Conference Mission Statement

Our mission is to bear witness to Christ and to His Church by showing that the faith of Christians inspires them to work for the good of their fellow human beings; to bring together men and women of good will and to assist them, by mutual example and true friendship, to draw nearer to their Divine Model, Jesus Christ, by fulfilling His commandment—namely the love of God in their fellow man by establishing a personal contact between its members and those who are suffering, and to bring to the suffering the most efficacious aid possible.
 

A Shepherd to the Poor - Remembering Pope Francis

Message from our President

I was asked as a representative of Our Lady of Charity to have my feet washed by Fr. Claudio during the Mass of the Last Supper. It was an honor to represent our organization.

Easter Food Basket Distribution went well, we had 27 home deliveries (3 no shows), and 18 pickups (2 no shows). Thanks to the drivers and those who worked in the office for giving up their Tuesday.

We passed out bags for the food drive at both churches on April 26 th and 27 th . We want to thank Walmart Neighborhood Market in Palmdale for donating cloth totes at St. Serra to use instead of paper bags. We received a lot of favorable comments on having the totes. I reminded the parishioners to please stuff them full of canned goods. The bag distribution went so well that we ran out of bags at both churches. Ed supervised Sacred Heart Church and despite swimming upstream in a strong current, he did a great job. Joe supervised St. Serra, and as always, did a wonderful job. We are hoping for a good return on the bags so we can restock the shed and pantry. We pick up the donations on Saturday, May 4 th , we would appreciate any volunteer help we can receive.

Many Our Lady of Charity volunteers attended the Women’s Clinic Gala which was a huge success. Go Babies!

It looks like we are coming close to the end of construction of our new Site 2 building. We have our final inspection coming this month. We hope the city won’t ding us too badly and we can start using it soon.

We will do feed only and bread on Saturday, May 24 th . Site 2 and the office will be closed. We will close on Monday, May 26 th for Memorial Day.

I want to thank everyone for their effort. None of this at St. Vincent could be accomplished without you.

Have a wonderful Memorial weekend and God Bless all of you.

Prayer for the papal conclave

May they have before their eyes
only God’s Divine Will with the
goal of purifying and renewing
Christ’s Church

A Prayer from Deacon Paul Schwerdt

Do you ever think about ants?

You may first think of them in the springtime, when you wake up to a train of them on your kitchen sink, attracted by a spot of sugar that you forgot to wipe up the night before after loading the dishwasher. I have done that several times. This month they have begun to appear in my back yard, and although I admire their energy in building their anthills, I prefer that they do it away from my patio door. And out comes the bug spray. Aesop, the Greek author, first brought ants to mind in his fable The Ant and the Grasshopper, which I first heard as a child. Actually, I was first introduced to this fable by one of the Disney Silly Symphonies from the 1930s or 1940s, where during the summer, the grasshopper is singing and playing his fiddle, and making fun of the ants who are hard at work storing up food for the winter. The scene then changes to snowfall in winter, where the ants, toasty warm in their home, are now dancing and singing while the grasshopper is outside cold and hungry.

Here’s the cartoon:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dvr6JsNOF8

In one of his sermons, St. Augustine tells his listeners to be like the ants. He writes, "Emulate the tiny ant; be an ant of God. Listen to the word of God and hide it in your heart. Collect plenty of food during the happy days of your spiritual summers.

You will then be able to endure the difficult days of temptations during the winters of your soul." --Sermon 38, 6

Thanks to the big supermarket chains, we no longer have to store up food. But we do have to guard our souls against that demon who “goes about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” (1 Peter 5:8). 

Next Yardsale: TBD

May is going to be busy, so stay tuned for our next scheduled yard sale to be announsed. Our Facebook events are listed here: St. Vincent de Paul - Our Lady of Charity Conference, Lancaster, CA.

GoFundMe Link Now Live!

Site 1

(Food & Administration)

Site 2

(Clothing Distribution)