Serra Club promotes, affirms vocations

By RENEE WEBB, Globe editor
August 4, 2005

Serra Club of Siouxland was established in the mid- to late-1990s and since that time the club has been involved in a variety of projects and events that promote and affirm vocations to the priesthood and religious life.

A second Serra Club was established in the diocese in the Carroll area a few years  after this one was underway. (The Globe will feature a story on that club in the near future.)

According to Terry O'Gorman, president of Serra Club of Siouxland, one of the club's most widely known projects takes place at the diocesan level. Each January, the club teams up with the diocese's Office of Vocations to sponsor the Vocations Creativity Contest. The contest is open to grade school students from parish religious education programs and Catholic schools from throughout the diocese.

"That is our large project where we try to get the youth to participate," said O'Gorman, who became the club president in June. Winners are featured in The Globe each spring in conjunction with the World Day of Prayer for Vocations.

Another one of the club's big projects is designed to affirm priests, deacons and seminarians. The yearly golf outing and steak dinner is always well attended.

"We try to match priests with lay people for golf," he said. "That has been a very successful endeavor. Not only do the priests have a good time, but so do the lay participants."

In June there were 80 to 90 people who golfed and several more priests, deacons and seminarians came for the steak dinner.

The club also organizes some gatherings for women religious. Each spring they take the sisters to lunch and then in August the women are treated to an Explorer's baseball game.

"Last year one of the sisters even got to throw out the opening pitch," said O'Gorman. "They enjoy it."

The Serrans have helped to promote and publicize Eucharistic adoration in the Sioux City parishes, intended as a time to pray for vocations. The club members do assorted other small-scale things throughout the year such as send birthday cards to sisters and seminarian care packages at Christmas.

Along with praying for and affirming vocations, the Serrans offer assistance to the diocese in other ways such as providing hospitality at priestly ordinations. Serrans were ushers and helped serve the luncheon that followed the ordination of Father William Vit in early July.

One of the side benefits of the club is encouragement for members of the club in the practice of their own faith.

"We do that with fellowship and through education," noted O'Gorman. "We have programs throughout the year - program meetings - where we invite priests or a member of the religious to talk to us about a particular subject and we always ask them to include something about their vocation."

This last spring one of their speakers was Father John Vakulskas, pastor at St. Mary Church in Alton, who spoke about his carnival outreach ministry. Another speaker was Father Richard Sitzmann of Sioux City, who told Serrans about his chaplain ministry at Mercy Medical Center.

Serra Club of Siouxland meets twice a month. They meet once a month - first Saturday morning of the month at Mercy Medical Center - for a business meeting. It starts with a rosary and Mass, followed by the business meeting. The program meeting is held once a month, usually at noon on the third Tuesday of the month but that one is flexible. Again, they meet at Mercy Medical Center.

O'Gorman said the club is open to new members from the Sioux City metro area.

"One of the things we will be working on is the recruitment of new members into the Serra Club," he said.

Persons wishing more information about Serra Club of Siouxland can call O'Gorman at (605) 232-6160.