All they want to do is hsve meetings :(

[Mary_Estelle]

I have mentioned this before and I will again. When my brother, a boy soldier, not even 17 years old yet, was on the front lines in Korea, it was Salvation Army Volunteers that crawled up to the front lines to bring them hot coffee and food. My brother never forgot this. He said the Red Cross styed behind the lines and charged for the coffee and food. Which one would you remember fondly, I wonder. Peace.

 

[pianistclare]

That one made me laugh. Kind of like ours. Kind of like a social club. They take in a lot of donations and sell them, but don’t seem to do a lot of good with the money they receive, and they do receive a lot of money. RedBasket, don’t quit, make it better and functional. Peace.

What they “do” with the money is strictly confidential. I know our chapter NEVER has enough money to meet the needs of the people who call the help line. Our parish is VERY generous, but they nearly always run out of $$ by the 15th of the month.

You probably just are not privy to what they do.

 

[jmcrae]

What they “do” with the money is strictly confidential. I know our chapter NEVER has enough money to meet the needs of the people who call the help line. Our parish is VERY generous, but they nearly always run out of $$ by the 15th of the month.

You probably just are not privy to what they do.

Ours give monthly reports; they don’t name names, but they will say, $850.00 spent on electric bills, 3 families; $1250.00 rent paid, single mother, 2 children; 32 food hampers delivered, fed 54 adults and 68 children. (Example only, of course).

They also detail what typically goes into the food hampers but don’t discuss special dietary needs.

 

[BarbTh]

Re St Vincent de Paul Society parish conferences:

Treasurer or Secretary should be submitting at each Meeting an Income and Expenditure Statement tabled at the parish conference Monthly Meeting (similar to what PC posted). Our meeting is then open to discuss the statement. Our parish conference meets monthly. It does sound as if your (RedBasket/opening poster) Conference is in real trouble and it should be, even must be, reported to your SVP Head Office (St Vincent de Paul Society calls chapters “Conferences” vinnies.org.au/page/About/Our_Structure/Membership_and_Conferences/).

Structure of St Vincent de Paul Society vinnies.org.au/page/About/Our_Structure/

It is not much use presenting problems on the internet but doing nothing about the actual problem when there are avenues available to do so.

 

[BarbTh]

vinnies.org.au/page/About/Our_Structure/A Conference is a group of members who come together to fulfil the Mission of the Society in accordance with the Rule.

A Conference may be established within any community, such as a parish, town, suburb, school, university, workplace, ethnic or social group.

 

[LoyalViews]

Ours give monthly reports; they don’t name names, but they will say, $850.00 spent on electric bills, 3 families; $1250.00 rent paid, single mother, 2 children; 32 food hampers delivered, fed 54 adults and 68 children. (Example only, of course).

They also detail what typically goes into the food hampers but don’t discuss special dietary needs.

You’re lucky yours is so transparent. Ours has a food bank, and then they do a little collection for the local homeless man everyone knows (and gives money to at the red light intersections) and give him a jumper.

However, such is the human condition. We are all prone to imperfection. Yet, the path to Hell is paved with good intentions

 

[jeannetherese]

I have mentioned this before and I will again. When my brother, a boy soldier, not even 17 years old yet, was on the front lines in Korea, it was Salvation Army Volunteers that crawled up to the front lines to bring them hot coffee and food. My brother never forgot this. He said the Red Cross styed behind the lines and charged for the coffee and food. Which one would you remember fondly, I wonder. Peace.

Neither the Red Cross nor the Salvation Army are Catholic organizations. It is wonderful that your brother experienced such kindness from one of those organizations. However, that does not solve the problem presented in the O.P. of moving forward and helping the poor through a Catholic ministry.
Creating timelines and goals might be helpful.
Asking the pastor to attend a meeting or two to encourage movement might be helpful.
Contacting Saint Vincent dePaul to ask for guidance as the chapter begins its outreach might be helpful.
Our Saint Vincent chapter is very active and stretches a limited amount of money to the utmost. The generosity of the volunteers who donate their time is inspirational. We have worked with out youth groups to hold fundraising rummage sales, organized local Catholic schools to help out at food banks and at the St. Vincent dePaul store each year, organized food drives through our schools, networked with stores for groceries to share, provide rent assistance, helped with vehicle repairs,and kept the power and water running for those in distress. The need is great in our area.
Building and supporting community while living our faith; it’s fantastic!
O.P. Please let us know what ideas you implement! It will be exciting to see your group take off! May God bless you and all who support St. Vincent dePaul and its charitable works.
Amen.

 

[BarbTh]

^^

 

[ConfusedLucy]

I don’t see why it’s so wrong to volunteer with non-Catholic organizations that do good works if there isn’t a suitable Catholic group. On a practical level many of us don’t live in areas where the Catholic Church is very active.

 

[BarbTh]

I don’t see why it’s so wrong to volunteer with non-Catholic organizations that do good works if there isn’t a suitable Catholic group. On a practical level many of us don’t live in areas where the Catholic Church is very active.

^^

I cannot see anything wrong with it either. Working in non Catholic or not specifically Christian Doctrine organizations like Red Cross and Salvation Army can be a wonderful witness to Catholicism and Christian Doctrine and its effects.
I think Catholicism at ground level in the parishes can be too parochial and inward looking…preaching to the converted as it were. “Go ye into the whole world…” Certainly Jesus in His own specific mission embraced and moved amongst even pagans and known shunned and avoided sinners, outcasts …i.e. where no other religious person of His day would venture. This was even though He told His apostles his mission was to Israel only. It was Faith Jesus sought and responded to fully, not those who clung to the dogma and doctrines of His day.

The Church tells us that as lay people our specific mission and vocation is …

Christifideles Laici (Vocation and Mission of The Laity )… “For the Kingdom of heaven is like a householder who went out early in the morning to hire labourers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the labourers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard” (Mt 20:1-2).

The gospel parable sets before our eyes the Lord’s vast vineyard and the multitude of persons, both women and men, who are called and sent forth by him to labour in it.** The vineyard is the whole world** (cf. Mt 13:38), which is to be transformed according to the plan of God in view of the final coming of the Kingdom of God." Christifideles Laici (Vocation and Mission of The Laity
w2.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_jp-ii_exh_30121988_christifideles-laici.html )

 

[jmcrae]

I don’t see why it’s so wrong to volunteer with non-Catholic organizations that do good works if there isn’t a suitable Catholic group. On a practical level many of us don’t live in areas where the Catholic Church is very active.

It depends on the purpose of the activity.

The Red Cross isn’t any religion at all, so that’s no problem, but when you join the Salvation Army, you’re giving up your Catholic faith to subscribe to the tenets of their doctrine.

 

[BarbTh]

It depends on the purpose of the activity.

The Red Cross isn’t any religion at all, so that’s no problem, but when you join the Salvation Army, you’re giving up your Catholic faith to subscribe to the tenets of their doctrine.

I had no idea that a Catholic could not volunteer to work with the Salvation Army unless they made some sort of vow or promise to the tenets of the SV Faith Expression, thereby abandoning their Catholic Faith.
If so, then a Catholic cannot for sure volunteer with the SA. Be that as it may, the SA do do important work in the community. Gold is wherever it is found.

 

[ConfusedLucy]

I’ve done plenty of volunteering through non-Catholic organizations and have never once been asked to renounce my faith.

 

[jmcrae]

I’ve done plenty of volunteering through non-Catholic organizations and have never once been asked to renounce my faith.

It’s not like they would say, hey, we want you to renounce your faith. But if you join a different ecclesial community, while thinking you’re joining a service club, that’s still a renunciation of your Catholic faith.

 

[ConfusedLucy]

I can see why it’s an issue with something like preaching but I don’t see the difference with charitable works as long as you are upfront about your faith when you start volunteering with a group. It’s better to do something good than to do nothing while lamenting a lack of opportunities to volunteer as a Catholic.

 

[BarbTh]

I have volunteered with Anglicare, Down Syndrome and The Smith Family at one time or another in my journey and never asked anything at all about religion other than perhaps on an application form - I can’t remember. It is not so much the organization one may volunteer with as about the need in the community one will be serving. Be that as it may, I would never change my Catholicism under any circumstances I would hope.

It is a real surprise to me that one has to make some vows or promises/embrace their faith expression with The Salvation Army and I have left a message with my local branch of the Army and when they phone me back I will ask some questions about volunteering with them and post response back into this thread.

 

[jmcrae]

I have volunteered with Anglicare, Down Syndrome and The Smith Family at one time or another in my journey and never asked anything at all about religion other than perhaps on an application form - I can’t remember. It is not so much the organization one may volunteer with as about the need in the community one will be serving. Be that as it may, I would never change my Catholicism under any circumstances I would hope.

It is a real surprise to me that one has to make some vows or promises/embrace their faith expression with The Salvation Army and I have left a message with my local branch of the Army and when they phone me back I will ask some questions about volunteering with them and post response back into this thread.

Thanks!

 

[Rosebud77]

It’s not like they would say, hey, we want you to renounce your faith. But if you join a different ecclesial community, while thinking you’re joining a service club, that’s still a renunciation of your Catholic faith.

They are not joining just working with which I am sure the CCC approves.