Ministry: To assist all our neighbors in the most basic needs of food, clothing and shelter.
Current Ministry Leader: Larry Stahl
St. Vincent de Paul Society (SVDP) has three functions: to deepen our own personal relationship with Christ, to bring Christ to others, and to serve Christ.
The mission of St. Anthony's chapter of SVDP is to help persons in need who live in and around The Woodlands. On the last Sunday of each month, our Parish has a "black bag" collection to benefit SVDP. This money is distributed to our clients to pay rent, utility bills, or meet other emergency needs.
Our efforts are coordinated with other churches because often SVDP clients will need help from several organizations in order to acquire the funds needed to resolve their particular issue.
SVDP meets the first Sunday of each month at 10:15 am in the Parish Life Building. Our meetings begin with prayer and a reflection on that Sunday's gospel. The meetings also end with prayer.
Our own spiritual growth is critical to our work. For this reason, we try to have several Days of Reflection during the year. We also pray when we join together to perform a Society task.
We have divided our members into weekly teams. One or more team members will manage the incoming phone calls. The volunteer will periodically monitor our office phone by visiting the Parish Office or calling in to retrieve messages. Once contact is made with a client, we can help over the phone or through a visit. If the request is from a new client, it is a Vincentian practice to go out in pairs and visit them. While some paperwork is completed during the visit, the primary focus of a visit is intended as a gesture of friendship and love on our part. Visits usually last about 30 minutes.
Not all SVDP members work on the teams. Some attend only the meetings; some have assisted only with the Archdiocese's SVDP Society. We sometimes can take on additional projects suggested by other members ~ for example, we aid a prison ministry in purchasing bibles.
Please considering joining us. When you give to those who are the least in the eyes of society, you give to Christ.