June Update
A Conference is a parish-based chapter of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.
Elements of a Conference: Spirituality, Friendship, Service.
There are currently 14 active Conferences operating throughout the Diocese of Memphis. Each Conference has a leadership team in place made up of a President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary, and Spiritual Advisor. They report to and are supported by the District Council of Memphis that also has an executive team.
We have over 189 Vincentian members serving those in need. Last year, these conferences in total spent $436,066 to help individuals and families with emergency needs. Their donations come from very generous parishioners and donors. We are looking forward to getting back to our home visits that were put on hold during COVID. Home visits and spirituality are what brings us closer to God and those we assist.
This month we want to feature four of our St. Vincent de Paul Conferences. Along with having food drives and food pantries, they assist with emergency assistance to individuals and families within certain zip codes. I am so proud to be a part of this family of Vincentians.
St. Vincent de Paul St. Anne Conference Members and pantry teams.
They provide food to 75 to 100 people every Saturday. These carefully planned bags of food provide meals for 2 to 3 days. St. Anne Conference operates out of St. Anne Catholic Church at 706 South Highland, Memphis, TN 38111. They have three different pantry teams that rotate on Saturdays throughout the month.
NOT ALL CONFERENCE MEMBERS ARE PICTURED HERE.
St. Vincent de Paul St. Brigid Conference
They operate out of St. Brigid Catholic Church located at 7801 Lowrance Ave., 38125. They have 3 or 4 food drives a year assisting 200 to 400 families and individuals. Here are some images from their March food drive. People line up around the block to receive food supplied by the food bank. Trunks and backseats are filled with cartons of food that will last weeks. It takes a lot of volunteers to handle the number of people coming through the line. Food drives started at the beginning of COVID to meet the needs of so many financially stricken with loss of income due to the Pandemic shutdown.
St. Vincent de Paul Resurrection Conference
They operate out of Church of the Resurrection at 5475 Newberry Ave. 38115. They have regular food drives that take 20-30 volunteers and provide much needed food for 250 to 300 people at each event. This first picture is of Salena. She just took over the pantry and is doing an awesome job.
St. Vincent de Paul St. Michael's Conference
They operate out of St. Michael's Parish at 3863 Summer Avenue, 38122. Every Saturday, these Vincentians come together to provide boxes of food to 30 to 50 people. They mainly use USDA food from the food bank so their neighbors can come once a month, but no one is ever turned away. They receive enough food on their visits to last for two or three weeks. It is also a good opportunity for students to get their service hours.
Next month we will feature other conferences.
As I mentioned, we have 14 conferences here in the City all working together to assist with food, rent, utilities, phone bills, prescriptions, car repairs, hot water tanks...no form of charity is foreign to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.
Thank you for taking the time to visit our June Update.
God Bless.