From the President May 2009

I write this message in the middle of the Easter Season, what a glorious time of the year to be alive to enjoy all the beautiful things around us. The entire world around reflect the joy and beauty of the Easter Season by nature displaying her finest colors of Spring Flowers and the dead grass turns green along with the trees putting forth new growth. Have we taken time out of our busy schedules to stop a smell the freshness of the season or have we kept ourselves locked in our house?  Are we adding new growth to our lives and displaying our very best for all to see and enjoy?

The month of May is devoted to Our Blessed Mother and the Rosary. Have I recently found my Rosary and prayed it to honor Mary this Month? What can we do this month to honor Mary in a special way?  Mary is the Mother of all Priests. She offers them comfort in their time of need. Let us take a little time to ask Mary’s help for all our Priests.

Deacon John Pacheco will be ordained Priest on May 23, 2009. The Arlington SERRA Club will provide a gift of $250.00 to Father John Pacheco in thanks for his acceptance of God’s Call. The Fort Worth Diocese is blessed by having new Priest ordained each year. Our prayers for vocations along with all the other work the Serran do is paying dividends in abundance. Let us continue to pray for vocations.

May is also a month for many Graduations and Weddings as individual and couples start new ventures in Life as singles or as a married couple. The SERRA Club offers our best wishes to any member of your family that may be experiencing this life changing event.

As you know June 3, 2009 is the date of our Installation of Officers and Induction of new Members at Most Blessed Sacrament Church presided over by Bishop Vann. The two Fort Worth Clubs and the Northeast Tarrant County Club will be joining in the event. Please make every effort to join in the celebration; we will miss you if you are not there. I hope to see you there.

We will have another delicious meal prepared by Ken W. our normal Chef assisted by his wife Maryann and Bernie D. from St Vincent DePaul Church. Wine will be included with the meal; you do not need to bring your own bottle of wine. The cost for the Arlington SERRA Club guests is $15.00 and the cost for the other clubs in $18.00. The reason for the difference in prices is because the Arlington SERRA Club Board voted to charge any of our guests $15.00 at any meeting they attend.

I understand that you had a wonderful May Meeting in my absence. I am very thankful that it  all worked our so well. Thanks Zack for running the meeting and Danny Longoria for supplying such a great meal. I also understand that you all though Zack was funnier than I am. Good, now you know what you have to look forward to next year.

My wife and the other five couples that we traveled with had a fantastic time in Florida. It was not too restful because we were too busy enjoying everything Florida has to offer such as deep sea fishing, golf, exploring, shopping, walking on the beech, swimming in the Gulf and eating. The group shared in the cooking, we only eat out on Friday night.

Tom Murphy

President

Thank you for all the things that you do to help with our work for vocations.

As a new year begins, I would be most ungrateful if neglected to thank the Board of Directors and the general membership for all the support I have received during the first six months of my term as President. A simple thanks is small in comparison to the support I received from each member of the Serra Club.

VP for Membership - Jim Vredenburg and his committee has done a outstanding job of putting together a very successful inquiry night for potential new Serra Members. Father Kyle was extremely please to be a part of the evening and he said that our Club hit a homerun with the presentations. The District Governor and three Presidents from the other Clubs in the

District also attended. All of them were most impressed with the presentations and the total evening.

The evening displays two very powerful messages. First the accomplishments can be made by the forming of a team instead of one person working alone. Second the organization a strong team with each person sharing the load each person contributing to the organization. Many thanks for such a excellent program Jim and committee.

Pat LaPosta has provided many fine programs for each of our meetings. While Pat does not have the title of VP for programs, he functions as same. Great job Pat!

VP of Vocations - Bruns Watts keep our club focused on our primary goal of working for vocations by keeping us involved in Father Kyle work.

VP for Communications - Gerald Santiago keeps our Club informed of the happening of our Club through our excellent News Letter “Good News”. Many very favorable comments have come fro the other Serra Clubs.

President Elect – Zack Whitley (the slave of the President) assist in many task each month could be done without his assistance. Treasury - Dan Single keeps us in the black, and Secretary Dick Kolkka keeps track of what we do. Many thanks for all you do.

Your Board of Directors has approved some changes for the coming year. Our monthly meetings will be held each month at the Saint Maria’s Center which is a very nice convenient location for a large majority of our membership. Some of the meals will be catered

by our members. Peter Hatton has volunteered to head up a Hospitality Committee charged with the responsibility of setting up for our meetings and the cleanup after our meetings. Please offer your assistance in this endeavor.

Our monthly Mass said for vocations has moved to Saturday Mass at the Carmelite Monastery on Bowen Road. If the last Mass we held there is any indication of what the future will be, the decision to make this change was the right decision.

The fellowship for the meeting was excellent. All of us Serrans have had a wonderful year together working and praying together for vocations. For all of you I am very thankful and very proud to be your President. We have some new opportunities in the New Year to increase our

involvement in the work for vocations. I feel confident that each of you will make contributions according to your means. The involvement is what drives our Club to great success.

Thank you for all the things that you do to help with our work for vocations.

God Bless You and keep you always in His Love.

Tom Murphy, President