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

JUNE 2007

At the close of their year of service, 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 “We” statements. Below is the departing covenant of the 2006-2007 Gateway Vincentian Volunteers, composed at their final retreat in May.

Departing Covenant

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 be willing to share the journey, for it is not a failed experiment if we learn from one another, but it is a failure when we shut others out.
  • We will seek and speak God’s truth through advocacy and activism on behalf of the underserved outcasts of society.
  • We will serve God in the humblest of acts. We will see the dignity of the human person by responding to the needs of all who share in the suffering of the Crucified Christ.
  • We will live simply, continuing to develop our spirituality by working with the poor and keeping prayer central to our lives.
  • We will collaborate with people affected by unjust or hurtful practices to reach solutions that support the spirit of community. We will resist segregation and instead work to secure opportunities for all, to be with and to know each other in both our brokenness and our belovedness.
  • We will keep our minds and hearts open to those we encounter. In doing this, we will be prepared not only to serve and evangelize, but be evangelized ourselves.

 

WITH GRATEFUL HEARTS WE THANK YOU!

Below are the names of donors who made contributions after our April newsletter mailing. We thank you for your generosity! Without you, this program would not be possible. We also thank those donors who have asked to remain anonymous.

  • Allan and Donna Bambao
  • Larry and Amelia Berra
  • Paul Heidemann
  • Br. Richard Hermann, C.M.
  • Jeff (GVV 01-02) and Rebecca Maciej
  • Rev. John Richardson, C.M.
  • Bill and Mary Lou Schicker
  • Rev. Art Trapp, C.M.
  • Tony and Sue Tumminia
  • Gerald and Joan Wentzel
  • Grace Whalen
  • Rev. Robert Zimney, C.M.


Tributes in honor of:

  • Christopher Bickhaus (GVV 06-07)
    from Thomas and Cheryl Parrett (Aunt & Uncle of Christopher Bickhaus)

Tributes in memory of:

  • Jim Lannigan
    from Ed and Audrey Kadlec
  • Fr. Gus Melito
    from Rev. Jack Melito, C.M.


We apologize if we have inadvertently omitted the names of any donors. If we have made an error, please let us know so that we may correct it in our next newsletter!

And another GREAT BIG THANKS to ….

Br. Dave Berning, C.M., and Dick and Pat Poehling for donating a large portion of the proceeds from their Good Friday Fish Fry to the Gateway Vincentian Volunteers Program! Thank you for your generous support!

We are happy to report that 70% of former Gateway Vincentian Volunteers contributed to our Second Annual Matching Gifts Appeal.
THANK YOU, GVVAs!

GVV Golf Tournament
THANK YOUs!

The Fourth Annual GVV Golf Tournament was a success! We were blessed with beautiful weather and wonderful, generous players. We thank all those who played, worked, and donated time and prizes. We especially thank Fr. Dave Nations, C.M.; Fr. Ed Murphy, C.M.; Fr. Jerry Morales, C.M.; Board Member Sr. Kathy Overmann, D.C.; Board Member John Capellupo; Board Member Tricia Thiel and her parents, Bill and Mary Lou Schicker; GVV Parent Arthur Clyne; Harry Wilson; Louis Enriquez; and GVVs Christopher Bickhaus, Amanda Broussard, Adam Brown, Jennifer Clyne, Heather G’Sell, GVVA Clare Lassiter, and the very helpful staff of Normandie Golf Club.

Below are the names of the special people who sponsored tee boxes, made contributions to offset our costs, and donated great prizes. Thank you all for supporting the Gateway Vincentian Volunteers Program!

  • Anheuser Busch, Inc.
  • Dennis and Susan Cuddihee
  • Arthur and Joyce Clyne
  • DDI Media: Jeff Muhr
  • Diesel Fuel Injection Service, Inc.: John and Kathy Wosman
  • Mr. and Mrs. Tom Dinkins
  • Steve Fowler
  • Margaret Katherine Goetz
  • Daughters of Charity: Jacobson House
  • Guardian Angel Settlement Association
  • John and Audrey Hartnagel
  • Rev. Tom Hinni, C.M., and the Vincentians of Lazarist Residence
  • Ralph and Joan Hoffman
  • Helen Kassing
  • Ken and Marian Lemp
  • Jack Lewis
  • McMahon Ford: Tricia Thiel, Bill and Mary Lou Schicker, John Schicker
  • Realty Executives: Marilyn Abkemeier
  • Royal Bank of America: Patrick Higgins, Vice President
  • Rev. Art Trapp, C.M.
  • St. Louis Rams: Todd Hewitt
  • Joe and Kathy Vitale
  • Robert Vondera

A Reflection on a Year of Service
by Jennifer Clyne

As I reflect on my year of service I think about the people I have met and the places I have visited. The third Vincentian conversion, reciprocity, is most apparent as I think about what this year has meant to me.

Evangelizing the poor as well as being evangelized by the poor has impacted me throughout my volunteer service. I have spent my year working at St. John’s Mercy Neighborhood Ministry, the outreach department of St. John’s Mercy Medical Center. Almost everyday of the week I went somewhere different to volunteer, providing me with the unique experience of getting to be involved with many different outreach projects.

Throughout my life, I have wanted to be a teacher, mentor, coach, health care provider, cook, and advocate. This year has allowed me to do all of those things. The YMCA Literacy Council provided me with the training to become a literacy tutor. I teach my student the basics of reading once a week since the system has failed him, as he is an adult who is at a first-grade reading level. While I teach him from a manual, he teaches me as well. Despite all his challenges he meets me every week, which I find inspiring. Even though we may spend an hour and a half together, sometimes we do not finish an entire lesson. While initially frustrating, I realize I never had to deal with the problems of poverty, family issues, sleepless nights, and mental illness when I was first learning how to read. He has the will to accomplish his goals, and I believe he will persevere.

Another tutoring experience for me this year has been at Marian Middle School. I spent Thursday afternoons with the girls helping them with homework. Once again, these girls taught me important lessons that no textbook could explain. Working until 5:30 p.m. is a long day, but that extra tutoring hour might be the only constructive time they have to complete their homework each night. I admire how they put in the extended time while their peers finish school many hours before they do.

I am especially inspired by the girls who are learning in English while their first language is Spanish. At the beginning of the year, I worked with one student who would have much rather been reading in Spanish. By the end of the year English was no longer an obstacle to learning and she read to me with no problems. What a difference a year makes! Her hugs at the end of the day were a sign that I made a difference in her life. But really, the hugs made all the difference in mine.

Another school I worked with is St. Frances Cabrini Academy. I was the assistant coach for the 5th grade girls’ basketball team who ultimately won their league. After playing basketball for ten years I really enjoyed the transition to coaching. I thought I would just help the girls with their basketball skills but never thought about becoming a role model for them. Devoting the hours was worth it to see them jump up and down and yell in delight after winning the championship game. That win made me feel better than any game I ever won as a player.

Reciprocity empowers both teacher and student to reach their full potential. Gaining these life experiences is something that school could never have provided. I am grateful to all the people who have allowed me to enter their lives this year, and I will not forget the lessons they have taught me.


Neighbors Anywhere You Look
by Heather G’Sell

Sometimes I wonder if the ideas I tend to embrace are those I can express well at my age. However possible it is, the challenge is motivating enough for me to give it a try. The more I have the chance to experience, or live out, my beliefs, the better I can tell somebody about them. Perhaps that is why a year with an AmeriCorps program appealed to me so much—a chance to have many experiences that all of us must pay attention to and learn from. We Gateway Vincentian Volunteers are very lucky to have had that chance.

Our work sites set the stage for community service done locally and performed faithfully; our community offers nutrition for our bodies and spirits; and the city itself provides examples to all of us of universal concerns and joys. I consider the term universal a bit far-reaching, but hopefully honest, since service appears to be the act anyone chooses while encountering fellow creation lovingly. I think the typical image of a volunteer is virtuous, but only due to the honor that a volunteer has of being present with the neighbor, especially when that presence leads to sharing in a neighbor’s moments of joy or sorrow.

I was assigned to sites that allowed me direct interactions with others on an ongoing basis. Each day each individual at work was faced with situations that needed to be addressed with urgency. The people I work with vary quite a bit. I worked at the Family Center in East St. Louis, where generations of residents walk through the door; I also worked at St. Louis ARC, where adults with developmental disabilities attend. Both places create a natural setting for a diverse group of people to participate in solving problems and planning for the future. It is in active participation with people at both of these agencies that I have learned from those who have much to offer, whatever their bank account, through their own ways of communicating and caring.

Martin Luther King, among others, embraced and expressed ideas that set beliefs into action. Though I may not yet be mature enough to say it like it is, his words are what I rely on now to tell of any of you reading this article what I believe we are called to be: As long as there is poverty in the world I can never be rich, even if I have a billion dollars. . . I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be. This is the way our world is made. No individual or nation can stand out boasting of being independent. We are interdependent.

There are six billion people living as we live. All these lives have an everlasting relation with us while sharing the earth in the time we have. Now let’s take on each day learning, and praying, and working for the good of those neighbors, global neighbors, who are seen and known in those we serve.

 

 

We must strive to soften our hearts and make them sensitive to the sufferings and worries of the neighbor, and beg God to grant us a genuine spirit of mercy which is the spirit characteristic of God.
St. Vincent DePaul

 

 

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Gateway Vincentian Volunteers
2912 Arsenal Street
St. Louis, MO 63118
(314) - 771-1474
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email: gatevol@aol.com