The Serra Club Of Arlington-Metro

From the President May 2009

2009-06-02T10:47:00.001-05:00

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.

2009-02-07T21:15:00.003-06:00

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

Arlington-Metro Prospective Member Information Night

2009-01-05T16:32:00.004-06:00

On January 21st we will be holding a Prospective Member Information Night. We will be providing information about the Arlington-Metro Serra Club. The location is the Saint Maria Center located on the campus of St. Maria Goretti Catholic Churc h.

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

2009-01-05T16:29:00.000-06:00

Your Board of Directors express our warmest greetings and wish each of you a Holy, Joyous Christmas Season as we all await the birth of Our Savior. May all the blessings of the Infant Savior be yours at Christmas and may the Divine Presence enrich your life throughout the New Year.
This is a wonderful time of year for gatherings of families and close friends with the spirit of great joy, hope, giving and fellowship. Our December Dinner Meeting was such a wonderful event. In the sprit of giving, the 50/50 raffle proceeds in the amount of $121.00 will be given to the Sisters of Mary Namur in Fort Worth. In the future, all proceeds from the 50/50 raffle will be shared with the Sisters of Mary Namur in Fort Worth.
The fellowship for the meeting was excellent with a very good crowd of members, (some that we have not seen in awhile) guests and new potential members. Likewise, Father Michael provided us with an inspirational message.
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.
Have a Blessed Christmas and a Joyous New Year.
God Bless You and keep you always in His Love.

Tom Murphy, President

"let us offer our prayers "

2008-11-25T14:41:00.000-06:00

The month of November brings us many activities. First we celebrate All Saints Day followed by All Souls Day. These are good days to remind us of those who have gone before us with the sign of Faith that we should never forget. All of us know persons who have been a guide to us in our lives and an inspiration for us to do good works for others. Some of those Saints/Souls have been members of our Club or the International Organization of SERRA.
For all of the Saints/Souls, let us offer our prayers in thanksgiving for their lives and for their salvation.
The United States of America elected a new president and a new congress. Some of us may be very disappointed with the outcome while others are joyful. Regardless how we feel about the outcome of the election, we all should pray to the Lord and His Blessed Mother to guide our leaders through these very difficult times that lie ahead. The Catholic Bishops have asked us to become more involved in the selection of candidates in order that the necessary principles of good moral conduct may be expressed in support of our Catholic beliefs.
On Saturday November 22, 2008, our Club will celebrate the formation of our Club at the 7:30am Mass at the Carmelite Monastery. Please come to this Mass to remember the beginnings of our Club and offer thanks to our founders. A short meeting will follow at a room at the Carmelite Monastery.
November is the month when our America stops and gives thanks on Thanksgiving Day. We all here in America have many things to be thankful for each day such as our families, friends, freedom, security, and excellent shelter fro the cold/heat, abundance of food, and all the other material things that fulfill our daily needs. All Americans should find a very special to offer prayers for all the abundance we have received rather than just have a day for a great meal and football. How will you spend your day?
Thank you for all the things that you do to help with our work for vocations.

God Bless. You!
Tom Murphy, President

Two Today For Serra

2008-10-17T15:41:00.003-05:00

Our speaker for the October dinner meeting was Jim Vredenburg our VP for Membership. Jim began by showing a video entitled “Spirit of Serra”.

After the video Jim introduced the members of the membership committee. They are: Luis Diaz, Sheila Galis, Al Hydak, Charles Jones, Ben Kloesel, Gerald Santiago and Pat LaPosta.

The mission of the committee is to increase the membership. They have been working very hard since the committee was established in early August and have had three meetings. Their goal is to increase the membership by 50 percent. This means bringing in seventeen new members. They will need every members help if they are to accomplish this goal.

They are going to conduct a member ship drive using the theme “Two Today for Serra”. The drive will be conducted as follows:
Members will be asked to furnish two names of individuals to be invited to a guest information night. These individuals will be invited by the committee. Guest information night will be held in late January. At the
conclusion of the information night invitees will be asked if they wish to join. Follow-up will be made on those who do not make a yes or no response.

An additional guest information night maybe scheduled if some of the invitees are unable to attend the January event. Formal induction of the new members will be held on a date and time to be determined latter. Goal would be to have this no later than March.

The first step will be for each member to furnish the names of at least two individual interested in learning about Serra. Prior to submitting anyone’s name the member should ask the individual if they have heard of Serra and
would they be interested in learning more about Serra. Tell them we are planning a guest information night and would like to invite them to attend. Stress that the main purpose of the meeting is to provide information about Serra, however, if after the presentations they desire to join our club membership applications will be available.

The plans for the guest information night are in the formation stage, but I would envision starting with the video “Spirit of Serra” which you have just seen. This would be followed by presentations about our club activities, how the club operates and spiritual benefits.

Committee members distributed the Two Today for Serra cards. You will use these cards to submit names of individuals to be invited to the guest information night. Please complete the cards and return them at next month’s dinner meeting. If you cannot return them at the meeting please mail them to me at 1702 Kingsborough Drive, Arlington, TX 76015.

Jim stressed that we need everyone’s help and we need your prayers if we are to succeed. If you were not at the meeting and/or need additional cards please contact Jim at 817-557-3497 and he will mail them to you. Jim will be out of town the week of October 13th but you can leave a message or call later.

Calendar of Events

2008-10-17T15:30:00.013-05:00

Public Mass at Holy Trinity Seminary

Please bring donuts for fellowship with seminarians after Mass. Public mass time is 9:15 a.m.

2009
They are currently on break.

June

6/3/2009 - 6:00 Most Blessed Sacrament, Installation of Officers. Meal to held at Most Blessed Sacrament.

“our society depends upon volunteers, donations by caring persons and caregivers”

2008-10-03T14:48:00.006-05:00

On September 13, 2008, my wife, daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter along with several friends joined in the Tarrant County Heart Walk. There were thousands of walkers who donated money out of their funds or were sponsored by others; many volunteers gave up their Saturday to make this event a great success. Many businesses donated drinks, snacks and other items to the walkers. Even with the threat of wind and rain, the walkers showed up to show their support of this worthwhile cause.
The survivors of heart procedures were recognized by the American Heart Association by giving them red hats to wear.
This event brought home the point of how much within our society depends upon volunteers, donations by caring persons and caregivers. Our Serra Club is successful because our membership volunteers and makes donations to the Serra Club through dues, 50/50 raffle along with the other causes for which volunteer give time, talent and treasury.
Because of what each member contribution of time, talent and treasury does for the good of the Serra Club, the balance of the Serra Club membership is very thankful. The Serra Club cannot be successful without your support and assistance.
In the future you as a member of the Serra Club find a cause in which you intend to get involved because it will help increase vocations or benefit our Serra Club, please bring the matter to the board for action. I am confident you will find support from our board and membership.
Thank you for all the things that you do to help with our work for vocations.

God Bless. You!
Tom Murphy, President

Serran Prayers For Vocations

2008-10-03T14:38:00.003-05:00

SERRAN PRAYER FOR VOCATIONS
O God, Who wills not the death of a sinner, but rather that he be converted and live, grant we beseech You through the intercession of the Blessed Mary ever Virgin, Saint Joseph, her spouse, Blessed Junipero Serra and all the saints, an increase in laborers for Your Church, fellow laborers with Christ to spend and consume themselves for souls, through the same Jesus Christ, Your Son, Who lives and reigns with You, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God forever and ever. Amen.

PRAYER FOR THE PERSEVERANCE OF VOCATIONS
O God, You have constituted Your only begotten Son supreme and eternal Priest for the glory of Your majesty and salvation of mankind, grant that Those whom He has chosen ministers and dispensers of His mysteries may be Found faithful in fulfilling the ministry they have received.

What is Serra International?

2008-10-03T14:26:00.005-05:00

1. What is Serra International?
Serra International is a voluntary organization of practicing Catholic men and women, representing various ages, races, and backgrounds, who have joined to foster vocations to the priesthood, diaconate, and religious life, and to further Catholicism through fulfillment of their own Christian vocations to service. International web site www.serraus.orge  Its name is in honor of the Blessed Junipero Serra, the 18th century Spanish Franciscan who spearheaded the evangelization of California.
From one club, established in Seattle, Washington, by a group of four laymen in 1935, the Serra movement has grown to more than 735 clubs in 37 countries with a combined membership of over 20,700 persons. Spiritual growth, Christian fellowship and continuing education in the Catholic faith accompany members efforts on behalf of vocations awareness and affirmation. Serra is committed to the work of the Church. It performs works cited by John Paul II in Christifideles Laici as "criteria for ecclesiolaty for lay groups" namely, "The reawakening of vocations to ... the ministerial priesthood and the consecrated life."

2. Serra Club of Arlington-Metro
The Serra Club of Arlington was chartered in November 22,1985 and currently has over 30 members. Meetings are held on the second Wednesday of the month. Dinner is provided with reports from the different vice presidents and a talk by a guest speaker. The Trustees meet on the Tuesday before the second Wednesday dinner meeting to set goals and plan programs.
Serra Clubs are organized into Districts and the Arlington Metro is in district 46W. This district also includes two clubs in Ft. Worth, one in NE Tarrant County, one in Wichita Falls and a club in formation in Denton.

3. Vocational Programs
• Prayer Programs - Petitioning God's help in providing Priests and religious 
• Awareness Programs - To bring about religious vocations among candidates, families, peers, and other support groups. 
• Affirmation Programs - To show love, respect, and gratitude to those who have accepted the religious vocation call. 
• Support Programs - To assist through personal involvement and monetary means seminaries and other vocational activities.

4. Vocation Programs and Events
• Newly Ordained Gifts
• Seminarian Friendship
• Prayer Breakfast
• Altar Server Certificates
• Seminary Gifts
• Priest Recognition
• Vocation Awareness Program
• Parish Vocation Committees
• Serra International Foundation

5. Why Serra - FAQs?
There are Vocations which manifest themselves.
- They must be fostered
There are Vocations which are not conscious of themselves.
- They must be awakened
There are Vocations which do not dare manifest themselves.
- They must be found and encouraged.
There are Vocations which meet opposition.
- They must be strengthened.
There are Vocations which are paralyzed by poverty.
- They must be helped.
There are Vocations which must be encouraged and supported by family and friends.
- They must be sought out and encouraged.

6. Why Me? What Can I Do? How Can I Help?
Pope John Paul II asked Serrans throughout the world to be the "Vocation Arm of the Church." Your participation in this effort is vital to insure the future of our Church and the development of its religious and lay leaders. Being an active participant in all Serra Programs. Where Parish Vocation Committees are established, encourage parishioners to identify possible candidates to the priesthood, or other religious vocations such as sisters, nuns, brothers, deacons or other lay church leaders.
Pledge to pray daily to the Queen of Apostles, by saying:

The Our Father

Hail Mary

Glory Be to the Father

The intercession: Mary, Queen of Apostles, inspire vocations to the Church.