Calendar of Events.
December 5, 2011. Presentation of medals and documents of distinguished honors, 7:30 p.m. at the Cathedral of St. Andrew. See more information below.
December 8, 2011. Feast of the Immaculate Conception. Holy Day of Obligation.
December 10, 2011. Schubert Male Chorus Concert, 7:30 p.m. at the East Grand Rapids Performing Arts Center. Reception preceding the concert will be held at the home of Dan and Jeanine LaVille beginning at 5:00 p.m. Refreshments will be served. Their home is located at 2237 Cardiff Ct. NE, Grand Rapids, 49505. Tickets are $17 per person and will be added to the next quarterly billing. Send Aggie an e-mail or call her if you have not already bought a ticket, or let Nancy King know and we will forward the information to Aggie. More information about the Schubert Male Chorus will appear below.
There will be no more scheduled Serra events in December.
Looking Ahead.
January 9, 2012. Luncheon Meeting and Speaker, 12:00 Noon at Louis Benton Steak House. Speaker will be Father Vincent O'Malley.
January 12, 2012. Regional Director/District G0vernor Planning Conference, Chicago Illinois.
January 13-15, 2012. Serra USA Super Weekend, Chicago, Illinois. Nate McKenzie and John Osterhart have attended the Super Weekends for a number of years. They have served on the by-laws and membership committees and they highly recommend that other Serrans attend as well. Nate further points out that the rooms are very economical at $80 per person for a double.
January 23, 2012. Prayer Service and Luncheon, 12:00 Noon at Sacred Heart. Speaker will be our District Governor, Bob Barrett. On Thursday, November 17 Nate McKenzie and John Osterhart, along with our Moderator, Bob Barrett, and several members of the Muskegon, Saginaw, and Detroit clubs, met in Okemos and shared information about possible Serra Club start-ups. Bob Barrett has made great headway in meeting with bishops in whose dioceses there are not currently clubs. We urge your attendance to show support for the efforts of all of these people in building great momentum in our state. The Detroit club has also been active in working with local parochial schools to further the work of the College Connection in the area.
February 13, 2012. Please note change in plans. Luncheon Meeting and Speaker, 12:00 Noon at Louis Benton Steak House. We will reschedule the evening meeting, as Fr. Mark will not be available to speak at that time.
February 5, 2012. World Day of Prayer for the Consecrated Life.
June 21-24, 2012. Serra International Convention, Providence, Rhode Island. Watch for details as they emerge.
Priests' Anniversaries for December. Fr. Julian Reginato, 12-19-64; Charles Dautrement, 12-18-60; Robert Gillespie, 12-8-43; Norbert Leyrita, 12-21-63; Michael Olson, 12-27-94; Msgr. John Porter, 12-15-57; Most Reverend Robert Rose, 12-21-53. Lee Sullivan notes that Fr. Ed Vella always sends a thank-you for her anniversary cards. He is now station in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin as a Redemptorist Missionary.
About the December 5 Event. From Mary Haarman, Director of Communications, Diocese of Grand Rapids: (October 20, 2011), Grand Rapids, Michigan. Bishop Walter A. Hurley announced that Pope Benedict XVI has conferred papal honors upon three priests in Grand Rapids, a woman religious, and seven members of the laity in recognition of their distinguished service to the Church. Pontificial Honors are as follows:
Prelate of Honor to His Holiness: Reverend Monsignor William H. Duncan.
Chaplain to His Holiness: Reverend Monsignor Edward A. Hankiewicz and Reverend Monsignor R. Louis Stasker.
Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice Cross: Sister Mary Aquinas Weber, O. P., Mrs. Mary Ann Kesler, Mr. Roy P. Lorenz, Mrs. Joan Secchia, Mr. Ronald D. and Mrs. Joan Griffith, and Mrs. Mary E. O'Connor.
Benerementi Medal: Mr. Philip H. McCorkle, Jr.
"I am grateful that our Holy Father has conferred papal honors on these priests and members of the laity," said Bishop Hurley. "They have served the churches and the community faithfully and with a spirit of commitment and dedication, and I am thankful for their service as I am for the service of all of our priests and people."
The diocesan bishop nominates candidates for the honors and submits their names and biographies to the Holy See. Once the Holy Father confers the honor, the Vatican Secretary of State issues a document conferring the honors. The priests upon whom the papal honors are being conferred are given the title Monsignor. The Pro Ecclesia ("For the Church and the Holy Father") award and medal, founded by Pope Leo XIII in 1888, "recognizes the commitment of men and women in their service to the ecclesial community."
The Benemerenti ("To a well-deserving person" or "Good Merit") award, first presented by Pope Pius VI, "is given to those who have shown exemplary service to the church family and community."
Bishop Hurley will present the medals and documents of those distinguished honors during a prayer service at the Cathedral of St. Andrew on Monday, December 5 at 7:30 p.m. The public is welcome to attend.
More About the Schubert Male Chorus.
The Schubert Male Chorus is considered the oldest independent male chorus in America. Founded by Henry C. Post, a talented pianist, teacher, and music critic, along with 12 other men on November 19, 1883--and immediately expanded from 13 members to 16 "just to be sure"--the Club has presented at least one major concert each year since its first on December 4, 1884. The organization has never departed from the original intend of furthering the appreciation and performance of good chorale music. Every year the Schuberts perform at many civic and corporate functions, Immigration and Naturalization Ceremonies, Women's City Club, Gilda's Club, Retirement and Nursing communities, and churches. The group is a regular at the annual June Fine Arts Festival.
For many years the Jr. Schubert Club served as a valuable training ground for singing and community service for young men under 21, the beginning age of Schubert members. Our own Russell Christopher, who won one of the music scholarships and went on to sing with the Metropolitan Opera, started here. In the 1950s over 1200 high school choir members from all over West Michigan competed for these scholarships.
The purpose of the Schubert Male Chorus is to foster and develop an interest in a wide variety of music and to encourage men to participate in the pleasure of singing. We are a group of men who love swinging, enjoy camaraderie, and strive for excellence in performance to the delight of our audience.
Source: www.schubertmalechorus.org
We urge as many of you as possible to join us at the pre-event reception and the concert, as it will be our only formal Serra event for December. Also, the information about the chorus should suggest that if we don't attend, we are missing out on a wonderful excellent evening. We thank the chorus and groups like them to their service to the community. Excellence exists, of course, but we don't hear much about the good that goes on around us.
Quarterly Billing. Treasurer Pat Leikert notifies us that our quarterly dues billing will take place in early January to accomodate his upcoming work schedule. Tax time is coming soon.
Adoration Reminder. St. Isidore, 24/7. Code #513. IHM 24/5 (no weekends). Code 5412.
2013 Regional Conference Update. The announcement confirming location is imminent. The committee, with the help of the Grand Rapids Convention Bureau, narrowed the search to the Holiday Inn, downtown, the Raddison, downtown, the Crowne Plaza, 28th Street, and the Hilton, 28th Street. The Committee will make a final selection and review the contract at their
next meeting, as Tim Hile explains in his message to the club.
Why do priests wear the Roman collar? According to EWTN.com, "The history of the Roman collar is somewhat convoluted, but one can start by noting that the collar we know today is a fairly recent adaptation.
"The Roman collar traces its distant origins to the 15th century, when clerics began following the current fashion of placing their linen collars over their outer clothing. This became accepted custom, and, by the 17th century, there were many forms of this linen collar, such as the ornate Roman variety, the collarino, of ornate and expensive lace; and the French adopted the collars worn by the noble classes, of linen and fine lace. As black was increasingly worn by clergy, the collar served as one of the obvious elements in their attire.
"Church officials abolished the excessive ornamentation for the collars, and a linen band was slowly used to offer protection against dirt and stains. This was the direct origin of the current collar, with priests using a softer style choker of cloth, sometimes merely a scarf; bishops and other prelates could afford a linen choker. From this came the embrace in Rome of the collar as it is known today. The collaro was of starched linen that was approximately three inches wide and that was fitted into the rabbi (or rabat), the cloth fitted around the neck of a cleric and placed under a simar or cassock.
"Today, the collar (usually made of plastic or linen) is most commonly identified with clergy of many denominations. In Europe, of course, many priests wear variations on the Roman collar. In the United States, an effort has been made in recent years to encourage priests to wear a black suit and especially the Roman collar as identifiable elements in their ministry."
Source: National Catholic Register, November 20, 2011.
Our President's Message. Dear Serrans: I wish you a most blessed Advent and Christmas season. Please pay special attention to the changes in the schedule for February (no evening meeting).
Continue to pray for the family of Deacon Dale Hollern and especially for his son Tim as he continues to battle colon cancer.
Our District Governor Bob Barrett will be joining us at our meeting on January 23 at Sacred Heart. Bob has made some fantastic strides in a short amount of time as it pertains to the setting up of new Serra Clubs in the Lansing, Kalamazoo, and Detroit dioceses. Bob will te discussing the College Connection and some new twists on 31 clubs that he has learned of in his travels. I hope we can have a great turnout to this meeting.
The Conference Committee is meeting on Friday, December 2 with the final hotel selection to review the contract and lock ijn the date. Then our planning will start in earnest on the agenda and possible speakers. Thank you to all on this committee for your efforts to date and in the future.
Mary, Mother of Vocations, Pray for Us.
Tim Hile, President, Serra Club of Grand Rapids
Rosary Promise for December 2011. Promise XV. Devotion to my rosary is a great sign of predestintion.
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