Following Jesus’ Call to Serve the Poor…

One of the most inspiring ministries in our parish is the work done by those in our St. Vincent de Paul organization. These people do their best to serve God’s “least ones” who struggle daily to have food to eat, a place to live, and other basic human needs. Our parishioners in these ministries follow the example of Saints Vincent de Paul and Louise de Marillac, who began serving the homeless in Paris in the early 1600’s.

In our parish, many help with our “soup kitchen” meals, some volunteer at our “thrift store” in East St. Louis, and some are oncall throughout the week to receive phone calls of those needing help in the moment and care for their needs with the funds our parish provides. We recently had a few members ‘retire out’ of the on-call ministry
and so we are looking for new volunteer members who have a compassionate heart, listening ear, and a desire to help the poor.

I want to extend a huge thanks to our president of the O’Fallon/ Shiloh St. Vincent de Paul Conference, Robert Dodson and his wife, Evelyne Dodson, Spiritual Advisor, who are transitioning out to serve elsewhere. Robert and Evelyne have been so faithful in living the mission of SVDP, “a network of friends, inspired by Gospel values, growing in holiness and building a more just world through personal relationships with a service to people in need.” Our gratitude goes out to our present members: Jim and Laurie Edwards, Robert Kirchgessner, Kevin Rademacher and Corrine Wright who serve with members from other parishes in the area. I also want to thank Carol Williamson, Nancy Buttimer, Yvonne Earley, Judy Lemansky and Jennie Riley who serve in the special works of the St. Louise de Marillac Conference, and our faithful leader, Deb Oitker, who has run the soup kitchen for many years.

Please consider volunteering with the SVDP Conference and getting to meet, listen, and help the very poorest in our region. Training and full support are provided. You can send an email to [email protected] and a member will contact you. St. Vincent de Paul and Louise de Marillac…pray for us.
Peace,
Fr. Jim Deiters