Gateway Vincentian Volunteers: Our Lives

Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you.
- Thomas Merton

In the first newsletter this year, Brian noted this quote from Thomas Merton, a playboy turned Trappist monk, as a basis for faith. As the year began last August, we were not really sure where we would end up. Questions plagued us and fear surrounded everything. It boiled down to the question: “Is this the right decision?”

Through the year, the question that bothered us in the beginning went away. Many times we felt that we were right where God wanted us—working in the sometimes sweltering heat of St. Louis. The seven of us have grown together as a community, sharing our hopes and fears. We have been together through some good times (karaoke, Mardi Gras, the Cubs in the playoffs) and bad times (deaths, frustrations, the Cubs in the playoffs). It is hard to imagine that the year, which threatened to be so long in August, is nearly over.
Now it’s time to pack up our things and leave our little group. It will be a sad time as we say goodbye to our housemates and friends. Once again we will be faced with the fact that we have to go somewhere else and the question, “Is where I’m going the right decision?

No matter what we do, or where we go, we will each take with us and hold close our experiences together. Not just the friendships, but all those we served—the single mother on welfare, the pregnant woman with no home, women trying to begin again after release from prison, children living in poverty, young adults searching for an education, the homeless and the addicted. If you would have asked me last August if I would consider “these people” friends, I would have laughed. But all of us know and care for these forgotten people in our society, people thrown away because they are disabled or struggle with addiction or just can’t keep a job. This is one of the most important things that we will take with us, the knowledge that the people in these groups are like you and me, not just statistics or afterthoughts, but people cared for and loved by God.

People often spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on self-help books, psychiatrists, and seminars to find God and spirituality. It is much simpler than that. As St. Vincent said, we find God whenever we help the poor, the lonely, the forgotten. Christ calls to us through the forgotten in society and in them we find God—if we take the time to listen.

I have come away from this year hopeful. It may sound crazy after spending the last ten months working with people in desperate poverty, but I am because I have also met so many people who have dedicated their lives to service of others. I have also had the opportunity to live with six other people who decided to go against the status quo and work for justice in our world. This also gives me tremendous hope because I know that this experience will remain with us wherever our paths lead.

I would like to close with a quotation from a person I have long admired and respected, Robert Kennedy:

Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope until these ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.

Let us pray that these ripples will continue to increase and that all of us may continue to make waves in our society. My hope is that Amy, Brian, Christy, Jennifer, Molly, Stephanie, and I will be these ripples of hope in our nation and world

The First Gateway Vincentian Volunteers Golf Tournament on May 23
was a Great Success!

Thanks to all who played golf, sponsored Tee Boxes and golf carts, made donations, provided food, and cooked the food.
The tournament committee, Fr. David Nations, C.M., and board members John Capellupo and Ted Fiedler, did a fantastic job!
Special thanks to Mary Lou and Bill Schicker and Tricia Thiel for donating all the hamburgers and to Harry Wilson and Gary Armstead for their expert grilling! Thanks, too, to all the GVVs, current and former, and all the board members who provided so much help!

More Thank You’s!

The Gateway Vincentian Volunteers program is grateful to our donors, who help us in so many ways—by making financial contributions as well as donations of time and talent. In this issue, we recognize those who have made monetary contributions since our spring newsletter as well as our tournament donors.

Br. Peter Baxter, C.M.
Br. Dave Berning, C.M.
Lawrence and Amelia Berra
Wally and Nina Bryans
Fr. Lawrence Christensen, C.M.
Charles and Nancy Demarest
Fr. Louis Derbes, C.M.
Fr. Tom Esselman, C.M.
Vernon and Joyce Knobbe
Robert and Emily LaBarge
David and Elaine Leming
Sarah Lenhart
Michael and Karen McAuliffe
Kevin and Linda McDonough
Thomas and Suzan Ochocinski
Fr. Henry Piacitelli, C.M.
Dick and Pat Poehling
Fr. John Richardson, C.M.
Sharon Ryan
Bill and Mary Lou Schicker
Michael and Carolyn Sorenson
Michael and Michelle Todt
Br. Matthew Teel, C.M.
Tony and Sue Tumminia
The Vatterott Foundation
John and Joan Vatterott
Fr. Raymond Van Dorpe, C.M.
Fr. Robert Zimney, C.M.

Golf Tournament Sponsors
and Donors:
Michelle and Stephen Bagwell
Fr. Jim Cormack, C.M.
Tom and Patti Dinkins
Robert and Anne Golterman
Graphic Systems LLC (Bruce Bitter)
Guardian Angel Settlement Association (Fr. Ed Murphy, C.M.)
Don and Pat Hagen
Houghton Family (T. Houghton)
Lewie Hunt (great GVV hats!)
Lou Holtmann
TC Jacoby & Co. (T.C., Jr., and Vicki Jacoby)
Sr. Carol Lehmkuhl, O.P.
Joseph and Joan Lipic Foundation
Masonry and Glass Systems (Fred and Nancy Daues)
Michael and Karen McAuliffe
McMahon Ford (John Schicker)
Donald McNutt
Merlo Plumbing Co., Inc. (Steve Merlo)
Penthe Group (Ted and Penny Fiedler)
Pretech Corp. (Bill Bundschuh)
Frank J. Rebholz, Jr.
St. Catherine Laboure Pastoral Staff (Sue Tumminia)
Schroeder & Associates, CPA’s (Steve Schroeder)
Stumpf Homes (Gene Stumpf, III)
Sunset Ford (Jack K. Heutel, III)
Vee-Jay Cement Contr. Co., Inc.
The Vincentians and the People of St. Catherine Laboure (Fr. Jim Cormack, C.M.)
The Vincentians of the Midwest Province (Fr. Jim Swift, C.M.)
Volpi Italian Foods (Bill Holland)
Winkelmann Drug Co. (Dan Winkelmann)

Gateway Vincentian Volunteers Departing Covenant

Each year, the volunteers begin the year with the writing of their covenant, which describes how they will live in community, in service, and in prayer. At the close of the year, the volunteers create a departing covenant. Each volunteer writes one of the most important things he or she will take into the world. These “I” statements are then written as a “We” statement. Below is the departing covenant of the 2003-2004 Gateway Vincentian Volunteers, composed at their final retreat in May.

As we leave our year of service, we intend that the spirit of the GVV community will live on in us. We pray that by the way we live the Vincentian charism, our community will grow in others. To grow the GVV community, we will:

Remember that we are created through Divine Love and use the gift of our lives to spread this love to others through our words and actions.

Remain uncomfortable as long as injustice exists in the world and guide our actions according to those that create justice; love and be loved; and celebrate life.

Work for justice and peace in solidarity with all people and appreciate the opportunity to see and serve Christ in others, especially the poor and suffering.

Be open to recognizing and embracing Christ in all of God’s people, especially those in whom we find him most difficult to see.

See the face of God through our life choices that put us in direct contact with the poor and marginalized of our society.

Continue to see and be aware of the poor in our lives and not get caught up in our day-to-day busyness. We will continue not only to give but also to receive from the poor.

Accept the challenge to compassionately recognize, respect, and serve the poor, opening our hearts to the infinite love and beauty of Christ and his Church.

Reflections in the Photographs

On a recent Friday afternoon Jen and I were chatting about our days as she looked at the pictures on my kitchen closet. Since August, I have displayed photographs of our GVV adventures as an ongoing collection of our time together. Glancing over them, Jen noted that many of us have changed in appearance since our arrival. To me, the most apparent changes have occurred within each of us, beneath the surface.

We entered the Gateway Vincentian Volunteers program as individuals coming from different places on the map, various family situations, and diverse life experiences. A common desire to serve those in need brought us to this mutual place. For ten months, we committed ourselves to sharing life together.

During our first weeks as a community, I realized that each of us had unique expectations of the program and that our concepts of common desires such as simple living and communal prayer often differed greatly in their expression. Through conversations with individual members, I quickly learned new perspectives beyond my own limited view of what it meant to live simply, live in community, and live in service. My perception of simplicity expanded beyond a focus of limiting monetary expenses to thinking about how I spend my time and energy. I also recognized that I had knowledge and practices that were second nature to me, but surprisingly not to my housemates. I have enjoyed sharing my love of all things vegetable as the community vegetarian and implementing our first compost pile.

From those first few days, it was clear that I was going to learn a great deal about myself through my exposure to the lives of those in my community. If we were willing to open our hearts and minds, listen without judgment, and trust, there was much we could teach one another. These three elements are not easily obtained, but I know that there have been moments with those in my community in which I was part of such an experience. They are the moments that remain vivid in my mind and the ones that have had the greatest influence in determining the person I have become since my arrival in St. Louis.

One of my recurring questions throughout this year has been, “How will I continue to live the values that have become important to me in the GVV program once I leave?” I think it is safe to say that each of us has had experiences with our work, serving people overlooked and marginalized by society, that will remain with us. The Vincentian charism of seeing God in the faces of those we serve is a theme on which we have reflected frequently, and one we have all taken to heart. We can no longer live in ignorance or dismiss the dignity of each person after learning the names, hearing the personal stories, and sharing in the daily struggles and triumphs of the clients at our work sites. Wherever we go from here, each volunteer will carry with him or her a greater personal awareness of social injustices that will impact our future interactions with these issues.

Inevitably, we have all influenced our personal formations as well. We leave taking with us the pieces of each other that we have incorporated into ourselves as individuals. We may not have the safety, comfort, and support of a committed community to help us live our convictions in the place where life takes each of us next, but we will have the needed strength and determination we developed together to maintain them.

We began as seven strangers with separate goals and priorities. The first few pictures on my closet door depict the sometimes nervous, sometimes excited smiles of a group of people just getting to know each other. Across the span of ten months, the initial awkward poses developed into genuine moments of shared laughter and affection. These pictures are a visual illustration of the deeper transformation from within and the creation of our community whose members I now consider my extended family.

To Support the Gateway Vincentian Volunteers Program, the Board has Planned Several Special Events. Mark Your Calendars!

“Fool for Christ,” a one-woman dramatic presentation on the life of Dorothy Day.
March 10, 2005 (matinee) and March 11, 2005 (evening), St. Catherine Laboure Church. More details to come.

Thanks too to all the Vincentians in Perryville, who always welcome the GVV’s with such warm hospitality.
We’re grateful!

Fr. Ed Murphy, C.M., President
Mr. Rich LaPlume,
Vice-President
Fr. Tom Esselman, C.M., Secretary
Mrs. Tricia Thiel, Treasurer
Honorable Mike Burton
Mr. John Capellupo
Mr. Ted Fiedler
Sr. Kieran Kneaves, D.C.
Ms. Martha Lane
Mr. Bill McRoberts
Fr. David Nations, C.M.
Dr. Fred Rottnek
Mrs. Sue Shine
Jim and Geri Ryan, Program Directors

Are you interested in supporting one Gateway Vincentian Volunteer during his or her year of service? Would your parish or organization like to help?

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

Working, Praying, and Living in the Spirit of Vincent DePaul

The First Gateway Vincentian Volunteers Golf Tournament on May 23 was a Great Success!

More Thank You’s!

Gateway Vincentian Volunteers Departing Covenant

Reflections in the Photographs

To Support the Gateway Vincentian Volunteers Program, the Board has Planned Several Special Events. Mark Your Calendars!

The First Gateway Vincentian Volunteers Golf Tournament on May 23
was a Great Success!