote our publications, please like and share them. Links to our social media can be found at the bottom of this newsletter. We are always looking for Vincentian testimonials and conference/council activity stories. Send your stories to share with Vincentians across Canada to editor-editeur@ssvp.ca. If you received this from a friend, you can subscribe to receive our newsletter directly. SUBSCRIBE HERE | CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA | | | | |
