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Diocese of Paisley Autumn Festival Newsletter October 2018

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Diocese of Paisley Autumn Festival Newsletter October 2018 Diocese of Paisley Autumn Festival Newsletter October 2018 Welcome & Introduction though when the karaoke starts as Louis runs a tight ship ensuring all our singers get a turn. Our current members list runs to 44 women and 67 I am particularly pleased to welcome my Vincentian men, many of whom attend the Club with their carers. brothers and sisters to this year's Festival meeting Attendance goes up and down but our party nights, and to present the Autumn Festival newsletter, which especially Christmas, always draw a large crowd. contains parish, diocesan, national and international information. If you know of anyone who cares for a loved one with additional support needs, please tell them about the The following statistics contained in diocesan annual Club or point them to our Facebook page "The Paisley audits (see Annual Report) again demonstrate the Ozanam Club" (the page is still a work in progress). level and wide range of charitable works delivered Caroline O'Neill by conference members, volunteers and friends of President the SSVP; however, the statistics do not include our Special Work Conferences and other SSVP projects SSVP - Special Works Conference (SWC) throughout the Diocese referred to in this edition of St. Vincent's Hospice the Festival Newsletter. The Diocesan Council agreed to support a proposal Brother Danny Collins recommended by the SWC to help fund direct care Diocesan President to patients and loved ones through, for example, the provision of "Speciality Bereavement Care" to a Home Visits......................................... 6,664 children and young people's service. This decision Hospital Visits..................................... 1, 129 would relax some restrictions on the donations so Families Assisted Financially ................ 389 kindly and generously given by SSVP conferences year on year. Families Assisted Furniture etc ............... 77 People Transported to Mass................ 4, 122 Our Lady of the Wayside Special Works Outings I Socials...................................... 69 Conference "Paisley Ozanam Centre" Rosalie Rendu Special Works We are delighted to welcome our new intake of Caritas Conference ... Paisley Ozanam Club students from both Queen Margaret Academy, Ayr and St Luke's High School, Barrhead along with "ALL YOUNG AT HEART" their teachers. All enjoy working in the kitchen and are a tremendous help and inspiration to us all. We have 30 school age volunteers (S5/S6) from Trinity Over the past six months, we have served up 1,322 High School, Renfrew and St. Andrew's Academy, meals, provided 40 grocery parcels each month and Paisley and we are delighted to see them every week. supplied clothing/shoes to both men and women We have four other "youngsters" who are all in their at various clothing nights. New clients appearing at twenties and have been volunteering since high school; Paisley Ozanam Centre are assisted by their parish they are old hands and could run the Club themselves. conferences. We have supplied bedding/towels/ curtains via the Furniture Project to many persons who Our youngest volunteer is Cara are experiencing hardship. We thank conferences, (now 13, volunteering since she individuals, our 84 volunteers and local businesses for was eight or 9), not that she had helping us in our work with their donations of groceries, much choice, we could not leave clothing, bedding, meals and money. her home alone. For Unity: As in previous years, Holy Trinity& St Us "oldies" account for another Barnabaswill be passing on their Harvest Festival Gifts 22 Red Shirts, the oldest being during October to SSVP for distribution to our users': Louis (82+) who together with his brother Albert run our tuck-shop. Sister Jacqueline Ritchie Halloween Party 2017 Albert has to fend for himself President Letter of Thanks Hannah spoke at this year's annual meeting about her experience (see photograph in newsletter) We will Brothers and Sisters. hear more from Hannah in the next edition of the Ozanam News. The Holy Spirit Special Works Conference would like to say a BIG THANKS to the response from DC, Groups For Youth and Conferences to the recent appeal for continued support. We pray that young people willgrow in faith and, like The response and timing of the responses was Frederic and his friends, become active members of the providential as we had a significant repair bill for one of Church and the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. Lord graciously hear us. the minibuses. We hope that conferences can continue to provide Fond farewell steady support to the HSSWC. We also send our thanks and best wishes to Clare On a practical level, our treasurer asks that when Carr-Cullen who was the SSVP Youth Officer for the conferences are sending any cheques that they make past nine years. Clare has moved on to a new job and them payable to HOLY SPIRIT SPECIAL WORKS we wish her every success. CONFERENCE OF SVDP. FURNITURE PROJECT... Please keep in your prayers the work of HSSWC and Know the History the very special care provided to recovering addicts by the Jericho rehabilitation houses. In 2002, two members of St. Mirin's Conference Brother Jim Farren travelled to Inverness to collect a large box trailer donated by an Inverness Conference. With this Festival Focus ... trailer the Furniture Project began and has operated continuously ever since. Young Vincentians & Volunteers The aim of the project is to provide needy people identified by their local Conference with good quality, There are six Mini Vinnie groups safe, white goods and other basic furniture. within the diocese - Several St. Vincent de Paul youth groups The project operates from a large lock-up to which we in various schools - Caritas gladly pay for the use of,"this rent helps finance the Lunch Club run by the parish. To meet these real costs Students within the SSVP Special and other running expenses we depend on donations Works Projects - Young people from the various Conferences in the diocese. on the Pope Francis Award Scheme involved in community The project Coordinator uses a phone dedicated to the and church duties supervised by project and he organises the work for each week. We SSVP members and many other Former Caritas have a small group of volunteers who can be called on student, Pope Francis to help collect and deliver the furniture. This group are young people actively engaged in Award Scheme group, and young now all Pensioners so we try to operate on the basis works of charity. volunteers along with SSVP members St. that we will get the furniture to the client and they or the John's Conference, There is absolutely no doubt that Barrhead. local Conference will get the furniture into the house. their contribution is essential and very much appreciated. We try to limit the work to one day a week usually Wednesday and this can take from four to six hours on that day. Sometimes we are called on to work two Second International or three days a week. Typically, we make two or three Youth Meeting­ collections to each delivery. Salamanca We use electrical test equipment on all electrical goods and we now have the necessary plumbing to check Our sincere thanks to Hannah that washing machines are working properly. O' Neill from the Diocese of Paisley who represented the SSVP Scotland at the above event, Quite frequently, we will be offered all the white goods Obituaries Diocese of Paisley in a house and all the furniture we can use on the May to September 2018 condition that we leave the house empty. From this we can get what we can use plus some items for the RAMH mental health charity LIFE SKILLS, plus some Maureen Lunny Active Member Our Lady of the Paisley Wayside items for St. Mirin's Car Boot Sale. Richard Cairney Former Member St. Cadoc's Newton Mearns George Carron Active Member St. Cairn's Kilmacolm St Colm's Kilmacolm Pat McGrath Former Member St. John's Barrhead Jim Deehan Former treasurer St. Mary's Greenock Percival Bert Preece Former Member St. John's Barrhead St Cairn's Kilmacolm is the newest conference in the Kenny Eason President St. Peter's Paisley diocese. Formed in 2016 they have 10 members, 3 men and MAY THEY REST IN PEACE 7 women. The majority are working parents, making Inverclyde Group St Cairn's not only the newest but also probably the - youngest conference in the diocese! Christmas Dinner for the Homeless The village of Kilmacolm may not be obviously linked Arrangements are being finalised to providethis year's with financial poverty, but as Vincentians, we recognise Christmas Dinner for around 60 homeless people. that suffering, misfortune and loneliness are found in Professional caterers will provide the meals for this every community. annual event, which has been running for over In addition to visiting those in need, the main work Twenty Years. of the conference has been in providing practical Feeding the Poor help to parishioners, such as transport to hospital appointments. The conference has also taken responsibility for arranging special celebrations in the In addition to the distribution of food by Our Lady of parish, such as the annual mass for the sick and a the Wayside SWC (Ozanam Centre), food Parcels are parish pilgrimage to Lindisfarne. available on a weekly basis at a number of Churches. Parish conferences also provide food parcels as and Becoming part of the Inverclyde Group has given when required and have done so over many years as St Cairn's the opportunity to work with other local part of the regular relief support. Vincentians at the Inverclyde Homeless Forum and the Christmas Dinner for the Homeless and Lonely. Welcome to our Invited Guests Mary-Jo Coffield President ST VINCENT'S DEAF CONFERENCE.
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