A celebration of the beatification of Sister Rosalie Rendu who asked us to “be kind and love for love is the first gift to the poor.”
On Saturday morning, November 7th, volunteers new and old met at St Pius’ parish hall for a morning of instruction, prayer and fellowship. We began with a Land Acknowledgement and the welcome news that this acknowledgement would be a mandated part of each meeting henceforth. We began with an open-ended prayer led by Carolyn Boerboom who noted that the meeting itself was part of the prayer and the meeting would end with the sign of the cross. We were reminded of the words of St. Vincent de Paul who said, “Go to the poor, you will find God.” The five virtues of The Vincentian Way were introduced: simplicity, humility, gentleness, selflessness and zeal. As Vincentians we ask God to “Strengthen us to be builders of love, dignity and hope in our community as we serve with love, respect, justice and joy.”
The Goal for the day was to foster an understanding of The Vincentian Way and to have it inform the service to our neighbours in the current realities. Pat Lenz ,of the formation committee of The National Council of Saint Vincent de Paul for Canada, presented a series of slides outlining the history of The Saint Vincent de Paul Society and the many roles the society and the volunteers have in the community. Theresa MacDougald presented personal vignettes that reflected the immediate reality of those we serve and the impact of those experiences on our practice. After each vignette the groups at the tables shared their own experiences and reflections ranging from experiences serving our neighbours to having transitioned from one who needed assistance to one who provides assistance. These shared personal experiences were very powerful especially for those of us new to the Society. We ended with a vignette that emphasized hope.
*The slide presentation is available on the member’s website.
The session ended with a final prayer and the sign of the cross. The CWL of St. Pius served a lovely lunch. Thank you to the organizers of the meeting and the cooks! We were refreshed and inspired for further service.
