Members Learning Session

Special thanks to all those who attended the Members Session on Saturday, August 13, 2016, at the Church on the Mall, Plymouth Meeting.

Dom Bucciarelli provided an overview of the Society and how it has impact not only locally but world-wide. He explained how the organization has the persons in need at the head, with all other levels of the Society cascading beneath. We looked at the structure of the Philadelphia Council and Board, how it is comprised, and where we are heading via our three-year Strategic Plan. We also spent time examining many key elements of the Annual Report – why it is done – who it is for – and how to complete certain sections of it. Dom also introduced Lydia Rose, who works out of our Central Council Office in East Norriton (Montgomery County).

Dom also explained some resources that are available at no cost to the Conferences, namely, Payless Shoes gift cards, Village Thrift gift cards, the Conference Support fund, and the funeral palls purchased from the Magnalite company and available for a Member’s funeral.

We also heard from Father Jack Kane about an opportunity for Pastors and Spiritual Advisors to get together at St Vincent’s Seminary in Germantown on Saturday, September 17, to learn more about Vincentian Spirituality and to share experiences about spirituality in our Conferences.

Colleen Blair from GreenDrop gave an interesting overview of how GreenDrop is helping SVDP-Philadelphia and how we can do more to make that experience even more robust.

Maria Adamas from PECO provided insight into how PECO continues its efforts to help customers struggling to meet their electric bills and what other programs are available for utility assistance.

We briefly reviewed two hand-outs prepared by our legal team: Morgen Cheshire explained the best approach to take when a lawyer is needed and a list of law firms willing to provide some services pro bono for persons in need; Dave Smith provided the second handout geared toward bankruptcy and the non-profit organization who can help persons in Philadelphia City with taking the best approach to that process.

We concluded the day’s activities hearing from Paul Marin about formation and the opportunities to get involved and from Ron Mandel about how to revitalize or rejuvenate our existing Conferences.

Of course, the day began with prayer, the Prayer for Renewal, followed by the Vision of Frederic at mid-morning and ended with Vincentians See the Face of Christ. All three prayers are available in the packet Vincentian Celebrations and Rituals, issued to all persons who have undergone Spiritual Advisor training.

The meeting closed promptly at 12:30 pm.

– Larry Huber