Search
-
April 4, 2018Often, some of the most beautiful works of God begin by planting little seeds of faith with humility and hope. Such is the case of the Serra Club, which is a flourishing ministry of prayer that works to promote vocations to the religious life and the priesthood in our diocese and beyond.
The Serra USA was founded in 1935. This group of Catholic lay leaders is named in honor of St. Junipero Serra, an 18 th century Franciscan friar and missionary disciple who founded missions across California.
Soon after he came to our diocese in 1962, Bishop Hacker recognized the need for actively promoting religious vocations in our sparsely populated diocese. Coming from the Diocese of St. Paul, he had an intimate knowledge of the Serra Club, which had numerous groups in the Twin Cities area. Knowing how dedicated Serrans are to fostering vocations, he desired a Serra Club chartered in Bismarck.
The Bismarck-Mandan chapter is blessed to have three of their original members still active today—Deacon Ray Grabar, Jerry Spaedy and Bob Rausch.
“In the beginning, only a few of us would meet together to pray,” said Deacon Ray Grabar. “At one point, we had trouble getting enough members to have an official charter, so we did some recruiting. We were sitting at about 16 to 18 members, and today we have about 90. In fact, at one time we were the largest or the second largest charter in the United States. Women are now admitted, and I really appreciate their participation.”
On Jan. 5, 1964, the Bismarck-Mandan Serra Club achieved their goal and received the charter which was presented by District Governor Harvey Seipp. As his personal gift to the Serra Club, Harvey presented the official Serra meeting bell and gavel, which continues to be used at their meetings.
Currently, there are Serra Club groups in Bismarck and Minot, plus other active vocations groups in other cities. Its members stay true to the original intention of the club, which was to prayerfully promote vocations and give a means of fellowship to its members. In addition to prayer, Serra Club members do fundraising to help seminarians, such as putting on annual breakfasts or collecting pocket change at their meetings.
When Deacon Ray first joined the Serra Club in the early 1960's, he was just a “Sunday only” Catholic, but it didn't take long for that to change.
“My spiritual life mainly consisted of just going to Mass on Sundays, except for some daily Masses during Lent,” he shared. “But, being a member of the Serra Club made me want to be more active with my faith. It brought me to pray daily for vocations, which then inspired me to pray for other intentions, such as for my family, and all of their struggles in life.”
Ultimately, it kindled a desire to open his heart to God's call upon his own life in a radical way.
“My wife Loretta and I have eight children, and I thought that being a member of the Serra Club would be a great way to pray for their vocations,” he said. “But it ended up backfiring on me, and now I am the one with a vocation as a deacon!”
Looking back, Serra Club members are grateful that they were courageous and persistent in founding the charter. The Diocese of Bismarck and the world beyond is now reaping the “harvest” of their efforts.
“Having the Serra Club has really increased the prayers for vocations in our diocese,” said Jerry Spaedy, who has been a member since 1964 and was recently joined by his wife, Sharon. “Some of the years, we have persevered in prayer, even when there wasn't anyone being ordained, or only one or two men. Now, we have 27 seminarians. I would like to think that our prayers have made a difference. It truly is God's work.”
And, because this ministry has proven to be such a grace, Jerry and Sharon would love to see it branch out all the more.
“We are blessed and privileged to even have a Serra Club in our diocese,” Jerry said. “When our son David tried to get one started in another diocese, he didn't have enough support to do so. We club members are constantly trying to get our organization's name out to local parishes, so that it can grow further.”
Jerry and Sharon have also found that belonging to the Serra Club has enriched their journey as Catholics.
“It is a very prayerful group,” he added. “We not only pray for vocations, but we increase our own personal prayer life as well. Both Sharon and I also feel that doing a ministry together has helped us grow in our faith together as a married couple.”
Other members have found themselves blessed in return for their generosity in giving their time and talent to the Serra Club. In 1997, Bob Rausch wrote the following about his enriching experiences as a member: “One of the highlights of my life as a Serran was representing our club at the Chicago International Convention where Bishop Sheen was a major speaker. I could hardly believe I was seated within about ten feet of the podium from which he spoke. Another of equal importance was a trip to Serra International Convention held in San Francisco. Serra has been a great gift in my life! I get inspiration from my fellow Serrans when I witness their dedication to leading a good Christian life. I’m so grateful for their companionship on our faith journey together.”
Those who would like to join the Serra Club can contact any member and sign up. In Minot, contact Chapter President Mike Ruelle at 701-839-4365 and President Chuck Huber at 701-391-9575 in Bismarck.
World Day of Prayer for Vocations
The World Day of Prayer for Vocations is observed on “Good Shepherd Sunday” – April 22, 2018. The purpose of this day is to publicly fulfill the Lord’s instruction to, “Pray the Lord of the harvest to send laborers into his harvest” (Mt 9:38; Lk 10:2). It affirms the primacy of faith and grace in all that concerns vocations to the priesthood and to the consecrated life. This year marks the 55th anniversary of this celebration.