Serra Club of Carroll promotes vocations

August 11, 2005

CARROLL - The Serra Club of Carroll was organized in the year 2000, at the encouragement of Bishop Daniel N. DiNardo, former bishop of the diocese, and his vocation staff. This club belongs to the USA Council which is associated with Serra International which has 832 clubs in 37 countries with over 600 clubs in the Americas.

The USA Council Mission Statement is to foster and affirm vocations to the ministerial Priesthood and vowed religious life in the USA and through this ministry further our members common Catholic Faith.

"Presently our club has 41 members and we are annually requesting and inviting new members to join from this area," said McCabe. "We engage in a number of spiritual, educational and social activities."

Spiritual activities consist of praying daily for seminarians and for religious vocations. Other activities include monthly rosaries, Mass and a one-hour business club meeting, on the last Saturday of the month.

They also meet for a lunch or dinner program once a month preceeded by the rosary or Mass. The club usually meets at a local restaurant, with a speaker related to vocations. They have all-night adoration on the vigil of First Friday for vocations.

"We have a program of sending home weekly a statue of Junipero Serra with a prayer book for vocations, usually given on Sunday to a family with children, to pray daily at their home. Another spiritual event, is a period of Eucharistic Adoration and Benediction on the vigil of priesthood ordination, in Sioux City. We also send rosary videos to Nursing Home residents to pray the rosary," he said.

Educationally, the group has given out vocation literature at the Diocesan Youth Rally. They have supported Vocational Discernment Meetings and spiritual awareness for high, college students, sent to such places as Steubenville, Ohio and University of St. Thomas, Minn. and other places.

Socially, they have an annual dinner, with guest speaker, in November with invitations to the bishop, vicar general, and vocation director, area priests, deacons and sisters, plus members and guests, to show their appreciation and thanks for their service to the parish schools and Catholic institutions.

"We try to support financial assistance requests of modest amounts and we send care packages to seminarians," noted McCabe.

Finally, Serra encourages active Catholics to view religious life as a calling and a gift to serve God especially if a member of a family would show interest in trying the seminary or convent.