5-29-25 Weekly Questions & Answers

5-29-25 Weekly Questions & Answers https://members.ssvpusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Weekly-Q-and-A-blog-graphic-1.png 1200 628 Kristen Blacksher Kristen Blacksher https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/16c1eb118a5f08f261cdf906fbd7b93e237f7ffef39ff4604f38f1ef60d23252?s=96&d=mm&r=g May 29, 2025 May 29, 2025

May 29, 2025

Q: I’m an active member of our St. Vincent de Paul Conference and working on recruiting new members. I read somewhere in SVdP documents that it’s best to keep active members to about 10 and associate members to about 20. We have eight active members but no associate members. Can you tell me where that document is located?

A: There is no known document at the National Council suggesting the ideal number of active or associate members. The absolute minimum number of members needed in a Conference is four, which are the officers; or five members if a spiritual advisor is appointed. The minimum six or seven members are suggested to really have an effective Conference. It depends on the number of activities and what the Conference is accomplishing in terms of the needs of the community that is being served.

Q: Is it allowed, or permitted, for an associate member to “go on a case with an active Vincentian?” Can an associate member take an active part in deciding what should or should not take place with a case once a case has been visited by an active Vincentian and this associate member?

A: If an associate member is allowed to go on home visits it means that the Conference has confidence in their judgment. It would be wrong to take an associate member along on a home visit just to fulfill the two Vincentians rule. Only active members can decide how to assist a neighbor visited.

29 de Mayo

P: Soy un miembro activo de nuestra Conferencia de San Vicente de Paúl y estoy trabajando en el reclutamiento de nuevos miembros. Leí en algún lugar de los documentos de SVdP que es mejor mantener los miembros activos en unos 10 y los miembros asociados en unos 20. Tenemos ocho miembros activos, pero no tenemos miembros asociados. ¿Puede decirme dónde se encuentra ese documento?

R: No se conoce ningún documento en el Consejo Nacional que sugiera el número ideal de miembros activos o asociados. El número mínimo absoluto de miembros necesarios en una Conferencia es de cuatro, que son los miembros de la Mesa Directiva; o cinco miembros si se nombra un Consejero Espiritual. Se sugiere un mínimo de seis o siete miembros para tener una Conferencia realmente efectiva. Depende del número de actividades y de lo que la Conferencia esté logrando en términos de las necesidades de la comunidad a la que se sirve.

P: ¿Está permitido, o está autorizado, que un miembro asociado “vaya a un caso” con un Vicentino activo”? ¿Puede un miembro asociado tomar parte activa en la decisión de lo que debe o no debe suceder en un caso una vez que ha sido visitado por un Vicentino activo y este miembro asociado?

R: Si a un miembro asociado se le permite ir a una Visita Domiciliaria, significa que la Conferencia tiene confianza en su juicio. Sería un error llevar a un miembro asociado a una Visita Domiciliaria solo para cumplir con la Regla de los dos Vicentinos. Solo los miembros activos pueden decidir cómo servir a un prójimo visitado.

3 Comments

Jeanne Bauhs May 29, 2025 at 6:39 pm

Please define “active member”. We have people who don’t come to meetings very often, are not doing home visits, but will vote when we are voting on assistance for neighbors.

I thought an active member
1. Is a Catholic in good standing with the church who attends mass at least weekly when able to
2. Attends most conference meetings
3. Does home visits

Also, please define “associate member”
Do they attend conference meetings?
Are they allowed to vote on issues?

- Pam Hudson May 30, 2025 at 7:34 am
  
  There is a lot of confusion out there, but an Associate Member “may or may not attend Conference meetings or engage in the works of the Society on a regular basis.” (Rule, Part III, St. 3) The works of the Society includes Home Visits. All member (associate or active) must comply with safeguarding requirements, of course, but visiting the poor includes discerning the best way to help.
  
  The original Q&A answer, because it responded only to a very specific question, was incomplete. It really depends on how the conference decides what assistance to offer. Many Conferences leave the decision, partially or completely, up to the Home Visit team alone, which can include an Associate Member. Some Conferences discuss each case to arrive at a consensus, and Associate Members’ voices should be included in this discernment process. Only in the very rare cases where a Conference might actually vote on the assistance to be offered would the Associate Member be unable to participate. However, even in that case, the Manual reminds us to keep in mind that “Members who personally encounter the needy individual or family are assumed to have a special insight into the best way to give help.” (Manual, p. 24) The recommendation of the Home Visit team, in other words, is assumed by default to be correct, and is departed from only rarely when the final decision is made by the full Conference.
  
  Hope this helps…
  
Stephen Heil June 10, 2025 at 4:25 pm

Yes, Pam, it helped Very, Very Much. Thank You. Steve Heil . Goldsboro, NC.