For the last weekend of June, the CSAN team joined the St Vincent de Paul Society conference in Stone, Staffordshire. This year’s conference marked 180 years since the founding of the SVP in England and Wales.
Emceed by David Wells (with temporary cover by Sir John Battle), the conference hosted a range of speakers from across faith, social action, political, and academic spheres. The room heard from Gulwali Passarlay, author of The Lightless Sky: My Journey to Safety as a Child Refugee, and his story of seeking asylum – after fleeing his native Afghanistan – in the UK as a teenager.
There was a strong focus on the continuity of the original charism of the SVP throughout contemporary work, with frequent references to St Vincent, Louise (de Marillac), Blessed Frederic, Rosalie Rendu, so much so that they felt present in the room. This was particularly poignant throughout the addresses given by Sr Maria Parcher, Gareth Rowe, and John Battle, who all explored the interaction with Vincentian spirituality and social problems.
Supplemented by this was Dr Emma Gardner’s reflection on what Laudato Si’ can teach us about how to respond to the environmental crisis, and how she is shaping Salford Diocese’s strategy as their Head of Environment. Another inspiring input was delivered by Emma Revie, CEO of the Trussell Trust, the anti-poverty charity known most famously for their support of a network of 1300 food banks in the UK. She explained the progress they had made with their Essentials Guarantee campaign, on behalf of the people who received a staggering 3.1m emergency food parcels between April 2023 and March 2024, a 94% increase over the past five years.
The conference was also fortunate to be able to meet a couple who feature in a new film, entitled ‘Hearts Without a Home’. They had overcome extremely adverse circumstances as a result of homelessness and were now thriving, thanks to the work of the Society. The film follows several people connected with St Vincent’s Centre in Southend-on-Sea. The trailer for the film can be viewed here:
The CSAN team felt warmly welcomed by all attendees, leaving the conference very inspired and newly committed to promoting and living the social mission of the Church.
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