Serra Club contest promotes vocations to priesthood, religious life

By KATIE LEFEBVRE, Globe staff reporter
December 16, 2004

Grade school students in the Diocese of Sioux City are given the opportunity to show their creative side while learning about religious vocations. The Serra Club is in its seventh year of hosting the Vocations Creativity Contest.

The contest is being held during National Vocation Awareness Week, Jan. 9-14. The theme for this year's contest is "Called for the Victory of Justice."

"Each year there are so many children that are involved," said Sharri Fitzpatrick, Serra Club member. "It seems like a good thing to get the choices of vocations in the minds of the children. They seem to enjoy it. The teachers seem to enjoy the contest."

The purpose of the contest is to increase the awareness of Catholic students regarding vocations to ministerial priesthood, diaconate and religious life. The emphasis is on church vocations due to the continued need for priests and religious.

Students will be participating in the contest first on the local (parish or school) level. An objective judge from each school or parish on the local level will select the best entry from each classroom or grade, kindergarten through eighth grade.

The best entries are then submitted to the Diocesan Vocations Office along with an entry form. All entries must be postmarked on or before Feb. 7. For the essays, it is requested that the entries be typed.

"We just give information so children can start thinking about the possibility of how they want to serve the community when they are older, and if perhaps the priesthood or religious life would be for them," said Fitzpatrick.

Each grade level is given an assignment that goes along with the theme. For example, the second grade assignment is to draw a picture showing how a priest, sister, brother and/or deacon makes the world a better place by helping people know they are loved and cared for on an 8 1/2 x 11-inch piece of paper. They are also asked to write one sentence about the picture. The seventh grade students are asked to reflect on how a dedicated priest, sister, brother and/or deacon could impact the life of a young person and make them want to also have that same vocation. They are to write a paragraph telling their story.

"It is an important assignment," said Fitzpatrick. "It fits in with a lot of different curriculum when they are learning about different vocations, especially with the shortage of priests and religious."

The judges for the contest on the diocesan level include a couple of Serra Club members, a priest and/or religious.

The first place winners on the diocesan level will be awarded $30 and a celebration dinner with the bishop for the winner and family. The second place winners will receive $20 and a congratulatory letter. The third place winners will be awarded $10 and a congratulatory letter.

"The entries are just really awesome every year," said Fitzpatrick. "The kids do such a good job. It kind of encourages you to do it again."

Packets of information were sent out to parishes and schools. Along with the creativity contest assignments, there was additional information for teachers planning a lesson plan for National Vocations Awareness Week.

For more information regarding the Serra Club's creativity contest contact the Office of Vocations at (712) 233-0523.