SVP Easter Fundraiser in the News!

SVP MUSCC have made it into the news again with our Easter Charity Fundraiser Dinner!

Independent Catholic News have detailed our fundraiser which will be held this Friday 22nd March at 7pm. All proceeds will go to the Manchester Central Food Bank which we are setting up. All are welcome! Bring a friend!

"Student members of the St Vincent DePaul Society (SVP) are set to host a Charity Dinner on Friday 22 March at 7pm to raise funds for a food bank. The event will be held at Manchester Universities Catholic Chaplaincy on Oxford Road. Costing just £5, guests will be treated to a formal three-course meal including a delicious lamb dinner. The night will also include music, raffles, a quiz, and an all-night bar."

To read more, visit the Independent Catholic News website!

Habemus Papam!

vatican.va

"A social sin that cries out to Heaven!"

These words of the new Pope Francis 1st, elected yesterday by the conclave of 115 cardinals, were spoken in 2007, in an address to Latin American Bishops. He used these words to describe the effect of economic inequality and unjust distribution of the world's goods, and its effect on Latin-American society.
Pope Francis (formerly known as Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio) hails from Argentina, a country in which a large proportion of the population suffer from abject poverty despite economic growth. This new Pope, therefore, is a man who is keenly aware of the social inequalities that arise from poverty and unjust political and economic systems. The first Pope to come from a non-European country since 741AD, and the first Jesuit Pope, he is sure to bring a new ideas and priorities to the papacy, as well as a less Eurocentric perspective, perhaps.

While his stance on issues such as homosexuality, abortion and contraception may not differ greatly from those of his predecessors, he is likely to have a much sharper focus on issues of social justice and peace. In his first Mass as Supreme Pontiff today, he reminded the faithful in his homily:

"We can build many things, but if we do not confess Jesus Christ, nothing will avail. We will become a pitiful NGO, but not the Church, the Bride of Christ. When one does not walk, one stalls. When one does not built on solid rocks, what happens? What happens is what happens to children on the beach when they make sandcastles: everything collapses, it is without consistency."

For those of us who are involved in the charitable outreach of the SVP, these words are a stark reminder that our good deeds are primarily motivated by a faith in Jesus Christ. Although Blessed Frederick Ozanam was inspired by the words of a man in the crowds urging him to "Show us your works", Pope Francis urges us to reflect upon these works through the eyes of faith.

Faith and Works

The SVP is currently devoting a lot of time to homeless outreach, as well as going through the painstaking processes of applying for grants and going through meetings and paperwork in order to be able to have a food bank up and running within the next few months. These time-consuming tasks are crucially important for the welfare of people around us in situations of dire poverty and economic hardship.

However, it is all too easy to get carried up in the practical aspects of charity work, and whilst it is undeniable that these works are incredibly important, it is vital also to remember why we are doing these works - and whose service we are in. Ultimately, as our new Pope has highlighted, without faith our works are nothing more than the secular works of a Non-Governmental Organisation. Although as a charity, the SVP is open to members of all faiths and none, we are ultimately a group with a Christian  background and ethos - one that strives to see the face of Christ in the poor.

Let us take up the challenge of Pope Francis, and learn to see the works that we do for the poor through eyes of Faith.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZA3WUgFhcXQ

Religious Belief - An Obstacle to Charitable Justice?

Should religious belief (or non-belief) prevent someone from joining a charitable organisation?

I would say no.

Others would, perhaps, disagree.

The St Vincent de Paul Society is, as the name would suggest, a Christian organisation with a specifically Catholic bias. Part of our meetings are set aside (at the beginning) for an opening prayer and for spiritual direction (at the end). Our Spiritual Director Fr. William SJ leads us in some reflection regarding our week's work which allows us to think back on our activities and appreciate the positive and negative elements that we have encountered. 

It would be stupid and ignorant therefore to suggest that the SVP does not have a religious element to it. Of course it does! 

That doesn't however prevent people of other Faiths (and no faith) joining our meetings and participating in our charitable activities. SVP England & Wales states "The SVP only asks that members fully accept the Christian ethos of the Society" 

We have had several people recently ask whether they can join the SVP despite not being practising Catholics or Christians. Our position on this is - YES! The work we do transcends the boundaries of religious beliefs and therefore our membership should be equally widespread. 

Some people have asked can they just do our homeless runs or other activities and not attend meetings. This we cannot encourage as Christian or not it is important to the SVP that we are a community of people and our weekly meetings brings us together to reflect on our recent activities. 

So please: Catholic, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist or Atheist - get in touch! What is important is that you are committed to seeking justice in the world, participate in our charitable activities and are happy to accept that the Society has a Christian ethos. I challenge you to get involved and promise that if you do I will move out of my own comfort zone to attend your place of worship or attend your religious activities. Email us: svpmucc@gmail.com

Bradley

President

'Putin's' New Shoes

Six SVP MUSCC members on homeless run in Manchester

I am touched.
After having just returned from another homeless run in Manchester city centre, I am finding it hard to put one of the people I've just met out of my mind. His name is Vladimir, and he is from Bulgaria. He has Parkinson's Disease, and he was freezing cold. Or rather, as I write this, he is still freezing cold.

But his shoes fit.
His shoes fit because of SVP.

When our little group of students -six of us altogether -, stumbled upon Vladimir, we were, truthfully, beginning to flag. It was getting cold, we were tired, we were running out of food to give out. At the point when we were ready to turn and head back to chaplaincy, we found this man. He was shivering with cold, he wouldn't accept food, and he was feeling at odds with the world.
As we stayed and made conversation with him, my eyes rested on his feet, and I noticed that his trainers were folded down at the back. His feet were too big for them.

The shoes that I held in a plastic carrier bag had already been offered out and refused by people tonight. They were too big for the first man, and not suited to the second man. I wasn't very optimistic that the shoes would fit our friend Vladimir - or 'Putin' -as we nicknamed him (much to his amusement!) Nevertheless, I offered the shoes to him.

They fit like a glove! Vladimir's face lit up, and while we all looked on he suddenly shot up and did a dance of joy in his new shoes! He cried out, beaming, "I have new shoes!" while we all marvelled at the fact that these shoes seemed to have been made for him. We left Vladimir with a grateful smile on his face, and something resembling relief there too.
Something so simple had meant so much to him. The basic necessity of a pair of shoes that fit him brought him such joy. This moment touched all of us volunteers and gave us the renewed vigour we needed for the last stretch of the homeless run.

We will not forget Vladimir quickly; not only because of the turnaround in attitude that our gift gave him, but also because it woke us up. The ensuing animated discussion over who decided to donate the shoes, who brought them out tonight, whose idea it was to offer them to Vladimir: all highlighted the true nature of the SVP. The work that we are doing is not the work of one individual; we are all members of a greater network. Those who give up their time to volunteer and those who donate clothes and food to the homeless runs are dependent upon each other in making a difference to the likes of Vladimir.

At the end of tonight's homeless run, I know I speak for my fellow volunteers when I say that we feel privileged to have witnessed firsthand the difference that we are making in the lives of the people we meet.

Long may it continue.

Coffee, Crisps and Company

The SVP began its weekly homeless soup run in November 2012. Initially it was only once a week, reaching about 10-15 homeless people, with only tea, coffee and sandwiches. Now, however, we have expanded to two nights, reaching nearly 50 homeless people each week with tea, coffee, soup, sandwiches, crisps, chocolate, pasties, pies, sausage rolls, hygiene products, blankets, sleeping bags, hats, scarves, emergency bags and most importantly, company and conversation! In fact, we are even discussing expanding to a third night now due to extra demand to go out and help!

It’s quite incredible to think that all this began after a chance encounter with a homeless man called Joseph. Joseph was sitting on a bench in Manchester City Centre and instead of asking for change, he asked for some gloves or a scarf, basically anything to keep him warm on what was a very chilly November morning. Initially, the plan was to get Joseph and other homeless people some clothes for the upcoming winter months but this quickly spread to all of the above ideas.

SVP MUSCC Preparing food for homeless run

For me, the homeless outreach acts as a central tenant on ‘showing our works’ as Catholics and SVP members. It’s about doing what little we can for those with almost nothing themselves, whether that’s materially or in their connection to society.

The spiritual reflection by Fr. William at the end of our meetings has been a great addition to my experience of SVP work. For me, if there was one Gospel passage that ought to encourage our SVP work, it is the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats. At its heart is the idea that it is not the big, high-profile things that matter most to God but the simple acts of feeding the hungry, clothing the naked and visiting the sick or lonely.

Thanks to all who have helped over these past few months, either by coming out to help or donating supplies, you can be sure that all this work has done a huge amount of good for the homeless people in Manchester.

A Glance Back...

Procrastination: that buzzword which sums up the life of many a student is doing its rounds as coursework deadlines loom and revision timetables appear. Yet nobody can accuse SVP MUSCC of taking a backseat, as this week we have been as eager as ever to take practical action to help the most vulnerable. As the week draws to a close, this is an apt time to look back and reflect upon the work that SVP has been doing over the past few days.

Monday and Tuesday evening saw groups of student volunteers bracing themselves against the cold weather to give out soup, sandwiches, chocolate, crisps, tea and coffee to the homeless people of the city. 23 rough sleepers were met on Monday; 21 on Tuesday, and in addition to the food, blankets and clothes which were distributed, we were able to chat with the people we met, listen to their stories and offer long-term help where we could. Amongst the volunteers who helped out were newcomers Martina, Katie and Jaya - gratefully welcomed into the SVP community and invaluable to our work!

Coinciding with Tuesday's soup run was L'Arche Manchester's community meeting at their 'Heathside' house in Didsbury. A group of 3 volunteers headed by Fr William, our spiritual director, and our President Bradley attended the meeting to convey our support for the budding L'Arche community. News of great joy was received that night - L'Arche are to open their doors to their first core members in late April/early May 2013!

Some of the elderly residents of St Joseph's Nursing Home were visited by volunteers on Wednesday and Friday. As ever, these visits were fruitful for both those visiting as well as those being visited; matter-of-fact conversations tend to be opportunities to share laughs with the people we visit, yet are also surprisingly touching. Lucy and I went to visit Aileen, a lovely lady who is approaching the ripe age of 100! After having a fall recently, and having only just been released from hospital as a result of it, Aileen expressed relief and gratitude that she had company as, in her words, "a change is as good as a rest!"

Lastly, (but by no means least!), Cornerstone homeless shelter was attended by new volunteers Badjinca, Jean and Frank, whilst steps are being taken to set up a bank account for our long-term food bank project, which will be run as part of the Trussell Trust Food Bank scheme.

All in all, a very productive and busy week! Onwards and upwards...next stop, Fish and Chips fundraiser event! (Friday 1st March, 7pm at the Chaplaincy, see you there!)

A Long Time Coming

Our blossoming relationship with L'Arche Manchester has grown from a seed planted nearly a year and a half ago by Community Leader Kevin Coogan. Having been reading through their blog www.larchemanchester.blogspot.com I stumbled across a short post about Kevin's talk to the students of Manchester Universities' Catholic Chaplaincy at the 7pm student Mass in November 2011.

I gave a talk to the student Mass on Sunday night at the Holy Name opposite the Student Union building. What a joy! Back where I studied for my degree (1988 to 1991) and what a long time ago that seems. I got a great reception from the students and we are looking to develop a bit of a partnership between ourselves and the student SVP (St Vincent de Paul) group. Since then I've also had a couple of calls from people interested in finding out about becoming an assistant in the community so watch this space! (Kevin Coogan L'Arche Manchester)

Discoveries such as these reignite my hope that the work we do is making a difference and will continue to do so. Sometimes it is easy to get caught up in the short term objectives (such as how many homeless people we feed in one night) and forget about long term objectives (relief of poverty over time). 

This shortsightedness is inevitable, I believe, when looking at our work purely from the perspective of a night-by-night basis. However, our volunteers were overjoyed to see that a man who we had referred to external agencies was no longer in his usual spot some 2-3 weeks after we referred him. Clearly by putting ourselves out there we can provide both short term and long term relief.

SVP MUSCC members with L'Arch Manchester house plant!

Kevin's post has made me realise that whilst currently work towards our ongoing Food Bank project may seem to be going frustratingly slowly, a year or more from now hopefully this seed that we have planted will have flourished in a manner similar to the SVP MUSCC / L'Arche Manchester relationship.

Bradley Taylor
President of SVP MUSCC