St. Ann St. Vincent de Paul, Edenton, NC. was blessed to have three Vincentians attend 2024 Southeast Regional Meeting held in Greenville, South Carolina. Fr. Rhett Williams opened our three day gathering and challenged us “Not to accept the status quo” and encouraged us to get out of our comfort zones and not find comfort in the status quo. Rather, to find comfort in the uncomfortable. Fr. Williams reiterated our call from God to “go out and serve”. He reminded us that as Vincentians we have answered our own personal call, but asked do we serve with zeal? Serving with Zeal means identifying our obstacles and finding a way to eradicate them. The Southeast Conference was about meeting new friends, establishing relationships, and sharing our best practices to help those in need across truly diverse topography.
St. Ann St. Vincent de Paul has not accepted the status quo. We were very proactive over our first year in helping 151 families across five counties (Chowan, Perquimans, Bertie, Washington, and Tyrell) in Eastern NC. We worked with and leveraged existing resources like our local food pantry, clothing store and our local pharmacy to provide crisis assistance to our neighbors. We have sought out civic minded organizations and briefed them on the purpose, goals and successes of this new non-profit. We have met with local church leaders and collaborated with Edenton Baptist to provide aid and received a $1,700 donation from Edenton United Methodist church from their Lenten suppers. We requested an audience with the Town Council of Edenton and presented an overview of the history, hope and effects St. Ann St.Vincent de Paul has had in their community. When we found out the Town of Edenton supported non-profits in their annual budget, we drafted and provided a request for funding to the council. The result was the Town of Edenton giving $6000 in their annual 2024 budget forSt. Vincent de Paul.
St. Ann St. Vincent de Paul is the first conference in the Raleigh Diocese to be holding a Friends of the PoorWalk/Run! This Walk/Run will be through historic downtown Edenton on October 5th, begin and ending at St. Ann Catholic Church. We hope you will consider joining us. Please call (252) 415-0265 or email SVDP1858@gmail.com to request more information.
Finally, I can not say enough about the servant hearts of our Vincentians. They, in collaboration with our heavenly Father, have made such a bold and noticeable difference in the communities we serve.
Wendy McGrath, President
St. Ann St. Vincent de Paul
Edenton, NC
