It is with a heavy heart that I announce to all the members of the Society that Richard Pommainville, Executive Director, has tendered his resignation effective Saturday September 17, immediately following the Annual General Meeting. Richard will assume his new position as Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) for the Archdiocese of Ottawa-Cornwall, reporting to Archbishop Marcel Damphousse, starting Monday September 19, 2022. Richard is a tireless worker and a fountain of knowledge who will be greatly missed. He dedicated a lot of time outside his regular working hours when he felt it was needed. I am sure many of you received phone calls or emails from Richard when you least expected it. Thank you for all that you have accomplished in this short period of time with the Society. We are truly grateful for all the time you spent with the Society. Richard was not only an employee but a brother and a friend to all in the Society. His empathy and compassion for persons in need along with a deep desire to alleviate distress wherever and however it may be found are the true marks of a Vincentian vocation. Please join me in wishing him Godspeed in his new position and in all his future endeavors. Serviens in spe Claude Bédard, President
National Council of Canada | |
WHERE THERE IS A WILL, THERE IS A WAY | | Canadians are living longer and healthier. However, Canada is getting older. Today, nearly one out of every five Canadians is over the age of 65. This trend we see across Canada is also one we see in the pews of Catholic parishes across the country. It’s a trend that will soon lead to what some commentators have called “the greatest wealth transfer in history”, as billions of dollars are transferred from the baby boomer generation to their children and grandchildren via inheritance. CLICK TO CONTINUE READING | ANNUAL DUES APPEAL - MORE THAN HALFWAY ACHIEVED We are slowly returning to “normal” after two years of following different local/regional/provincial Public Health requirements. As 2021 financial and statistics reports are being received, we have a better understanding of the impact the pandemic had on conference life, where certain conferences have managed to continue and even thrive, while others went dormant. This latter situation implies that some conferences are not in a position to cover their annual dues. Since multiple conferences are not in a position to cover their dues, this ultimately has an impact on the National Council of Canada revenues since a significant portion of these dues cover the day-to-day operations. Based on current information received, there is a contributions gap in the order of $35,000. We are therefore reaching out to conferences and councils that are capable of providing some financial coverage for sister conferences who would not be in a position to pay their annual dues. Currently, we are more than halfway there; thank you. Funds can be sent to National via the donation portal: CONTRIBUTIONS Or by sending a cheque to the National office at: 2463 Innes Road, Ottawa ON K1B 3K3 Dave O'Connor, Treasurer
National Council | 2022 ANNUAL GENERAL ASSEMBLY We are pleased to invite you to the Annual General Assembly of the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul - National Council of Canada. The AGA will be held virtually, via Zoom, on Saturday, September 17, from 1:00 to 3:00 pm. Come join other Vincentians at the annual meeting of the organization! Please register before Thursday September 15 by clicking on the registration button: REGISTRATION | VINCENTIANS SOCIAL JUSTICE WEBINAR The Advocacy Circle, representing Vincentian social justice representatives from across Canada, is inviting all Vincentians to participate in an informative Webinar on Vincentian Social Justice. Saturday September 10,
1:00 pm. Participants will gain a better understanding of what the Church’s ‘preferential option for the poor’ actually means. In addition, we will offer suggestions as to how we might engage our fellow Vincentians, friends, parishioners and decision makers in the task of eliminating the poverty we bear witness to as Vincentians. REGISTRATION | | COUNCIL GENERAL INTERNATIONAL | INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION The International Youth Committee of the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul is convinced that when young people are committed to an important goal, they are capable of great and wonderful actions, so we officially launch the CULTURAL CONTEST – VINCENTIAN YOUTH COMMITTED TO QUALITY EDUCATION TO FIGHT POVERTY. CLIK FOR MORE INFORMATION | | FUND DEVELOPMENT RESOURCES The Fund Development Committee continues to work on creating resources to help share successful initiatives for your SSVP community. We recently created the Fund Development Toolkit, sharing promising practices that have worked for some Councils/Conferences across Canada, which can be found at Fund Development - Society of Saint Vincent de Paul - National Council of Canada We suggest that your Council / Conference appoint or recruit someone knowledgeable in raising funds as a volunteer Fund Development Coordinator. This person will then recruit members to be part of your Fund Development Committee to implement new ways of raising funds. Should you have any questions or other successful initiatives to raise funds that can be shared across Canada, please reach out to me. It is important to look at various ways to raise funds to carry out our Mission of helping people in need in all possible ways. Linda Dollard, Chair
Fund Development Committee | | WHY (AND HOW) CAN WE ADDRESS MULTI CULTURAL DIVERSITY? As Vincentians we are never concerned with a person’s cultural background. We simply help them in whatever way we can that gives them some relief from poverty, and hope for a brighter future. So why should we be concerned with the concept of being more culturally diverse in our membership and volunteers? CLICK TO CONTINUE READING | | NEW CONFERENCE Holy Redeemer Conference in Ottawa mentoring new and upcoming Conference St Michael's Corkery in their introduction process. Training provided on June 22; trainer Bernie Hartlin, past president Holy Redeemer Conference, assisted by Patrick Nzobo, President, Holy Redeemer Conference. | | A PLACE CALLED HOME A new Home for the Homeless in the City of Kawartha Lakes: SSVP and CWL first supported clients who were temporary housed at the motel. Then, for the new facility (64 Lindsay St South), SSVP also provided funds to furnish two rooms. CLICK TO CONTINUE READING | | QUESTION If a Catholic member attends conference meetings but has no contact with persons in need, are they a Full Member or Auxiliary Member? Here is the situation: a person attends meetings regularly, and their employer provides substantial money every year to the conference, but their employment prevents them from participating in the work of the Society during the day due to work schedule. It has been suggested to let them return calls from persons in need, to support the Mission. Most of the Conference members want them classified as a Full Member for fear of losing the donation from their company. | ANSWER The International Rule, Part III, Statute 3 defines membership as:
The Society is open to all those who seek to live their faith loving and committing themselves to their neighbour in need. By extension, in the Canadian Statutes, under 1.4.1.1:
A full member is defined as any person of good will, desirous of living his or her faith by loving and serving persons in need and who has successfully completed the screening and risk management procedures required by the National Council of Canada for full membership. He or she accepts and engages in formation and training as proposed by the Society, and participates regularly in the meetings and charitable activities of the conference or council in which he or she has been received, in accordance with the principles set forth in the International Rule. The full member has voting rights at meetings in accordance with the Canadian Statutes, accepts missions and tasks requested by the president and may be elected or nominated to servant-leader positions at any level of the Society’s structure in Canada, if a Catholic. If the member makes every effort to participate in the activities of the Conference in some way, this member does not need to be in direct contact with persons in need to be a Full Member. It is the Conference that ultimately decides who is a Full Member or Auxiliary Member; the only ask is to be consistent with everyone and not motivated only by money considerations. | | We are always looking for Vincentian testimonials and conference/council activity stories. Send your stories to share with Vincentians across Canada to editor@ssvp.ca. If you received this from a friend, you can subscribe to receive our newsletter directly. SUBSCRIBE HERE | | | | |
