Several Conferences and Councils recite our Vincentian Mission and Values at the start of every meeting following the Opening Prayer, as well as read a Land Acknowledgement. Our Vincentian Mission and Values reminds us of our focus. A Land Acknowledgement recognizes and respects Indigenous Peoples as the traditional stewards of the land, and is a way to show respect, rectify injustices and express gratitude. The Spiritual Reflection that follows keeps us spiritually focused and can really help during challenging times. I encourage all conferences and councils to do this.

I recently viewed a video featuring Vincentians from St. Catherine of Sienna Conference and other Conferences in Hamilton entitled “We are the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul”. It is a song written by a Vincentian sharing the work of the Society. Great work on the video!

Thank you to the Councils and Conferences who contributed to the annual natural disasters and emergencies appeal to the Council General International (CGI) to help in cases of international emergencies, which appeal was issued before Thanksgiving. CGI is grateful for the funding provided and shared a letter which outlines the funds provided and the countries supported for natural disasters and emergencies in 2024.

Linda Dollard, National President

We’ve been working hard in 2024 to make the newsletter more engaging, informative and modern, and we hope you are enjoying our format and content changes.

We would now like to obtain your feedback on how we could improve it further, starting with its name: we need your input on how we could rename our national newsletter, ideally with a name that reflects our Society’s relevance and impact, as well as our history and bilingualism.

Please take a moment to answer the poll here.

NEWSLETTER SURVEY

The organizing committee has toured the gorgeous and modern facilities of McMaster University in Hamilton and we are planning exciting and fun outings.

To make it a truly memorable event we need your help.

If you are interested in presenting a workshop on a topic or a message that is related to the 2025 ANF theme “Evolving in today’s society”, please submit your workshop proposal by completing the on-line submission form. 

Please complete the form by March 15th.

Note:

• Confirmed presenters (up to a maximum of 2 per workshop) will receive a 50% discount on the full event registration fee.
• The leading presenters of the selected workshops will be contacted and will need to complete and submit the presentation to the committee by May 30.

A full schedule and registration forms for the ANF 2025 will be communicated in March.

Thank you in advance for your interest and anticipated participation, we can’t wait to read your topics!

Submission Details:

• Required by: All conferences and councils must prepare and submit their Annual Report for the 2024 year.
• Submission: All reports should be submitted through the Members Portal by an administrator.
  • Note: If your conference or council does not have access to the portal, please contact your next higher council for assistance.

Deadlines:

• Conference Reports: Submit by January 30.
• Particular Council Reports: Submit by February 20.
• Central Council Reports: Submit by March 10.
• Regional Council Reports: Submit by March 31.

For more information about the Annual Report and how to submit, please visit the Annual Reports information page:

ANNUAL REPORTS