President's Message

President's Message after the Annual Mass & Dinner on 10/19/02

I am very happy to see you here. You have provided much in service throughout the year, and over the years. We can all thank each other for the encouragement we give to continue our faith journey, because that is really the most important aspect of the Society.

Tonight I want to speak about being caught. Hopefully Jesus has caught us all. There are many ways to do what he asked us to do. Matthew 25 says that the King says 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.'

The Society does not have a monopoly on these charitable works. Social service organizations, and Christian Service Programs can and do feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the sick and imprisoned.

The special character of our Society is that

• We are a Spiritual Organization
• We meet regularly to encourage each other in our faith journey, to pray, to serve the poor because it is the action we must take to serve Jesus, and to encourage others to serve.
• We become their friends, and servants.
• We show our concern, provide information, and pray with them.

We visit them where they are, because we are their servants.
We do not build social service programs, except as special works. We maintain the main purpose of the Society, Person-to-person contact, promoting their Dignity & Integrity, using Home visits to the suffering, wherever possible, and all done in a spirit of Charity & Justice. Our Council has a higher rate of home visitation than the rest of the country, but our friends, the poor, still need to see us more frequently. When you meet a client, ask if they would like a home visit. For it is on a visit that we understand their “deeper needs” (as our prayer says).

The Council has some special works that were developed to serve the Conferences, so they could better serve the poor. We have six thrift stores, and a food distribution center. We also have a jail program called Friends Outside that was started in the parishes, but later it was felt that the service to your parishioners in jail and their families could be better served at a central location. However, the Council continues its service in support of the Conferences through Spiritual planning and awareness, and educational programs, among others.

So my appeal to you is to continue the primary mission of the Society that is visitation to the needy in their homes, become their friend to provide information, encouragement, and the spirit of Jesus, and visit them often. We have training programs for Home Visitation, and a better understanding of the purpose and mission of the Society. 24 people attended our training program in September 15 for the first time. We have extension programs to increase your membership, so you can have the people to spend the time on visits. Have special works as you see the needs in your area, however be careful not to be caught AND THEY’S THAT WORD CAUGHT… do not be caught in the trap of duplicating a service that a social service organization could perform, if it interferes, or reduces you Conference participation in the Spirituality aspects, fellowship aspects, and home visitation.

And now for the numbers. As you know the numbers are not as important to us as the friends we meet and serve. But here they are:

The Conferences served 98,000 people
The Council Office served 4,900
The stores had 8,000 customers
The Food Bank had 207,000
Friends Outside served over 25,000
ICM served 4,200
Detention Ministry while under SVDP served over 42,000
The Emergency Shelters provided 34,000 bed nights to 600 people
The Summer Camp program had 320 campers
And Adopt a Family Christmas program served 350 families

Thank you.

Message from National Convention - 2002
Message from the Annual Dinner
Comments from President at Council Meeting (9/11/01)