Our Lady of Grace Conference

Meeting of 06/10/2016

In September our Vincentians organised a mass and party for the elderly, sick and housebound and undertook a total of 22 visits to people in the local community and care homes, comforting the bereaved, providing support and companionship to the housebound and visiting the sick, helped with shopping and paid bills.  Members also attended the district council meeting.

Opening prayers for our October meeting included a reading of the CAFOD harvest prayer.   Members then discussed visits, the mass for the elderly, sick and housebound and the district council meeting.

The meeting concluded by praying for three people who had died recently.

God of mercy, look kindly on Your servants.

As they served You faithfully throughout their lives,

may You give them the fullness of Your peace and joy.

We give thanks for their lives, now caught up in Your eternal love.

We make our prayer through Jesus Christ,

Who is our risen Lord now and forever.

AMEN.

New members are always welcome and can become involved in many different ways.  For further information, contact Our Lady of Grace presbytery on 0161-773 2324.

Our Lady of Grace Conference

Meeting of 08/09/2016

Our Vincentians did not hold any meetings in August, but during the short summer break members undertook a total of 19 visits to people in the local community and care homes and they provided support housebound and companionship to the and visiting the sick.  They also took people to church, supported the bereaved, provided transport, helped with shopping and paid bills, distributed grants and delivered clothes that had been kindly donated for those in need.

Opening prayers included a reading “God loves a cheerful visitor” taken from the SVP Spiritual Reading manual.   A new member was then welcomed and members discussed visits made, grants issued, donations and correspondence received.  Arrangements were also made to attend the district council meeting later in the September before the meeting ended with prayers.

New members are always welcome and anyone interested should contact Our Lady of Grace presbytery on 0161-773 2324.

We now adapt one of the Minnie Vinnie prayers as we pray:

Dear Jesus, 

As Christians we are asked to listen to what you told us and to try to understand & show this in the way we live and how we treat others. Help us to be the best we can be.

Help us to show others, by the way we see, think & do that we are following your example, so that they too will want to join us doing your work.

Inspire us and all who join us to follow the example of Blessed Frédéric Ozanam who was motivated to alleviate poverty and injustice and endowed with untiring generosity in the service of all who were suffering.                                                                                                                     Amen.

Mass Party for the Elderly, Sick and Housebound

On Saturday 17 September at 11.30 am the SVP have arranged a Mass with Anointing (the Sacrament of the Sick) in church for the elderly, sick and housebound. The SVP has also arranged a reception and buffet in the parish hall after the Mass.

 If you need a lift or would like to help either by giving lifts to those in need or in some other way please ring 0161 773 2690.

Our Lady of Grace Conference

Meeting of Thursday 21/07/2016 

Since our last meeting our Vincentians have undertaken a total of 12 visits to people in the local community, providing support and companionship to the housebound.  Members have also taken people to appointments, provided transport, helped with shopping and paid bills.

Opening prayers included a reading taken from the SVP Spiritual Reading manual “Welcome at any time”.   The members then discussed visits made, holiday grants and the minutes and other documents received from Manchester Central Council.

The meeting ended with prayers for peace in our time after the tragic events in Nice, Turkey, Syria and other parts of the world.

Adapting the prayer for world peace by Sister Joan Chittister of the Benedictine Sisters of Erie we pray:

Great God, give us the strength it takes to listen rather than to judge,

to trust rather than to fear, to try again and again to make peace even when peace eludes us.

We ask, O God, for the grace to be our best selves.
We ask for the vision to be builders of the human community rather than its destroyers.
We ask for the humility as a people to understand the fears and hopes of other peoples.

We ask for the love it takes to bequeath to the children of the world to come more than the failures of our own making.
We ask for the heart it takes to care for all the peoples of the world as well as for ourselves.

Give us the depth of soul, O God, to constrain our might, to resist the temptations of power to refuse to attack the attackable, to understand that vengeance begets violence,
and to bring peace--not war--wherever we go.

For You, O God, have been merciful to us.
For You, O God, have been patient with us.
For You, O God, have been gracious to us.

And so may we be merciful and patient and gracious and trusting with these others whom you also love.
This we ask through Jesus, the one without vengeance in his heart.
This we ask forever and ever. Amen

Our Lady of Grace Conference

Meeting of Thursday 07/07/2016 

Since our last meeting our Vincentians have undertaken a total of 8 visits to people in the local community, providing support and companionship to the housebound and those in care homes.  Members have also provided transport, helped with shopping and paid bills for the sick and housebound.

Opening prayers included a reading taken from “Be Happy” a book on the Beatitudes produced by the Augustinian Sisters.   Members then discussed visits made and holiday grants for distribution to families in need.

The meeting ended with prayers for a person who had recently died and for our country, especially those in charge.

God of power and might, wisdom and justice we ask for blessings on our leaders.

May those who are in positions of authority take their responsibility seriously and do their very best each day.

May they realise their need for you and for your direction, may they hear your voice as they make their decisions, and may they follow your guidance.

We ask all these things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen

Our Lady of Grace Conference

Meeting of Thursday 23/06/2016 

Since our last meeting our Vincentians have undertaken a total of 17 visits to people in the local community, providing support and companionship to the housebound and those in care homes.  Members have also provided transport, helped with shopping, paid bills and issued a grant to a family in need.

Opening prayers included a reading taken from the Columban Missionaries’ newsletter.   The members then discussed visits made, the results of the SVP collection and the District Council meeting before moving onto a discussion regarding holiday grants to families in need.

The meeting ended with prayers for the sick and housebound and all who had asked for members to pray for them. 

Lord Jesus,

We thank you for the good things we share with our friends and families – for love and friendship, food and shelter, happiness and laughter.

With your help make us ready to extend our love and friendship to others especially the sick and housebound, the lonely and those who need a friend’s helping hand. 

Show us what we can do to help them, and teach us to be good neighbours.

Our Lady of Grace Conference

Meeting of Thursday 26/05/2016 

Since our last meeting our Vincentians have undertaken a total of 8 visits to people in the local community, providing support and companionship to the housebound and helping with shopping.

Opening prayers included a reading of prayer ‘Open my eyes’ supplied by a member who was been unable to attend the meeting.   The members then discussed visits made and arrangements for the SVP collection taking place after all masses on 4^th and 5^th June before making plans to attend the District meeting on 9^th June.

The meeting ended with prayers for one of our members and their family, the sick and troubled and all those who had asked for members to pray for them. 

As St Ignatius of Loyola prayed:

“O Christ Jesus,
when all is darkness
and we feel our weakness and helplessness,
give us the sense of Your presence,
Your love, and Your strength.
Help us to have perfect trust
in Your protecting love
and strengthening power,
so that nothing may frighten or worry us,
for, living close to You,
we shall see Your hand,
Your purpose, Your will through all things.”