May 2, 2015. Day of prayer and reflection on Serra's life at the Pontifical North American College in Rome. The Holy Father will be the guest of honor.
May 5, 2015. Lecture as one in a series in celebration of Fr. Dennis Morrow's 40 anniversary in the priesthood. See below for details.
May 5, 2015. Vocation Activities Conference Call, 7:30 p.m. CST. To join the conference, call 712-775-7031 and enter access code 42655-041#. The call will cover the following vocation activities:
Traveling Cross Program, Five Quick Tips for Getting H S. Graduates Connected to College Campus Ministry, Into for Newman Connection, Vocation Awareness Field Trips, Prayer Initiative with Nursing Home, and Prayer for Priests Promotion.
May 5, 6,7, and 8. Holy Family Radio's Spring Fund Drive. See the HFR Website for a listing of the special features, including Bishop David J. Walkowiak on Wednesday at 9:00 a.m. Donate securely online, or call 1-844-337-2346 OR 1-844-33RADIO.
May 11, 2015. Luncheon Meeting and Speaker, 12:00 Noon at the University Club.
May 16, 2015. Knights of Columbus Vocations Dinner, May 16, St. Isidore Parish, 625 Spring St. NE, Grand Rapids. Mass at 5 p.m., doors open at 6:00 p.m., beginning with Religious Meet and Greet. Dinner and Speakers will take place 6:30-9:00 ;.m. Speakers are the Reverend Scott Noland and Sister Sara of the Trinitarians of Mary. To RSVP call St. Isidore at 616-459-4731 or e-mail homictm@gmail.com. This item was forwarded by Dan Grady.
May 18, 2015. Board Meeting, 12:00 Noon at Ss. Peter and Paul.
May 19, 2015. Detroit-Oakland Serra will celebrate their 50th Anniversary Charter Night aat Sacred Heart Major Seminary, 2701 W. Chicago Blvd. in Detroit. John Osterhart and Dan Grady expect to attend. Contact Detroit-Oakland Serran Marte Bewick, 248-761-2175, by May 11 for details if you would like to attend.
May 21, 2015. District Governor Bob Barret's District Leadership Meeting, Thursday, May 21 in Okemos, from 10:30 a.m, with lunch following, at Gilbert and Blake Restaurant in Okemos. Agenda will include Building Club Membership, Discussion of Five Star Program & Brochure, Newman/College Connection Program, and NEW Serra Club Opportunities. CLUB OFFICERS AND INTERESETD SERRANS ARE ENCOURAGED TO ATTEND, ESPECIALLY NEW INCOMING OFFFICERS AND NEW MEMBERS. Please RSVP to bobb@rcwa.net and coordinate with President Aggie Kempker-Cloyd.
May 24, 2015. Pentecost Sunday
May 25, 2015. Memorial Day Observed. There will be no Fourth Monday meeting in May.
May 31, 2015. Sunday of the Most Holy Trinity.
June 7, 2015. Ordinations of Deacon Douglas Braun and Deacon William Vander Werff at 10:00 a.m. at the Cathedral of St. Andrew. We will notify you if Serrans are asked to serve as ushers. Please keep these men in your prayers as they continue their discernment in service to our Lord and His people.
June 16, 2015. Saginaw Serra Club's Eighth Annual Bishop Robert J. Carlson Seminarian Endowment Fund Dinner, Swan Valley Banquet Center, 9521 Highland Green Drive, Saginaw, Mi 48609. Social hour at 6:00 p.m., with dinner to follow at 7:00. Donation is $50 per person or a Table of Eight at $350.00. For contact information and other details notify Nancy King at njking50@gmail.com. We encourage our club members to support our fellow Serrans in Saginaw with our attendance at this event, and we thank John and Marian Moll of the Saginaw Club for their invitation to this event. They may be reached at mjmoll333@gmail.com.
June 19, 2015. Charter Night, Mass at 5:30 p.m. at the Cathedral of St. Andrew, Dinner at 7:30 p.m., with social hour preceding, at the University Club. Please help celebrate this very special night. Among other things, we are celebrating our special place among Serra Clubs, with the simultaneous presidencies of Dan Grady, who will continue his term as Serra International President until the Melbourne Convention, and John Osterhart, who will step up as President of Serra USA at the June 19-20 meeting.
June 19-20, 2015. USA Council Annual Meeting, Grand Rapids, Michigan
July 30-August, 2015. Serra International Convention, Melbourne, Australia.
September 22-27, 2015. World Meeting of Families and Papal Visit, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. See below for further information.
September 23, 2015. Canonization of Blessed Junipero Serra in the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Washington, D. C. Yes, you read that correctly. Save the Date. Junipero Serra's Canonization will take place on Wednesday, September 23 in Washington, D. C.
"We are honored that the Holy Father will celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and canonize Blessed Junipero Serra, the first-ever canonization to take place on American soil." (From the Basilica's Website),
"Serrans from all over the world are already planning to be present at Serra's canonization in Washington this September. Watch for further information to find out how you can be a part of this momentous celebration. Source: Serra's USA Council publication, Always Forward, Never Back, April 29, 2015: Issue 19.
Priests' Anniversaries in May.
May 1. The Reverend John Kenney
May 11. The Very Reverend John Geaney
May 13. Fr. Robert Sirico
May 14. Fr. Anthony Britt
May 16. Fr.Tom Tovello
May 19. Msgr. William Duncan
May 19. Fr. Charles Mann
May 19. Fr. Mark Przybysz
May 20. Fr. Peter Hount Xuan Nghiem
May 20. Fr. Ernest Bernott
May 22. Fr. Ernest Bernott
May 22. Fr. Joachim Lalley
May 24. Fr. Robert Bliszcz
May 24. Fr. Ted Kozlowski
May 24. Fr. Don Weber
May 27. Fr. Brad Schoeberle
May 28. Fr. Thomas Hack
Also, in celebration of Father Dennis Morrow's 40th Anniversary of Priestly Ministry, Ss. Peter and Paul Church will be hosting a lecture series. The featured speaker for May will be George Weigel, an official biographer of St. John Paul, will speak on the greatness of St. Paul
A reception with light refreshments will follow in the parish center. Please join the lecture on Tuesday, May 5 at 8:00 p.m. at Ss. Peter and Paul Church at 520 Myrtle. All are wecome and no reservations are needed.
Serrans are encouraged to send Fr. Dennis a card or a note on observance of the occasion.
US sees increase in priestly ordination numbers this year.
Washington DC., April 10, 2015. The numbers are in: almost 600 Catholic men will be ordained as priests for the US in 2015, an increase of more than 100 from last year. Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of Raleigh, N. C. said April 7 that the increase in numbers is "encouraging."
The bishop, who heads the U. S. bishops' Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations, noted that those to be ordained cited positive influences like "very high" support from their family, parish priests and Catholic schools. The 595 men to be ordained in 2015 is an increase of 25 percent from 2014, when 477 me were ordained to the priesthood. In 2013, 497 men were ordained Catholic priests, the U. S. bishop's conference reports....
...The median age of the priests-to-be is 31, a slight decrease from past years. Respondents to the survey said they first began to consider a vocation to the priesthood at the age of 17 and received encouragement to pursue a vocation from an average of four people. Most said a parish priest encouraged them, while under half said friends, parishioners, and mothers had encouraged them in their vocations.
Most have been Catholic since infancy, though seven percent were converts. Eighty-four percent said both of their parents were Catholic, while about 37 percent said they have a relative who is a priest or vowed religious. Half attended Catholic elementary schools. They were somewhat more likely than other Catholics to have attended a Catholic high school and were much more likely to have attended a Catholic college than other U. S. Catholics.
Almost 80 percent had been an altar server, while half had served as a lector. Seventy percent said they prayed the rosary regularly before they entered the seminary, while a similar number said they participated in Eucharistic adoration before entering the seminary. About 70 percent identified their race as Caucasian, European American or White. Fourteen percent identified as Hispanic or Latino, while 10 percent said they were of Asian or Pacific Islander background. About 60 percent of the 2015 ordinands had completed college before entering seminary.
Father W. Shawn McKnight, executive director of the U. S. bishops' Secretariat for Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations, voiced concern about new seminarians' student loan debt. About 26 percent had educational debt when they entered seminary, averaging $22,500.
Considering the high percentage of the men ordained already having earned an undergraduate degree, it will be important to find ways to assist in debt reduction in the future," Fr. McKnight said.
Source: CNA/EWTN news.
Francis Cardinal George, 1937-2015.
On April 17, John Liston, Executive Director of Serra International wrote,
Dear Serrans and Friends of Serra,
Francis Cardinal George, former Episcopal Adviser of Serra International and Archbishop Emeritus of the Archediocese of Chicago entered the Kingdom of Heaven today, 17 April 2015. He was a model for priestly holiness and possessed a rare combination of faithful zeal, compassion, temperance, intellect, and diplomacy.
Serra was privileged to have Cardinal George address the Serra International Convention in Chicago 2003, Anchorage, Alaska, in 2010, and most importantly to have him serve as our Episcopal Adviser from 2012 to 2014. I ask that all Serrans keep Cardinal George and his family and loved ones in your prayers.
The Cardinal always spoke of Serra with great fondness. He recognized Serra's unique place within the Church as the global lay apostolate for vocations and the vital role of Serrans in encouraging and affirming vocations, and Serra in grateful for his service to the Church.
In Christ,\
John Liston
Executive Director, Serra International
World Meeting of Families.
Held every three years and sponsored by the Holy See's Pontifical Council for the Family, the World Meeting of Families is the world's largest Catholic gathering of families. Each World Meeting of Families has a theme that energizes and enlivens the event while adding great depth of meaning to our understanding of families. The theme of the World Meeting of Families--Philadelphia 2015 is "Love is Our Mission; The Family Fully Alive," emphasizing the impact of the love and life of families in our society.
If you're ready to be a part of the greatest event in Philadelphia's modern history, we need more than 10,000 volunteers. Our volunteers will take care of more than one million people coming to the World Meeting of Families-Philadelphia 2015 and the Papal visit. See serraus@serraus.org for links to various events.
A Message from our President.
Please pray for me and our local Serra Club as we work together on our vocations mission and spiritual growth.
The newsletter this month is chock full of local, state and national events. Of special importance is the leadership meeting for our incoming officers..
I want to thank all the people who made the Sisters' Appreciation Dinner a special event. Joel and Beth Gumina led the way as chief chefs, with help from Nancy King, Bev Shields and Nancy Mulvihill. The invitations/reservations were handled by Tim Hile and Dan LaVille. Dan also served as the wine master. The set-up committee included Dr. and Mrs. Burns, Len and Robbie Gross, Nancy Mulvihill, and Weldon Schwartz. Clean-up was headed by Sara VanderWerff, Frank Lake, and a last-minute draft of a Serra friend, Mike Farage, who added knowledge and skill with a winning personality.
May the peace of Christ be with you and your families. Mary, Mother of Vocations, pray for us and guide us to dedicated leaders to her call of service to the Holy Catholic Church.
Agnes Kempker-Cloyd
Adoration. Finally, let us continue to practice adoration in our prayers for vocations.
St. Isidore 24/7, Code 513 or IHM, 24/5 24/5.
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