January 11, 2016. Our first monthly evening meeting at 5:30 p.m. at the University Club. Invite a guest as we begin our new schedule.
January 14-16, 2016. Serra Rally, Houston, Texas. See the December newsletter and the serraus.org website for complete information, if you have not already done so.
January 18, 2016. Board Meeting and Luncheon, 12:00 Noon at Ss. Peter and Paul.
February 7, 2016. World Day of Prayer for the Consecrated Life. See the serraus.org website for promotional materials for these various vocational activities.
March 28-April 7, 2016. Pilgrimage to the California Missions of Saint Junipero Serra. Join Twin Cities Pilgrims and Frs. James Adams and Allan Paul Eilen of St. Paul-Minneapolis MN on this spectacular journey to the Golden State in honor of the first-ever Canonization on American soil of the "Apostle of California", Saint Junipero Serra. Visit the serraus.org website to download complete information and registration forms for this fantastic journey. It is offered by Mater Dei Tours of Waunakee, WI at 1-800-515-2632 or www.materdeitours.com or www.true-catholic -pilgrimages.com. Included in the package is a $50 discount for Serra Club members, plus $50 donation to our local Serra Club for each member who joins the pilgrimage. Even if you don't plan to go, the itinerary offers much valuable information about the missions of St. Junipero Serra. A contact number for the Twin Cities Pilgrims is 1-952-356-9455. Even the vicarious trip is well worth the time and effort to explore what the pilgrimage offers.
Priests' Anniversaries for January.
The following information has been fully updated as of January 3, 2016. Also included are those priests whose profiles at the dioceseofgrandrapids.org website do not give an exact date of ordination. We have decided to list them in January of each year. The list offers a great opportunity to send one or more of these priests a card. Their full contact information is given at the Diocesean Home Page under Priests.
Fr. Joseph Kenshol, January 19, 1973.
Fr. Mark Mitchell, January 25, 1976.
Fr. Ernest P. Schneider, January 30, 1977.
Fr. Thomas Simons, January 30, 1977.
Unknown or incomplete dates:
Fr. Anthony Aduaka, Spring 2004.
Fr. Bartholomew Okagbue, 1988.
Fr. Marcus Zamora, CSP, 1990.
The Serra International Foundation.
You should have received by now a letter from the Serra International Foundation asking you to consider a gift to the Foundation this year. Donations may be made online or by check to the Serra International Foundation. The letter also gives a complete list of the grants given during 2015, and these grants are very much in keeping with our mission of promoting and nurturing priestly and religious vocations.
The Fall 2015 Serran Magazine offers further information about the activities of the Foundation:
"When Bishop Pierre-Antoine Paulo arrived in 2001, there was one seminarian studying for the diocese...This year, 2014, we have 45 seminarians...Since 2011, Bishop Paulo has ordained nine new priests, and another will be ordained on December 8, 2014. It has not been an easy road to travel, especially with the earthquake in 2010 which killed several seminarians. But it is a road we have not traveled alone. Thanks to Serra International, we have been able to support the seminarian program, which is now beginning to bear fruit."
These words of gratitude written by Joan Martin, a missionary in the Diocese of Port-d-Paix, Haiti, were a part of the final report expressing thanks for a grant from the Serra International Foundation in 009. This diocese is just one of the 138 grantees awarded a total of $1.8 million by the Serra International Foundation in the last decade. The Diocese of Port-de-Paix is a particularly striking example of how a gift can go far beyond its original intent. Here are a few more amazing recent examples of your donation dollars at work in the field of vocations through the Serra International Foundation.
*3160.00 to the Jesuit Society of Jamshedpur in India to build wells necessary for the health of its seminarians and staff.
*$25,000 to the Pontifical College of North America in Rome applied to the sponsorship of their annual class retreat.
*$12,000 to provide education and financial support for two seminarians at Holy Spirit Seminary of L'viv, Ukraine.
*$25,000 for the Diocese of San Bernadino's Offices of Vocations and Mission Advancement to help young Christians understand what it means to be called to a vocation in the Church; this grant was matched by San Bernadino Serran Bill Lemann, and the California Serra Clubs of Palm Springs, Hemet, Riverside, and San Bernadino, bringing the fund total to $100,000.00,
*$20,000 for the purchase, shipment, delivery, and associated fees of a Toyota Tacoma vehicle to aid the Director of Formation of the National Missionary Society of St. Paul in Nigeria in his travels.
As you can see, when you give to the Serra International Foundation, you support vocations worldwide in very real ways. You support vocations threatened by poverty or disaster. You support the awareness of nurturing vocations in young people. You help secure the peace of mind, heart, and body for vocations to flourish.
By giving to the Foundation, you help Serra International to fulfill its mission far beyond the reach of local clubs, beyond the borders of dioceses and nations. You make possible the work, life, and vitality of our Church--and thus, its very precious future--as the earthly hands and hearts of Jesus Christ.
Introducing the Saint Serra Society: The Serra International Foundation wishes to honor and acknowledge patrons who donate $10,000.00 or more within a single year of the Foundation. Those who make such a generous gift will become part of "The Saint Serra Society" and receive special perks, especially during Serra International's annual convention. Stay tuned for more details on this exciting development.
The Serra International Foundation welcomes gifts in any amount, at any time of the year.
Call John Liston at 312-419-7411 or any member of the Serra International Foundation if you have questions. Our own Grand Rapids Serran Dennis Leiber sits on that Board as Past President.
Pray for our persecuted brothers and sisters, especially in the Middle East.
Our prayers are especially needed at this time. One can find much up-to-date information by searching the web. Solidarity with the Persecuted Church at solidaritypersecutedchurch.org/solidarity-with-thepersecuted-church-christians-in-kurdistan/ is just one of these sites, and it offers enough information for at least a whole day's study as to who we can help our fellow Christians and the surviving priests who serve them.
At this website readers will find its mission statement: Solidarity with the Persecuted Church exists to share the generosity of the American people with the Christian Church in countries where it confronts religious persecution.
A sampling of the rich menu of related articles offers the following:
*Parishes in Exile. 25 Syriac Christian Parishes are living as exiles in Northern Iraq. These communities, mostly Orthodox and Syriac Catholic, are struggling to rebuild their lives as refugees while they await in eventual return to their ancient homelands.
*Rebuild the Nigerian Church. For over six years Nigeria has been fighting a vicious radical Islamic insurgency, Boko Haram. In a nation which is over half Christian, Churches have been destroyed, girls have been kidnapped, forced to convert to Islam, or slaughtered outright. Finally, Nigeria is able to begin focusing on long road to reconstruction, but the Church needs help rebuilding parishes, and caring for the hundreds of thousands displaced by Boko Haram.
*Little Angels Orphanage. Orphans caused by the 220,000 deaths due to the Syrian civil war may have a future at the "Little Angel's" orphanage on the outskirts of Damascus, Syria. Patriarch Aphrem of the Syrian Orthodox Church has recently acquired a property that he intends as a place to care for Syria's orphans.
*Northern Iraq. Help Bishop Rabban al-Qas of Dohuk, Iraq, build schools to teach Christian refugee children.
The article, "Supplying Children with Heat in the Winter," presents one example of how fellow Christians can help a priests's effort to deal with the needs arising from this crisis.
Spokesmen from the Solidarity site write,
"During our recent mission to the Kurdistan region of Iraq, Solidarity with the Persecuted Church (SPC) went to discuss the situation of Christians displaced by the Islamic State. We identified an urgent need for an electrical generator at the St. Matthew's ursery School, operated by Father Jacob of the Syriac Orthodox Church.
Winter is coming to the mountainous area of Iraq, and the school is heated (as well as lighted) with electricity. Local power is unreliable, with outages often lasting for hours. Losing heat and light for so long causes the school to shut down until it can be reheated and leaves children 4 and 5 without vital primary education...
Primary education is a key part of the Christian Church's strategy for making life tolerable for their people in exile. The Christian Churches, mainly the Syriac Catholic, the Syriac Orthodox, and Chaldean Catholic Churches, are shouldering most of the burden of meeting the material needs of their people and the needs of fellow Christians in exile. We heard from Bishop Boutros Moshe, the Syrian Catholic Bishop of Mosul now in exile, and others that "happy children make happy parents." Keeping the children busy during the day learning at school makes their parents' situation more endurable, allowing them to find work as they wait for the opportunity to go home, which God be willing, will be soon.
Witnessed the youngsters at St. Matthew's learning the Aramaic alphabet, so that they will be able to speak the same language which the Holy Family spoke at home--the same language spoken by these people since before the time of Christ. SPC immediately made a grant to the school to purchase the generator.
As we learn more and more about the efforts of priests and religious to deal with the dire situation of persecuted Christians in the Middle East, let us at the very least pray for them. We wish for a better 2016 for these people.
A Message from our President.
We had a wonderful wrap-up for 2015 with the Serra Club Christmas dinner at the University Club, with 28 people attending, including two from the Kalamazoo Diocese, one from the Muskegon Serra Club and one from the Wayne-Oakland Serra Club. This event was also the kickoff for our new Serra Club schedule beginning in 2016, with one general meeting per month on the second Monday of each month at 5:30 p.m. at the University Club. We will continue to hold board meetings on the third Monday at noon at the Ss. Peter and Paul school building.
The Catholic Men's Conference is to be held on March 12, 2016 at West Catholic High School. I put a hold on a place at one of the tables for our club for the purpose of recruiting new members. I will be including this as an agenda item at the board meeting in January, whether we should have a table, and secondly, if we should invite the Muskegon club, since they are also a part of our diocese.
On a more personal note, I learned that the tumor removed from my right forearm is benign, which is always good to hear, especially at Christmas time. However, the strength and mobility of my right hand remains somewhat limited.
Mary, Mother of Vocations, Pray for Us!
Weldon Schwartz
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