St. Vincent de Paul Society: New conference formed at St. Patrick Parish

For The Catholic Week
ROBERTSDALE — The Society of St. Vincent de Paul welcomed the formation of a new conference in the Archdiocese of Mobile at St. Patrick, Robertsdale. Its members are already serving those in need in central Baldwin County.
Jody Schaefer, a former Vincentian of the SVdP Conference at St. Dominic in Mobile, was elected as the first president of the group. Deacon Charles Eick has accepted to be the spiritual director of the conference. The other elected officers are Nick Cillo, vice president; Margaret Kenney, treasurer; and Stella Knight, secretary.
Deacon Eick has been working with St. Patrick Parish Pastor Fr. Jim Morrison in assisting those in need who have come to the parish office door.
“Our church had been dedicated to helping the poor under Fr. Jim’s leadership for a few years now. We did this ‘in church’ so to speak as people came to our office. Fr. Jim realized that we needed a better system of trained volunteers who could meet with people to better discern their needs and to better wisely use our resources to help those who truly were in need. Therefore, we decided to start up a St. Vincent de Paul Conference.
“Our parish supports our work in dedicating a portion of the general collection to our work in helping those in need. Fr. Jim believes strongly that as Christians we should always put our faith into action as our Lord taught us, especially in helping the poor.”
The St. Patrick Conference becomes the 22nd conference of the Society within the area of the Diocese of Mobile. There are 23 parishes affiliated with those 22 Conferences.