St.
Vincent de Paul Society
St.
Peter Prince of the Apostles Conference,- San
Antonio, Texas, 78209
Monthly meetings are
held
for active members
at 7:00 p.m.
the
last Wednesday of each month
in the Saint Vincent de Paul Office. These meetings are designed
to foster
spiritual growth and friendship
as we prepare to associate
with the community
of
hungry and impoverished individuals who live among us.
Our
meetings include prayer spiritual
reflection on the example of Jesus, and planning.
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Monthly
Meetings
"Where
two or three are gathered together in My Name,
there am
I in the midst of them..."
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Service - Feeding
the Hungry
Our
members deal directly with individuals in need. Assistance
is given
through food
baskets
and monetary aide. Volunteers
stock food baskets for potential clients, handle intake forms
on each client, provide referral assistance when needed,
and make judgments on the need of monetary aid. All people
requesting food assistance are helped, but due to limited
funds, monetary aid is rendered on a case by case basis.
This work requires persons with compassionate hearts that
can look beyond the situation and help those in need without
judgment.
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St.
Vincent de Paul Dining Room
St. Vincent
de Paul Dining Room service is coordinated by
Debra and Danny Deffenbaugh
(foreground, below).
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Food
baskets and emergency assistance
SVDP
Dining Room Food Bank
UIW
Youth Conference
Thanksgiving
Baskets
MISSION
Inspired
by Gospel values, the Society leads women and men to join
together to grow spiritually by offering person-to-person service
to those who are needy and suffering.
Members
form an international society of friends united by a spirit
of charity.
We
are nourished by prayer and reflection, mutually supportive
gatherings, and adherence to a basic Rule.
Keenly
aware that poverty, suffering, and loneliness are present to
millions in our communities, we embrace all works of charity
and justice.
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Food
Bank
Karen White coordinates
parish volunteers who visit the San
Antonio Food Bank and the Saint Vincent DePaul Food
Bank. Volunteers help sort and pack donated food for the
food banks
and for our own food store .Volunteers also help transport
the food boxes the the St. Peter's SVDP Office, unload
the boxes
and stock the shelves. Individuals interested in volunteering
in this area need to be available during the daytime hours.
Monday through Friday, when the food banks are open. They
also
need to be able to sand for long periods of time and be
able to
lift moderate to heavy boxes of food. To
volunteer, please call Michael McGuire at (210) 820-3120.
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Those
who have gone on before us...
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Milestones
The St. Vincent de Paul
Society was founded in 1833 by a student of the Soronne University,
Frederic Ozanam. Challenged to put his faith into action, Frederic
created the Society and named it after Vincent de Paul, a saint
noted for his work with the poor.
History
of our Conference
by
Arthur Uhl and John Spitzer
Accreditation /Ozanam
School of Theology /Friendship
House/San
Antonio Metropolitan Ministries (SAMM Shelter) / St.
Vincent de Paul Dining room / Current membership
1952
National
Conference accredited the Conference of St. Vincent de Paul at
St Peter Prince of the Apostles Catholic Church in San Antonio,
Texas.
Early active members include:
Albert Scharmann, first conference
president
Clem and Bud Holshauser
Larry Pytel
Jim Butler
Dave Smiley
Meetings were held to review individual
efforts which included distribution of food.
Pastor (now Bishop) Thomas
Flanagan started the Ozanam School of Theology with the following
members in attendance:
Dave Berger
Joe Savoy
John Spitzer
Clem and Bud Holshauser
The Ozanam School of Theology, still
led by Bishop Flanagan, continues today as an Archdiocesan
annual event designed to orient new SVDP officers toward the
spirit of the Society.
1960's
and 1970's
Members began their weekly meetings
in the cafeteria. Father Hubertus led the group in prayer. Members
discussed their distribution of goods, and defined the conference's
relations with Central Council . Focus was on works of good faith,
including
Visits to hospitals and rest homes
...Delivery of groceries to homes
...Monthly visits by the entire group to the State Mental Hospital on Loop
13.
The society dispersed about $700 in goods and services
monthly.
During
this time, the following members, led by Liz Davies and Jules
Caelli, began a soup kitchen called Friendship House, and worked
there every Sunday morning until 1982.
Reno Bradicich
Ted Comeau
Jules Capelli
Dom Chiminello
Liz Davies (recently deceased)
Bill Martin
Joe Savoy
John Spitzer
Arthur Uhl
Friendship House was located at the
southwest tip of San Pedro Park on the corner of Flores and Grayson..
Each Sunday morning for nearly twenty years, the following individuals
served breakfast and distributed bus tokens to homeless persons
who came to Friendship House until its assimilation into the
San Antonio Metropolitan Ministries in 1982.
Besides the Friendship House ministry,
the following members continued distributing food and bus tokens,
and visiting the sick and homebound:
Val Beyer
Leo Dominicali
Fidel Flores
Bob Fotch
Dick Meskill
Randy Perkins
Tony Steinkruger
1980's
In
1982, Tom Haek from Central Council was in charge of the SVDP dining
room at the newly formed San
Antonio Metropolitan Ministries' SAMM Shelter. They obtained
the stoves, and other equipment from Friendship House building
in San Pedro Park, and the
St. Peter’s members then started helping on a regular basis
at the new SAMM Shelter's dining room.
"The San Antonio Food
Bank was in its infancy and St. Peter's Vincentians put in
long hours there and in the process wee able to transfer food
to the SAMM Dining Room which was in need of provisions. This
in turn permitted St. Peter's conferees to pick up various
items to be distributed within our parish. Various members
continued helping at the Food Bank until inmates of the Bexar
County Jail "took over. Work crews included Dug and Emmy
Douville, Bill Beck, Keith Dubouis and Arthur Uhl.
During
this decade, our present offices were constructed
1990's
The National Convention of the Society
of St. Vincent de Paul in 1995 required efforts by St. Peter's
conference members. Memories till remain as Ted Comeau, Val Beyer,
John Spitzer chaired Enrollment and Housing. Father Tom Flanagan,
enlisted volunteers, including Arthur Uhl to work on the event's
liturgy, which included a Mass of exceptional beauty.
Support was given by conference membership
including George Parker, president; Maudie Flanagan, and Jane Vivian,
2002
A group
of St. Peter's Vincentians worked with Catholic Charities to
help settle and acclimate a refugee family from Afghanistan.
2004
A
conference for students of the University of the Incarnate Word
was started to give university students opportunities to find
and serve Christ through the St. Vincent de Paul dining room
which is operated through San Antonio Metropolitan Ministries
(SAMM)
.2006
Current members rotate during the week
to serve the hungry and needy who come to our office window.Some
10 to 13 St. Peter's Vincentians staff the St. Vincent de Paul
Dining Room at SAMM Sheerer , about every six weeks.
Thanks to
Joyce Hobbins, the group also receives turkeys to distribute at
Thanksgiving. A survey is under way to determine further needs
within our parish and to align resources to meet those needs.
Above: Arthur Uhl welcomes St. Peter's Boy Scouts who represent
St. Peter's School in helping with the annual SVDP Thanksgiving
food drive. The drive is
coordinated by
SVDP
secretary and
spiritual
director,
Joyce Hobbins (center, below)..
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Arthur Uhl and Michael McGuire look toward the future.
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Bill Astelford (left) and Karen White (right) manage daily
operations, along with Joe Louma and SVDP volunteers
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Joyce Hobbins (Center) has served the Society of St. Vincent
de Paul for many years, coordinates our Thanksgiving efforts,
and currently serves as the Conference Spiritual Director.
She is shown with former members Irene Prescott, Bill Beck
(deceased),Bill Astleford, and Deacon John Spitzer (retired)
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Bill Astleford (left) learns the ropes from Deacon John
Spitzer, retired member, who gave countless hours of service.
Bill now serves as treasurer and provides professional accounting
of income and expenditure.
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Karen White (not shown) coordinates visits to the Food Bank
and SVDP Warehouse. She is assisted by Joe Louma and long-time
Vincentian, Keith DuBois.
Above, workers at the SVDP warehouse help load food from
the facility into volunteer's cars or trucks.
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Top of the page Contacts:
President: J. Michael McGuire - (210) 820-3120
Vice President: Karen White - (210) 493-0533
Secretary and Spiritual Director: Joyce Hobbins
Treasurer: Bill Astleford
SVDP Office -
829-4779
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Credits
."The Beggar-Christ
and Vincent de Paul" by Meltem Aktas is used on our pages
with
permission from the Vincentian
Community, Rosati House, Chicago, Illinois. through the assistance
of Nathaniel Michaud (nmichaud@depaul.edu)
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