The Society of St. Vincent de Paul Old Mission Santa Ines Conference celebrated 20 years of service to the parish and Santa Ynez Valley community with a celebratory Mass at 9:30 am on March 8th. A reception followed the Mass.
The Society of St. Vincent de Paul is an International organization of lay Catholics founded in 1833 by Blessed Frédéric Ozanam under the patronage of St. Vincent de Paul, patron of charitable societies. Member volunteers belong to parish conferences and are known as Vincentians. Our Old Mission Santa Inés Conference is part of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Council of Los Angeles. This year, we celebrated 15 Years of Service to the parish and Santa Ynez Valley community.
As Vincentians, our primary objective is to become closer to God by serving as volunteers to help the needy of any religious background in our community with spirit of loving and compassionate interest. Through our Hotline, calls are received to help those in need of emotional and/or financial support for basic necessities such as food, clothing, furniture, appliances or housing and/or connecting the disadvantaged to other helpful resources. Vincentians act out our faith by demonstrating the truth of the central message of Christianity to "love one another."
In addition to our hotline support, we plan a Christmas food basket and gift program for needy families in the Santa Ynez Valley and coordinate with parishioners and other churches as well as valley merchants in the Santa Ynez Valley to secure donations for the baskets. Families can register in October and the baskets and gifts are distributed shortly before Christmas to families in need.
"One cannot avoid the social issues; precisely because they are formidable God does not want us to turn them aside. We must lay a bold hand on the core of poverty. " - Blessed Frederic Ozanam
Three times a year, the Old Mission Santa Inés Conference holds "Bundle Sunday" events to collect usable clothing, shoes, appliances, household items, books, jewelry, etc. for distribution to the needy in our community and to the Los Angeles Council Thrift Store that has been in continuous operation since 1917 and serves over 150,000 customers annually. The council shares part of the proceeds of Thrift Store sales with conferences that provide donations. Bundle Sunday event dates are advertised in advance on this webpage, in the parish bulletin, and by weekend announcements prior to the event.
Conference Vincentians also provide volunteer service and camperships (scholarships) for local children attending Circle V Ranch Camp. At the beginning of summer, Vincentians work with the parish and other churches in the community to collect items such as usable children's clothing (especially t-shirts and jackets), sleeping bags, toiletries, beach towels and anything else on the camp's wish list.
Parishioners help support the on-going work of the Old Mission Santa Inés Conference with monetary donations. The second collection on the fifth Sunday of any month is designated for St. Vincent de Paul. Funds collected help support conference work in our parish and community.
Membership in the Old Mission Santa Inés conference is open to all who wish to live their faith by loving and serving their neighbor in a spirit of justice and charity through
- Person to person contact
- Grow in spirituality
- Live and work in a spirit of friendship
- Serve those in need in the community
- “No Act of Charity is Foreign to the Society”
The Old Mission Santa Inés Conference meets twice a month to pray, grow in our faith, fellowship and plan and review our community involvement. Meetings are on the 2nd Thursday, 6:00 pm in the small conference room and the 4th Tuesday at 8:45 am in Classroom B. If you are interested in joining our team, please contact one of our leaders or attend one of our meetings.
