“That they all may be one…” John 17
As I hand out vouchers for food or items at the thrift store, I am grateful to be a Saint Vincent de Paul volunteer. Our visits bring us face to face with neighbours in need; our exchange is a mutual gift. As well as emergency relief support, we try to offer encouragement and compassion. We see you…We hear you… We care…
We try our best to walk WITH the other, with neighbours who are marginalized. We learn from their shared lived experience. It is a two way exchange. And we know charity without justice is incomplete. Social justice assistance requires looking at the larger political and economic picture. Change through advocacy is a needed response.
Being a volunteer is not only about responding to needs, it is also about sharing yourself - listening, caring, breaking through the isolation. There are many dedicated service organizations that make a difference, asking for volunteers to be present in this way. And for financial support.
The gift of some of my encounters will linger a long time. I remember sitting on a concrete stoop outside a run down basement suite and conversing with an elderly man. We learned that it was not only the church meal he missed when the service was closed in the summer, it was the connection with volunteers who knew his name and always talked with him. So we lingered and he shared some of his life story. We thanked him for this gift.
Listening deeply, being present, offering bread to break and easing isolation. And so we continue, sharing our stories with each other and as a famous poet wrote…
“There is no way, we make our way by walking.”
(-Antonio Machado)
- Patricia Howe, Kindred Spirits Associate
Image: Rémi Walle @walre037/Unsplash
"Caminante, no hay camino, se hace camino al andar" (Traveler, there is no path, the path is made by walking) is one of the most famous lines by Spanish poet Antonio Machado, published in his 1912 collection Campos de Castilla (Lands of Castile).