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Working, Praying, and Living in the Spirit of Vincent DePaul
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APRIL 2006
At the opening celebration of the Eucharist on August 14th the Very Reverend James Swift, C.M., Provincial of the Midwest Province of the Congregation of the Mission, invited the Gateway Vincentian Volunteers of 2005-2006 to become Vincentians. He said, “That is my invitation to you today—that by the end of this year you will have become through and through a Vincentian—someone who lives and loves what St. Vincent lived and loved.”
Fr. Swift explained that this would happen through “a conversion—an inner change and transformation.” He went on to describe three moments of conversion:
To see Jesus Christ in the poor
To discover our own poverty
To share with the poor
The 2005-2006 Gateway Vincentian Volunteers have taken Fr. Swift’s invitation to heart. They love and pray for the people they encounter each day, both giving to and receiving from those living in poverty. Please pray for Annie, Briana, Clare, Erica, Nelson, and Suzette as they continue their journey in service.
THANK YOU VINNIE FOR LIFE DONORS!
At the end of January, the Gateway Vincentian Volunteers program began a Matching Gifts Appeal. A very generous group of donors, the Gatekeepers, offered to match all donations received through the end of March 2006, up to a total of $5000.00. You responded with GREAT generosity, and we are so grateful to each and every one of you! Thanks to you, we exceeded our goal. We pray for each of you regularly and thank you again from the bottom of our hearts! *Any donations received after March 21 will be published in our June newsletter.
- Bob and Suzanne Althoff
- Amy Arendt (GVV 2003-04)
- Wally and Nina Bryans
- Eugene and Florence Bachmann
- Jim and Peggy Brinkmann
- Bill and Georgia Bundschuh
- John and Mary Ann Capellupo
- Janet Chazelle
- John and Jennifer Courtney (Jennifer Leon, GVV 2003-04)
- Dennis and Susan Cuddihee
- Rev. Louis Derbes, C.M.
- Kelly Dodson (GVV 2000-01)
- Rev. Tom Esselman, C.M.
- Ted and Penny Fiedler
- Rev. Jerome Fortenberry, C.M.
- Elizabeth Gappa (GVV 2001-02)
- Br. Richard Hermann, C.M.
- Molly Jacob (GVV 2003-04)
- Tom and Christine Jones
- Br. Paul Joseph, C.M.
- Scott Kelly (GVV 2001-03)
- Robert and Emily LaBarge
- Martha Lane
- Rich and Tammy LaPlume
- Christy Leming (GVV 2003-04)
- Kenneth and Marian Lemp
- Bob and Fran Lenhart
- Lee and Teresa Manna
- Julie Morig (GVV 2000-01)
- Rev. Ed Murphy, C.M.
- Rev. David Nations, C.M.
- Thomas and Suzan Ochocinski
- Sr. Kathy Overman, D.C.
- Rev. Henry Piacitelli, C.M.
- Jane Quante
- Rev. John Richardson, C.M.
- Steve and Becky Roarick
- Fred and Marie Rottnek
- Jim and Geri Ryan
- Sharon Ryan
- Bill and Mary Lou Schicker
- Lonnie Schneider
- Rev. Carl Schulte, C.M.
- Tom and Sue Shine
- Rev. Paul Siebenand
- Mike and Carolyn Sorensen
- Rev. Edward Sullivan, C.M.
- Halbert Sullivan
- Joseph and Patricia Swope
- Tony and Sue Tumminia
- Rev. Ray Van Dorpe, C.M.
- Anonymous Vincentian
- Gerald and Joan Wentzel
- Grace Whalen
- Steve Wiederkehr (GVV 2000-01)
- Rev. Robert Zimney, C.M.
Tributes in honor of:
- Our family from Larry and Amelia Berra
- GVV Clare Lassiter from Francie Broderick
- My father, Jim Cormack, Jr. from Fr. Jim Cormack, C.M.
- GVVA Rachael Edelen from Donald and JoEllen Edelen
- Rev. Carl Schulte, C.M. from Paul Heidemann
- The Family Center in East St. Louis from Sr. Carol Lehmkuhl, O.P.
- Our daughter, Alexandra Mertz
- A young person who gives of herself in service from Dennis and Linda Mertz
- Fred and Marie Rottnek from Fred Rottnek, M.D.
- GVV Nelson Perez from Kimberly Sands
- Gerry and Joan Strohmeyer from Toshio Sato (GVV 2004-05)
- Bill and Mary Lou Schicker
- Happy Birthday, Mom! from Tricia and John Thiel
- Margie Salamie from Larry Volk
Tributes in memory of:
- Robert Barry from Suzann Barry
- Evan Delano from Phil Delano and Mary Engelbreit
- Mom and Dad Goodman from Br. Dave Goodman, C.M.
- Bonnie Hindson from Charles Hindson
- Wilbert Kassing
- My beloved husband for 50 wonderful years from Helen Kassing
- Jessica Martin from Michael Martin
- Raymond O. Parrish from Sr. Jeanne Parrish, D.C.
We also thank our donors who have asked to remain anonymous!
If we have inadvertently omitted your name from our Vinnie for Life donor list, please accept our sincere apology AND let us know so that we can correct the error!
More THANK YOUs!
We wish to acknowledge those donors who made contributions since our December newsletter but before our Vinnie for Life Appeal at the end of January. Your generosity helps make this program possible. We are so grateful to each and every one of you. You too are Vinnie for Lifers!
- Larry and Amelia Berra
- Charles and Nancy Demarest
- Joseph and Mary Therese Franzak
- Br. Dave Goodman, C.M.
- Paul Heidemann
- Edwin and Audrey Kadlec
- David and Elaine Leming
- John and Margaret Lottes
- Kevin and Linda McDonough
- Dennis and Linda Mertz
- Rev. Henry Piacitelli, C.M.
- Steve and Becky Roarick
- Fr. Ray Ross, C.M.
- Bill and Mary Lou Schicker
- Rev. Edward Sullivan, C.M.
- Br. Matthew Teel, C.M.
- Fr. Rich Wehmeyer, C.M.
- Gerald and Joan Wentzel
- Grace Whalen
- Rev. Robert Zimney, C.M.
If we have inadvertently omitted your name from our donor list, please accept our sincere apology AND let us know so that we can correct the error!
Did You Know?
The Gateway Vincentian Volunteers serve the poor in a number of agencies and organizations in St. Louis and East St. Louis. Through the GVV program, these outstanding institutions receive a dedicated worker at a nominal cost. Each work site supervisor plays an important part in the growth and development of his or her volunteer. Supervisors, we appreciate you!
GVV Volunteer Annie McCance
Work Site: The
Franciscan Connection’s Stone-by-Stone
Project, which provides home repairs for senior citizens and low
income families in South St. Louis; Work site Supervisor: Br.
Donald Lachowicz, O.F.M.
GVV Volunteer Briana Colton
Work Site: St. Vincent DePaul Parish, an urban parish
with a variety of outreach programs for people living in poverty, and
St. Frances Cabrini Academy, an urban elementary school with a diverse,
multicultural population; Work site Supervisors: Pat
Poehling (St. Vincent’s) and Maureen DePriest (St. Frances Cabrini)
GVV Volunteer Clare Lassiter
Work Site: Places for People, an agency that provides
a broad range of care and services to people with serious and persistent
mental illnesses; Work site Supervisor: Mark Brennan
GVV Volunteer Erica Stacy
Work Site: Community Alternatives, an agency that offers
a variety of services to people with mental health problems, especially
those who suffer from severe mental illness, poverty, homelessness, chemical
dependency, alcoholism, and HIV/AIDS; Work site Supervisor: Don
Shipp
GVV Volunteer Nelson Perez
Work Site: Guardian
Angel Settlement Association, a social service agency that provides rent,
utility, and other forms of assistance to people in poverty; Work site Supervisor: Sr.
Annalee Flaherty, D.C.
GVV Volunteer Suzette Smith
Work Site: The Family Center, an organization
in East St. Louis that provides a system of support to impoverished individuals
and families, and Marian Middle School, a Nativity-model middle school
for impoverished girls; Work site Supervisors: Sr. Carol
Lehmkuhl, O.P. (The Family Center) and Sr. Rosalie Wisniewski, O.S.F. (Marian)
Finding Compassion
by Erica Stacy
I am standing in St. Louis Lambert Airport, a man twice my age standing next to me. He is wearing a denim jacket, worn and frayed at the edges, jeans with holes in the knees, cropped gray hair with the slight smell of musty beer radiating off his body. In one leathery hand he holds a bottle of Coke, and in the other, a bouquet of flowers. He is tense, alternating the weight of his slight body from one foot to the other and back again, his eyes intensely looking at the exit of the airport terminal. “I’m not sure this is worth it; why are they coming all the way from California to see me?” he whispers to me, to the voices in his head, or to the universe at large—I am not quite sure which. Amid the rush of passengers exiting the airport terminal three people emerge, Mike’s (client’s name has been changed for this story) brother and two sisters. They rush up to Mike with hugs and kisses, and his question is answered loud and clear.
This is not just any old family reunion; this is one for the books. Mike, a client of Community Alternatives, has been homeless for the better part of the last 15 years and has not had contact with his family since that time. Nineteen years ago Mike was living with his family in Illinois and began having symptoms of mental illness—hearing voices, having delusions, and so on. He started drinking to deal with the mental health symptoms and to hide the pain of family dysfunction and consequently got into trouble with the law. Due to continued problems within his family, he decided to leave his home state to settle in St. Louis, Missouri. Since that time 19 years ago, Mike’s family has been desperately looking for him, but with no success. Being homeless, Mike was not receiving an SSI check, and there was no paper trail to follow. After several years of unsuccessful searching, the family, unable to prove otherwise, concluded Mike had died and they held a memorial service in his honor.
Mike, however, was alive, living in St. Louis, junking cans for a living and being watched over by caseworkers in the St. Louis area. For the past several years that caseworker was Don Shipp at Community Alternatives, a nonprofit agency that assists clients with mental illnesses and drug addiction by providing a host of social services including psychotherapy, substance abuse treatment groups, and housing assistance. During that time, Don was able to reestablish Mike’s SSI check, enabling Mike’s family to find him and have the family reunion. Mike has continued his relationship with his family and is currently considering taking a trip to California to further build the relationship. He has also decided to start taking psych meds for the first time in several years so that he can more fully establish a relationship with his family.
As a Gateway Vincentian Volunteer at Community Alternatives, I work with Mike and clients like him on a regular basis. He is one of those nameless faces of homeless people you see in the city, intoxicated, talking to themselves, junking cans to earn their living. He is the kind of person that six months ago I would have, upon seeing him in the street, turned away from in fear, misunderstanding, or just plain apathy. But now I understand that there is more to people like Mike than the mental health symptoms they exhibit. They have hopes, fears, and families. And like Mike, they often suffer broken family relationships as a consequence of their mental illness and addiction. Coming to understand and have compassion—to feel their pain as they feel it—for the all too human condition these clients deal with on a daily basis has been a blessing for me this year. It has given me new insight into the strength of the human spirit despite all odds, and most importantly, the strength of the bond of family.
For Mike, in the past, family might have been an obstacle to dealing with his mental illness, but now it is a positive in his life that has caused him to rethink his strategy of dealing with his illness and addiction. Witnessing the powerful impact family can have in someone’s life even after 20 years of pain is incredible and serves to make me recognize not only the importance of family in the lives of my clients but also the importance of family in my own life. This has been an incredible gift and one that I look forward to learning more from and building on for the next few months I am at Community Alternatives and beyond.
BIG News from GVV Alums!
John Roarick (GVV 2001-02) and his wife, Sara, are the proud and very happy parents of a beautiful baby girl, Lulu Madeline, born on March 8.
Nichole Schneider (GVV 2001-02) is engaged to Shaun Purvis. Nichole and Shaun will be married on June 30, 2007.
Christine Shine (GVV 2002-03) is engaged to Paul Woody. Chris and Paul will be married on August 5, 2006.
Soul Meets Body
by Annie McCance
During my volunteer year I have been attending RCIA classes at St. Francis Xavier (College) Church, and at the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday, I will become a full member of the Catholic Church. For the first time I will join my community members in receiving the Blood and Body of Christ. It will also be the first time my mental worship unites with my physical worship, or my “soul meets body.”
I got “saved” when I was fourteen at a Fellowship of Christian Athletes camp in North Carolina. Throughout high school I attended an Evangelical Free Church, and I went to college at Olivet Nazarene University and attended the Nazarene services there. Through these churches I learned a lot about the Bible and how to use the Bible to evangelize or to “save” others. The problem was that it felt like my faith was missing something.
What made me curious about the Catholic faith was that communion was not just a representation or remembrance of Christ, but Christ himself. It was hard for me to accept this coming from a Protestant background because most of our worship was based on the intellect or the mind. I can count on one hand the times we took communion in my four years of college. It was more important to listen to the choir’s newest song or be entertained by the pastor’s sermon. No wonder those churches rarely acted on any of the pastor’s sermons because the service itself lacked any physical aspects.
Slowly I began to realize that though singing, praying, and reading the Bible were all important parts of my faith, it was the physical worship that would make it whole. It took a few books and a couple of strong Catholic friends for me to be put on the path of becoming a Catholic. Unfortunately for Jim and Geri, I made this decision during my final semester of school and was drawn to volunteering instead of job searching. (Editorial note: Jim and Geri and the program are fortunate that Annie chose service!)
My volunteer year has been a continual acknowledgement that Christ should be worshipped physically. My job site, the Franciscan Connection, is a new work site for the Gateway Vincentian Volunteers program. I do home repairs for low-income families and the elderly in south St. Louis, and it is very much a physical act (mental too, because I never have done home repairs before). When I watch my community members physically take communion it reminds me that they have Christ in them. Luckily, for us non-communion participants, Christ is in all—the Catholics, the Protestants, the poor, the rich, the Vincentians, the Franciscans, everyone.
This spring Suzette, a fellow GVV, and I started a kickball team (the Magical Vinnie Kickers) full of Vincentian volunteers and priests that will play in the St. Louis Kickball League. I invite you to come watch us physically play a fun sport. Most importantly I invite you to remember that this Easter, with Suzette as my sponsor, I will join you in making my faith whole by receiving the Eucharist.
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Gateway Vincentian Volunteers
2912 Arsenal Street
St. Louis, MO 63118
(314) - 771-1474
Toll free: (888)-771-7220
Fax: (314) - 771-2410
email: gatevol@aol.com