New SVDP president finds inspiration in faith, charity
November 4, 2019 at 9:30 p.m.
Ask Joan Olden what called her to a ministry of helping the poor, and she’s quick to respond that the St. Vincent de Paul Society’s mission of helping others “has always been second nature to me.”
PHOTO GALLERY: Installation of Joan Olden as new diocesan St. Vincent de Paul Society president
“There are two networks in the society: charity and fellowship. Being able to be with people who support each other spiritually is so important,” she said.
Olden was installed as the new president of the diocesan St. Vincent de Paul Society during an Oct. 6 Mass in Brick’s Visitation Church – her home parish where she serves as an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion and reader.
“Joan is going to be dynamite,” said Joseph T. Williams, former SVDP diocesan council president, who filled the role for six years. “She’s quiet and modest and very direct. She knows what she wants to do,” which includes bringing more people into Vincentian ministry.
Olden cites her background as the foundation of her call to service. Her Catholic school education began in St. Philomena Grammar School, Livingston, and culminated in Seton Hall University, South Orange, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in business education.
A resident of Ocean County for 40 years, Olden has two adult sons – Rob and Jim. Both attended St. Dominic School, Brick, and St. Rose High School, Belmar, which led to her involvement in the PTA for almost 20 years.
In 2007, she earned a master’s degree in social work. “Right after that, I remember having this talk with God that I needed to do something spiritual that included social work. And just a few weeks later, I was at Epiphany Parish in Brick, where a new [St. Vincent de Paul] conference was being lifted.”
“One of my first home visits was a deacon from Epiphany Parish. His kindness and gentleness and prayerfulness was so empowering; he truly captured the heart and soul of St. Vincent in those few moments. I knew then that the Holy Spirit was calling me,” she said.
Except for a break to care for her parents, Olden has been steadily committed to Vincentian ministry. She served as the first president of the Epiphany conference and later in Visitation Parish, where she became actively involved in the conference while also serving as chair of the cohort homelessness committee. She was tapped as Ocean County district president in 2018.
Olden looks forward to working with district council presidents as they collaborate on a wide range of issues, such as homelessness, prison ministry, elder and respite care and systemic change.
“What I would most like to do is visit every single conference and meet our Vincentians and share stories and prayer,” she said. “That is what we are called to do. The primary mission of the society is to grow in holiness and do that with fellowship with one another and by going to the poor, where we see the face of Christ in those we serve.”
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Ask Joan Olden what called her to a ministry of helping the poor, and she’s quick to respond that the St. Vincent de Paul Society’s mission of helping others “has always been second nature to me.”
PHOTO GALLERY: Installation of Joan Olden as new diocesan St. Vincent de Paul Society president
“There are two networks in the society: charity and fellowship. Being able to be with people who support each other spiritually is so important,” she said.
Olden was installed as the new president of the diocesan St. Vincent de Paul Society during an Oct. 6 Mass in Brick’s Visitation Church – her home parish where she serves as an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion and reader.
“Joan is going to be dynamite,” said Joseph T. Williams, former SVDP diocesan council president, who filled the role for six years. “She’s quiet and modest and very direct. She knows what she wants to do,” which includes bringing more people into Vincentian ministry.
Olden cites her background as the foundation of her call to service. Her Catholic school education began in St. Philomena Grammar School, Livingston, and culminated in Seton Hall University, South Orange, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in business education.
A resident of Ocean County for 40 years, Olden has two adult sons – Rob and Jim. Both attended St. Dominic School, Brick, and St. Rose High School, Belmar, which led to her involvement in the PTA for almost 20 years.
In 2007, she earned a master’s degree in social work. “Right after that, I remember having this talk with God that I needed to do something spiritual that included social work. And just a few weeks later, I was at Epiphany Parish in Brick, where a new [St. Vincent de Paul] conference was being lifted.”
“One of my first home visits was a deacon from Epiphany Parish. His kindness and gentleness and prayerfulness was so empowering; he truly captured the heart and soul of St. Vincent in those few moments. I knew then that the Holy Spirit was calling me,” she said.
Except for a break to care for her parents, Olden has been steadily committed to Vincentian ministry. She served as the first president of the Epiphany conference and later in Visitation Parish, where she became actively involved in the conference while also serving as chair of the cohort homelessness committee. She was tapped as Ocean County district president in 2018.
Olden looks forward to working with district council presidents as they collaborate on a wide range of issues, such as homelessness, prison ministry, elder and respite care and systemic change.
“What I would most like to do is visit every single conference and meet our Vincentians and share stories and prayer,” she said. “That is what we are called to do. The primary mission of the society is to grow in holiness and do that with fellowship with one another and by going to the poor, where we see the face of Christ in those we serve.”