Calendar of Events
May 3, 2018.  National Day of Prayer
May 13, 2018.  7th Sunday of Easter and The Ascension of the Lord.  Also, Mother's Day.
May 12, 2018.  Ordination to the Order of Deacons Andrew M. Ayers, Michael J. Goodwin, and Robert C. Mulderdink, 10:00 a.m. at the Cathedral of St. Andrew.  Our club may be invited to assist as ushers.  We will keep you posted.

VERY IMPORTANT..MONDAY EVENING, MAY 14
Save the Date.  May 14, 2018.  Special Joint Meeting with Muskegon Serrans with District Governor Greg Schwietz as Speaker, 6:00 p.m. at St. Stephen's lower level).  Billy K. will cater the dinner.  We will be soliciting a free will offering (suggest $10-$15 range) to cover additional costs.
May 28, 2018.  Memorial Day observed.


VERY IMPORTANT...THURSDAY EVENING, MAY 31

May 31, 2018.  Annual Vocations Dinner of the Muskegon Club at the Prince of Peace Catholic Church, 6:00 p.m. The speaker will be Fr. Ron Hutchinson, Director of Vocations of the Diocese of Grand Rapids.  Make checks payable to the Serra Club of Greater Muskegon.  Reply by May 18.
Bob Nolan, Vice-President of Vocations of the Muskegon Club tells us in his invitation that this year the fundraising effort is especially important because of the large crop of new seminarians coming in.

Saturday, June 2.  Ordination to the priesthood of Deacon Michael M. Steffes, 10:00 a.m. at the
Cathedral of St. Andrew.

Priests' Anniversaries for May.

The Reverend Ernest J. Bernott, May 22, 1948.
The Reverend Michael Blisczcz, May 24, 1958.
The Reverend Anthony Britto, May 14, 1988.
The Reverend Charles Cuniff, CSP, May 21, 1983.
Msgr. William Duncan, May 19, 1990.
The Very Reverend John Geaney, CSP, May 11, 1964.
The Reverend Thomas Hack, May 28, 1955.
The Reverend Theodore Kozlowski, May 29, 1958.
The Reverend Joachim Lalley, CSP, May 22, 1965.
The Reverend Charles O. Mason, May 19, 1979.
The Reverend Peter Joang-Xuan Nghiem, May 20, 1972.
The Reverend Kevin Niehof, OP, May 8, 1993.
The Reverend Philip Shangraw, May 5, 1979.
The Reverend Robert Sirico, May 13, 1989.
The Reverend Leonard Sudlick, May 15, 1976.
The Reverend Dominic Tirkey, May 19, 1998.
The Reverend Mark Przybysz, May 19, 1980.

Officer Vacancies.  

We need a new President and two trustees.  Let Weldon know if you are interested.

A Message from Greg Schweitz.

On April 24, 2018,  Greg Schwietz wrote:

Dear Serra Leaders,

Another God moment in my life.  This time it happened in Bridgeport, Connecticut while I was visiting the good Serrans of the Bridgeport Serra Club.

By way of my background, my brother Paul, was number 3 child of 6 Schwietz children.  I am the oldest.

After graduating from St. John's University in St. Cloud, Minnesoga in 1976, Paul joined the Benedictine community there and went on to ordination.  For 25 years, Fr. Paul served the St. John's Abbey community as land manager of the 2500-acre wooded abbey grounds in Central Minnesota. During much of his time at St. John's, the Abbot assigned him as the "Summer Vacation priest" to St. Christopher Parish in Nisswa, Minnesota, located in the Lakes area of Central Minnesota, in the Diocese of Duluth, Minnesota.  Nisswa is a town of slightly less than 2,000 "year-round" people and is located 10 miles north of the larger community of Brainerd.

In May of 2000, my brother Fr. Paul died suddenly from a heart attack (not cancer) at the young age of 47.  In addition to the loss felt by his family and the Benedictine community, the Catholic Community of St. Christopher parish experienced similar grief, and as a positive response initiated a scholarship fund for graduating high school students who desired to attend St. John's University.  The rest of the story, which appears below, is told so well by Serran David Flynn, a classmate of my brother Paul, having also graduated from St. Johns in 1976.  We discovered that fun coincidence on the last visit I made to his Serra Club.

Great thanks to David, founding member of the Bridgeport Serra Club, for his wonderful recollection of that very special occasion during our recent trip.  We will continue to ponder the wonderful ways that God chooses to manifest his love for us through family and friends, both dead and alive.

The story which follows is called A God Incident, by David Flynn

Something amazing happened the evening of April 9th, when Greg Schwietz, President of Serra International, and his wife Mary Lynn visited with members of the Serra Club of Bridgeport.  The meeting was arranged at a restaurant in Shelton, CT, which was on the route Greg and Mary Lynn were traveling visiting Serra Clubs between Boston and New Jersey before they returned to their home in Omaha, NE.

On the way of background, Greg was born in St. Paul, MN and lived there until he was six, when the family moved to Omaha.  Although she was born in Omaha, Mary Lynn's family has roots in Minnesota too, and her family owns a lake home in the central part of the state that Greg and Mary Lynn visit every summer.

After the Schweitzes and the six Serrans who had joined them for dinner were seated, another diner named Bernie came over to the table and introduced himself to Greg.  He asked Greg where he was from because he had heard Greg and Mary Lynn talking about Minnesota.  After Greg explained his family's Minnesota roots, Bernie introduced himself and said that he and his wife Linda were from Nisswa, a town near Brainerd.  He went on to tell Greg what a coincidence it was that his name is Schweitz, because there was a priest he and his wife had dearly loved from a Benedictine monastery called St. John's Abbey in Collegeville, MN.  This priest had spent many summers serving their parish and the vacationers in that part of Minnesota's lake region.

This wonderful priest, he explained, had unfortunately died of cancer at too young an age a number of years ago.  The parish was heartbroken by his death, but they decided to do something positive with their grief and created a scholarship fund to honor that priest, Fr. Paul Schwietz.
Bernie explained that he and Linda were trustees of that fund and it provides an annual scholarship for a young man to attend St. John's University.  The University, he added, is associated with the abbey in Collegeville.

"What a coincidence! Bernie exclaimed, that Greg would have the same last name as that wonderful young priest.  "What are the changes of that?" he wondered.  Bernie called Linda over to to the table and introduced her to their new acquaintance, saying that he was not only from Minnesota but also had the same last name as their dear friend Father Paul.

Imagine their shock, and then their joy, when Greg said, "Yes, that priest was my brother."

Ruminating over the improbability of such a meeting, Greg later commented that he was moving from "How did this happen?" to "Why did this happen?"  This will bear fruit, he thought.  Maybe God wanted a Serra Club to be started up in Brainerd, or it would strengthen the one in Bridgeport.

Whatever the outcome, the story demonstrates the impact a good priest makes, an impact that lasts well beyond his life and unites people in the most unique ways and unlikely places.

World Day of Prayer for Vocations.

A special observance of the World Day of Prayer took place on April 22 at St. Mary's Parish in Marne.  Although we received last minute notice, Weldon and Karen Schwartz, John and Ellen Osterhart, and Dan Grady represented out club at this occasion.  Thank you to those who attended.
Bishop Walkowiak and Father Ron Hutchinson were among the several speakers.

The President's Message.

Dear Serrans:

VERY IMPORTANT...MONDAY EVENING, MAY 14
May is going to be a busy month for Serrans of West Michigan.  On May 14 at 6:00 p.m. at 6:00 p.m/ at St. Stephan's (lower level) in East Grand Rapids, USA Council President Greg Schwietz is coming from Omaha to speak at our evening joint dinner meeting with the Muskegon Serrans.  We will be soliciting a free will offering (suggest $10-$15 range to cover additional costs.  We look forward to seeing you there.  Be sure to send your RSVP to Weldon or to Nancy King, as Billy JK. would like a count.

VERY IMPORTANT...THURSDAY EVENING, MAY 31
The second event being held in May is on the 31st. at Prince of Peace Church in Muskegon.  The dinner will be a fundraiser to support vocations to the priesthood and religious life for the Grand Rapids Diocese.   Tickets are $40 and sponsorships range from $125 (patron/1 ticket, $250.00 (bronze/2 tickets, $500 (silver/2 tickets), $800 (table/8 tickets, $1000 gold/8 or more tickets) and include different levels of recognition and numbers of tickets as indicated.

And don't forget about the ordinance to the diaconate of the three young men on May 12.

Mary, Mother of Vocations, Pray for Us.

Weldon Schwartz



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