Are you searching for a way to grow in faith while helping others? Then tune into the new television series, “Our Faith in Action: Today’s Society of St. Vincent de Paul,” which premieres Sunday, March 4 on EWTN. (Click here to find the EWTN channel in your zip code. Click here to view the program schedule.)
“The TV show is great for highlighting the Society’s name, brand and some of our special works,” said SVdP National President Ralph Middlecamp. “The Society of St. Vincent de Paul puts an emphasis on growing in faith through doing good works. We hope that television viewers who see ‘Our Faith in Action’ will feel we have answered their need for how they can put their own faith into action and will be moved to join the Society in their communities.”
The 10-episode series airs 6:30 a.m. ET and 4:30 p.m. ET Sundays, beginning March 4, and 6 p.m. ET, Saturdays, beginning March 10.
The series will follow SVdP members on their spiritual growth journey through service to people and families in need. From the Society’s traditional home visits, food pantries and assistance with rent and utilities, to innovative health care, financial and mentoring programs, the Society’s members, known as Vincentians, see the face of Christ in the people they encounter. In this series, Vincentians volunteer across the country to bring effective, personalized help to people in poverty and share their stories of Christ’s love along the way.
“EWTN is pleased to premiere this special series, which follows the impact of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul on a group of its volunteers,” said EWTN Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Michael P. Warsaw. “By providing a global audience for this program, I hope that EWTN’s viewers will find themselves spiritually uplifted and challenged to work with those in need in even more fruitful ways.”
Two unique aspects of the Society are the spiritual growth of members and visits with people in poverty in their homes. The Society is composed of women and men who seek to grow closer to God through works of charity. In this way, the Society differs from other charitable agencies whose principal objective is not the spiritual advancement of their members, but the doing of good for someone else. SVdP helps members grow spiritually. Meeting with people in their homes, as friends, shows the importance of treating people in need with dignity and respect, a hallmark of the Society.
One of the largest charitable organizations in the world, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul (www.svdpusa.org) is an international, nonprofit, Catholic lay organization of about 800,000 men and women who voluntarily join together to grow spiritually by offering person-to-person service to the needy and suffering in 150 countries on five continents. With the U.S. headquarters in St. Louis, Mo., membership in the United States totals nearly 100,000 in 4,400 communities.
SVdP offers a variety of programs and services, including home visits, housing assistance, disaster relief, education and mentoring, food pantries, dining halls, clothing, assistance with transportation, prescription medication, and rent and utility costs. The Society also works to provide care for the sick, the incarcerated and the elderly. Over the past year, SVdP provided over $1.2 billion in tangible and in-kind services to those in need, made more than 1.7 million personal visits (homes, hospitals, prisons and eldercare facilities) and helped more than 20.9 million people regardless of race, religion or national origin.
Our conference provides a Ministry Office to visit with people seeking services; operates a Food Bank (Tuesday and Thursday afternoons); hosts the Warming Place during the coldest winter months; works with other groups for special programs (i.e., Back to School, Christmas Food Boxes).
Please consider getting involved with St. Peter’s Conference!
