SVP Celebrates the 30th Anniversary of Dorothy Day’s Death

A Celebration of the Life of Dorothy Day on the 30th Anniversary of her death

The OU SVP is promoting an evening of celebration of the life of the great US Catholic campaigner for social justice and for peace, Dorothy Day this Saturday, the 27th November, beginning at 7:00pm.

The CAFOD group will be providing one of their outstanding soups to begin with. Susan Clarkson from the Oxford Catholic Worker (the organisation founded by Dorothy Day in the US) will be speaking and there will be a film about the life of this inspirational figure in the 20th Century Catholic movement for social justice.

OU St Vincent de Paul Society

Greetings prospective Vincentians!
The St Vincent de Paul Society (SVP) is an international Christian voluntary organisation dedicated to tackling poverty and disadvantage by providing direct practical assistance to anyone in need. Our own group or ‘Conference’ at the Catholic Chaplaincy is part of SVP 1833, a branch of SVP which aims to encourage young adults aged 18-30+ to volunteer in a Christian context in their local community.
Listed below you will find a small sample of volunteering opportunities in Oxford. Please do not feel limited to these options alone – any person-to-person response to any form of need can be SVP work. If you decide to pursue any of these opportunities, please get in touch with me first either by email (iarla.manny@balliol.ox.ac.uk) or by phone call/text (07794 509292) so that I can keep track of who’s doing what and better help you with your service.
NB: All members of SVP must have a specific SVP CRB (Criminal Records Bureau) check. To obtain one please get in touch with the Chaplaincy Safeguarding Officer, Sr Silvana Dallanegra (silvanarscj@hotmail.co.uk). Please don’t be put off by this (CRBs are free for all volunteers) and do get involved.
As well as volunteering in the local community, SVP members meet on Thursday evenings in the Chaplaincy before Pasta Plus to share their experiences, to reflect on their work, with the help of our spiritual adviser (also Sr Silvana), to socialise, and to plan group activities, such as formal dinners, weekend trips, retreats, and pilgrimages.

Pray for us!
Even if you are unable to volunteer, we would be very grateful if you could remember the work of the Society in your prayers.

Click on the link to find out about volunteering oppportunities: SVP Info Sheet

SVP (Social Outreach)

SVP (Social Outreach) Contact iarla.manny@balliol.ox.ac.uk
Co-ordinating opportunities for service in the local community: soup-run, visiting house-bound, learning support at St. Gregory’s. Meetings at 6:00pm on Thursdays.

Service Opportunities through SVP

From Stephani, SVP President.

OU SVP Website: http://groupspaces.com/SVP-Oxford/

contact stephani.bernard@sjc.ox.ac.uk, philippa.mullins@stcatz.ox.ac.uk

Visiting the elderly and housebound

This might involve having a nice chat and a cup of tea with people who are unable to leave the house much anymore. You can pretty much choose the time that suits you, and people usually commit an hour a week. Most of the locations are accessible by walking or biking.

Tutoring at St Gregory’s School

This is a new and exciting project. St Gregory’s is the local Catholic Comprehensive School with a student population of approx. 1000. It draws the majority of its students from a variety of neighbourhoods around East Oxford. After a challenging first few years, it is now going from strength to strength under a dynamic new headteacher. The idea is for SVP members to mentor children, in groups of 1-5, who have academic ability but are not really applying themselves. If possible we would also like to mentor any students who are capable of applying to Oxbridge seeing as we have expertise in that area.

You would tutor/mentor children in whichever subjects you feel comfortable with for however much time you can afford.  Contact Catherine Enticknap at performingarts2000@hotmail.com

Hospital Visiting

This is at the JR hospital, and is organised by the hospital deacon. It involves taking communion to the sick and talking with them. They ask you to commit to doing this regularly for at least a year as there is a training involved regarding how to get around the hospital and how to approach the patients. If this is the project you want to go for let me (Stephani) know and I will arrange for you meet the deacon.

Asylum Welcome

I’m afraid I don’t actually know that much about this project, but their website (www.asylum-welcome.supanet.com ) has a lot of information. So the best thing to do here would be to give them a call on 01865 722082.

The Gatehouse

This renowned establishment provides food, drink, clothes, shelter and company to its numerous guests. A number of our members find working there a very flexible and worthwhile opportunity. The gatehouse is open from 5-7pm on Tuesday-Saturday, and 3-5pm on Sunday.

The Christ Church Home Learning Scheme

This ongoing scheme allows students to help children in need of extra tuition in the local area. Once again there is a great deal of flexibility in the tuition, which takes place at the pupil’s home, in order to suit both the student and the family.

Morning Soup-run

A group of two or three members go out in the morning (around 7am) with a couple of Thermos flasks, some bread, peanut butter, jam and chocolate biscuits. We try to provide company and talk to those on the streets, who are sometimes very lonely, realising our limited capability to provide answers to their many problems.

SVP Faith in Action

The chaplaincy SVP group (Society of St. Vincent de Paul) is part of a nationwide network of parish groups committed to Christianity in action and the service of those most in need. Oxford is much bigger than the University and there are many opportunities for such service.  Projects currently undertaken include visiting the  hospital- and house-bound, an early morning hot-drink run for the homeless and work with the Christ Church Home-Learning Scheme. There are plans afoot to develop links with Asylum Welcome.

Members of the group commit to taking on whatever task they can manage in the hectic schedule of the Oxford term and have the opportunity for support and reflection from the Chaplains.

President Stephanie Bernard (stephani.bernard@sjc.ox.ac.uk)