When I stepped into the role of general manager of St. Vincent de Paul five and a half years ago, I had no plans, other than to be an interim leader until the right person to lead the organization was found. I talked about focus on mission, but I wasn’t clear what our mission exactly was.
A grant funder asked me what separated St. Vincent de Paul from other social service organizations, and I didn’t have an answer. Our local mission statement is very general: “We provide spiritual and material charity and work for justice for all people.” That describes a multitude of nonprofit organizations. I would find mission in the national St. Vincent de Paul mission statement:
“A network of friends, inspired by Gospel values, growing in holiness and building a more just world through personal relationships with and service to people in need.”
Over the course of the next few years, I would find the importance of those values in ways that clarified how I could live out the mission of the organization I was asked to lead.
I benefited from being one of many involved in the work of St. Vinnie’s. Between dedicated workers who go above and beyond to a committed board and cadre of volunteers who support each other. It is said that to go fast, you can do it alone, but to go far you can do it together. So many people struggle after an initial success because they run out of energy and support. It is a community that lifts up friends struggling and reminds us all of the support we can provide each other.
Serving those in need can be done for many reasons. We can ease our guilt. We can try to make a difference. We can feel that we are providing a needed service for those whom we feel cannot help themselves. We can also strive to grow as individuals, learning about ourselves, our imperfections and our strengths. I was tired of hearing the slogan we are lifelong learners when I started this job, but I have constantly learned and grown through the five years of work here. It is work, but it is also transforming work.
I think of my faith in terms of fruits of the spirit. Do my actions sow patience, love, kindness, gentleness, peace, joy, faithfulness, and self-control? As people professing faith, how often do our actions and our words produce these fruits — or do we produce the opposite? Growing in holiness is something that happens serving in faith. But that service reveals more than we expect.
Service changes when there is a relationship involved. Some of the most painful and deep conversations I have had were with parents who were struggling to help a child lost to addiction or mental health. We can use service as a way to feel better about ourselves, but once we enter into relationships that service changes.
Service within relationships is not a recipe for our version of success, but an opportunity to find the needs and support an individual who needs to feel valued in life. Too many times I’ve heard homeless people feel like they are always invisible or treated as undesirable. People respond to being treated with dignity and respect.
I’ve heard someone say that despite the problems of a homeless campground, it was the one place they could feel comfortable and accepted without worrying about being treated as less than human. If people are going to change it is because of both the challenge to change and the respect with which they feel they are treated.
Some of my most rewarding conversations have been with those I’ve served. Not all of them have been successful. Sometimes it is just having a woman who used to be scorned — and use to spit at others — come to the door and ask for a cup of coffee. Not all acts of service change the world, but also, we don’t always realize how our actions change others.
We all live our lives according to principles of faith. We all place values at the forefront in our lives. Sometimes our actions speak those values more effectively than any words.
Dave Ringle is special projects coordinator at Society of St. Vincent de Paul.
