SEATTLE – With its members dwindling, the St. Vincent de Paul Conference at St. Edward Parish had suspended its direct ministry to neighbors in need. 

“We didn’t have enough people to respond to the needs of the people in the Rainier Valley,” said member Bill Cranston. “We weren’t fulfilling the mission anymore.” 

When Father Scott Connolly arrived as pastor of St. Edward and saw the vitality of the conferences at the other parishes in his pastoral “cluster” — St. George, St. Paul and St. Peter — he set out to revitalize the group at St. Edward. 

“I didn’t want to let it die,” Father Connolly said in an email. “Social outreach and life, justice and peace are so central to who we are as Catholics and St. Vincent de Paul does such a good job reaching out to those in need.” 

Now parishioner Riva Patrick and others are breathing energy into the St. Edward conference, again reaching out to community members in need. Since January, they helped 242 neighbors with rent and utility bills and provided other assistance, such as food, Patrick said. 

At the end of a long work day recently, Patrick contacted a woman who needed assistance. She found the woman’s “energy and kindness” contagious, and felt joy when she later dropped groceries off on the woman’s porch. 

“Here’s someone who needs us and she’s the one that’s making us feel better,” Patrick said. “It felt like she was really our neighbor. That’s what’s so special about St. Vincent de Paul. God has great timing.” 

Setting hearts ablaze 

Father Connolly wanted to engage the parish’s young adults, encouraging them to become active in their faith, especially the recently confirmed and those who are bilingual. 

He enlisted the help of Hannah Hunthausen, who leads mission renewal and community engagement for St. Vincent de Paul Seattle/King County, the umbrella organization for parish-based conferences in King County. They began with small-group meetings and pulpit pitches to re-ignite the program. 

“What better way to celebrate the 100th anniversary of SVdP in the Archdiocese of Seattle than to rekindle the spirit of [founder] Blessed Frederic Ozanam in one of our parishes?” Father Connolly said. 

That fanned the flames for Patrick. She joined SVdP in November 2020 and said she accepted the role of president after Father Connolly asked her to consider it. 

“God always answers for me,” Patrick explained, “and I said, ‘Yes.’” 

Not work, but faith in action

In King County during 2019–20, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul assisted 107,446 neighbors and tallied 13,682 person-to-person “home visits” by Vincentian volunteers, a core aspect of the ministry. Then the pandemic hit, increasing the need for food, rent and utility assistance.  

The pandemic also stymied the ability to make home visits, which provide personal interaction and connect people to resources, but more importantly, as Cranston said, “visiting them where they are or where they feel comfortable.” 

The St. Edward Vincentians rallied in the fall of 2020 with a giving tree, coat drive and food collection. In January, St. Edward “twinned” with St. Therese Parish, which had funds available to help with neighbors’ requests for assistance, Patrick explained. In February, they fielded their first call from the helpline managed by SVdP Seattle/King County, and they recently started masked and socially distanced visits to neighbors in need. 

“They came together during a time when we really can’t be together and the need is so acute,” Hunthausen said. “It’s an incredible test of faith.” 


On Thanksgiving Day 2020, members of the St. Vincent de Paul Conference at St. Edward Parish received food for their parish pantry from St. Monica Parish on Mercer Island. Photo: Courtesy St. Edward SVdP conference 

During March, the St. Edward Vincentians served 52 neighbors with about $3,000 in funds, Patrick said. 

Most funds go toward partial rent assistance, which “at least gives hope to our neighbors and tells the landlord that the tenants are indeed trying to make an effort in meeting their rent agreement,” Patrick said. The money may also help prevent eviction until the neighbors can manage on their own or receive additional funds from other organizations SVdP refers them to, she added. 

The St. Edward conference also provides help with utility bills and provides donated household goods and food from its pantry, as well as referrals to other services. Many requests can’t be met because the conference doesn’t have enough money, Patrick said, but “we expect more funds to come in as parishioners begin to return to in-person Mass and as we continue to become present and visible.” 

Father Connolly said the pandemic has emphasized the need to care for one another, and the assistance offered by his parishes and their SVdP members “truly made a difference in these families’ lives.” 

Vincentians cultivate “a sense of friendship and family” with their neighbors in need and are “honored and privileged to hear their stories” said Kelly Hickman, who serves as spiritual advisor for the St. Edward conference. 

“It’s empowering to hear what they’ve overcome,” Cranston said, “and daunting to hear what they are dealing with now.” 

“What they really need is hope,” Patrick said. “Someone to listen to them.” 

As Hickman said, being a Vincentian is not just work — “we see it as an extension of our faith in action.” 

“We want to meet the needs of those who come to us,” Father Connolly said. “I hope the parish will see the rewards of service and outreach and have a sense of accomplishment in helping those ‘on the periphery’ as Pope Francis says.”