They came from different
states. They spanned a wide range of ages. Their backgrounds were
varied. But all who gathered for the Society of St. Vincent de Paul's
2014 national assembly in Atlanta shared one common mission: to learn
how to better serve those who most need their help. More than 750
Vincentians -- the largest turnout in more than 13 years -- attended the
annual assembly coming from as far away as Puerto Rico. The Sept. 24-27
conference featured workshops, committee meetings and national and
local keynote speakers. Bill Bolling, executive director of the Atlanta
Community Food Bank, gave the keynote speech during lunch Sept. 27.
Since Bolling founded the food bank in 1979, the organization has grown
to distribute more than 35 million pounds of food and grocery products
each year through a network of 600 local and regional partner nonprofit
organizations that feed the hungry across the state. Bolling spoke of
the importance of the table, pointing out that even in the Bible, many
of the stories of Jesus take place around a table. Feeding those in need
is about more than just food, he said. "The table was the place to be
with people. For me, more important than doing for people was to be with
people," he said. "The idea of starting a food bank was to have more of
those tables -- more of those places where we would meet to be with
each other. To listen -- to really find out more deeply what those
issues were."
Born during the turbulent era of the French Revolution, Saint Jeanne Jugan rose above hardship and a lack of formal schooling to become a profound vessel of Christ’s mercy. After losing her father at a young age and working through her youth as a kitchen maid and nurse, her life radically changed one freezing night when she encountered a blind, paralyzed elderly woman with nowhere to go. Jeanne carried the woman back to her own home, placed her in her own bed, and began a lifelong mission of radical hospitality. This act of profound love blossomed into the Little Sisters of the Poor , a thriving community dedicated to sheltering and honoring the destitute elderly. Despite later facing heavy trials—including being unjustly sidelined and stripped of her leadership by a controlling chaplain—Jeanne accepted her obscurity and exile with a joyful spirit, resting her complete trust in God's hidden providence until her death in 1879. In our daily lives, Saint Jeanne Jugan invites us to lo...