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How to join
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sk your Rector or Acolyte Warden if there is
an OSV chapter at your parish. If there is, either of them can handle the
membership for you. If not, write or call the OSV office for membership
applications and a chapter start-up kit. We'll be glad to help you.
Applications can also be printed from this website further down on this page.
Every aspirant to the Order,
including adult leaders and trainers, must have performed in a lay-ministerial
capacity for at least six months, demonstrating a desire to serve with
knowledge, responsibility and diligence prior to admittance to the Order.
Aspirants must understand and be willing to live by The Rules of the Order and strive to support it’s
The Purpose and The
Objects of the Order. Each application for membership
must include a statement of sponsorship by the aspirant's rector, vicar or
chaplain.
First-year initiation fees are
required of new members to cover the cost of administration, the OSV medallions,
the frame able parchment membership certificate and I.D. card/tag. Every member
also pays annual oblation. Junior Members (under age 16) pay a reduced dues
rate. Clergy and supporting Associate non-voting memberships are available, but
these members are not entitled to wear the OSV
medallion. We reduce, and sometimes
eliminate, the annual oblation requirements for candidates whose financial need
is verified by the Chapter Chaplain on the membership application.
Membership costs are as follow: $20.00 for Initial application fee (one time
only) plus annual oblation which are: $20.00
for Adult Members*, $5.00 for Junior Members* (under 16 yrs), $150.00 for Life
Member**, $20.00 for Clergy and supporting Member***. (* - receives a bronze medallion, ** -
gold-alloy medallion, *** - Does not receives a medallion)
Print the membership application on this
website, fill it out completely, and send it to the OSV office with appropriate
fees. We'd be delighted to tell you how the OSV
can fit into your life and your parish.
An OSV chapter may be formed with three or more members with the
spiritual guidance of an ordained chaplain. All chapter leaders must be a adult member of the OSV. Annual chapter fees are $35.00. Click here to print out a Chapter application.
If a chapter cannot be formed by
virtue of lack of members, an individual member will be enrolled in the
Director General’s chapter of the Order.
The Order encourages members to pay at least part of their fees since
the tendency of parishes paying all of the fees for members erodes personal
responsibility and reduces a member's sense of commitment and investment.
The Benefitsof the Order
ll lay members receive a St. Vincent medallion, a frame
able membership certificate and I.D. card/tag, and is inducted into the
historic International Order of St. Vincent .
Candidates must have completed a six-month probationary period, understand the
Rules and Objects of the Order, pay required fees and
take the Order's vows. Every member who
is current is entitled to wear the official medallion of the OSV. Your OSV medallion tells everyone that you are
a very special lay minister.
Members receive a free copy of the
Serving Basics
manual as well as discounts on all other OSV publications and
products. All members can contribute to O.S.V’s The Banner, the Order's
official online newsletter containing upcoming Events, General news and Chapter
news, articles pertaining to conferences held, and coming events. Members or Chapters can contribute articles,
photos, serving tips and humor to this publication by e-mail.
Members can visit and participate
in the Order's website with printable pages. There is also a question/answer
service via e-mail for anyone interested in liturgy. You can also check the
listed sites for many interesting and educational links. The site is
updated and expanded regularly to meet the needs of members, chapters, and
visitors.
We bond with other servers
world-wide through declarations of unity with the Scottish Guild of Servers,
and the Guild of the Servants of the Sanctuary (England) and the English Guild
of Vergers. We also hope to form affiliations and build bridges with other lay
servers' guilds and associations of other ecclesiastical jurisdictions as well.
You can take advantage of
educational opportunities and materials available through the Order to broaden
your liturgical knowledge, deepen your traditional understanding and sense of
historical connection, and sharpen your serving skills. We joyfully train and
practice to become the very best we can be for the Glory of God in his
sanctuary and the pleasure of His clergy and congregations. We foster mentorship between members of
various ages and experiences...members helping, teaching, and providing example
and leadership to other members. Your
membership supports continuing liturgical research that results in new
historical and instructional publications, the production of comprehensive
illustrations and diagrams, the development of teaching materials and systems
which promote liturgical unity and consistency.
We encourage camaraderie and
friendship among the Chapter members and association with other Chapters at the
diocesan and national level through Lay Ministry (or acolyte) festivals,
deanery-level training events, and parish or diocesan gatherings.
Your membership supports a
translation ministry involving the efforts of bilingual parishes so OSV
materials can reach a broader spectrum of God's family. Most of these
publications are given freely to Hispanic churches throughout North and Central
America and the Caribbean.
We pray for (and are prayed for
by) others of the Order and for the unity of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church
Every Chapter receives
a frame able Charter and the OSV Chapter Manual which includes other guidelines and suggestions
for establishing and maintaining an effective guild of lay ministers. Every Chapter is also entitled to carry an
OSV banner (estimated cost will be provided at the time of a request to the Order),
use OSV letterhead, apply the medallion to its printed material, and
participate in OSV events. All Chapters
receive a package of reproducible OSV logos and graphics for their own use.
Any questions about
please e-mail
us