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The Serra Leader Fall 2005

ACCENTUATE THE POSITIVE

by USA Council President Don DeDecker

Leaders of Serra, I’d like to thank each and every one of you for taking the responsibility of your very important office. As all of you know, our mission in support of vocations is a very challenging one, and I want you to know that as your Council president, I am very grateful for every leader who steps up to the plate.

I ask all of you to look at your position description and really study it. Are you doing all you can to lead your flock, whether it be club, district, or region, in a positive, constructive way? The Church has suffered enough negative media. It is high time we eliminate the negative and accentuate the positive! We must celebrate Serra now and work harder to promote and foster vocations. Have you thanked your priests and religious for their vocations? Let us do this and teach our members to do the same.

Priesthood Sunday, Oct. 30th, 2005, really needs your individual efforts to get everyone in Serra’s USA Council to recognize our priests with a card or gift and treat the day just like you would Father’s or Mother’s Day. Take your pastor out to lunch that week and have your parish contact members do the same with pastors and priests in other parishes. We have included the Parish Planning Guide in this newsletter so you can get a jump on Priesthood Sunday activities, whether you do them on the appointed day or at a time better suited to your parish.

Have you conducted the annual “In His Steps” program for your club yet? It's time to recommit ourselves to Serra. See the Serran self-evaluation exercise on page two; I’m sure it will help you and your members to feel more keenly why they decided to become a part of our mission. This will also help members gain the focus they need to recruit new members effectively.

One other important subject: membership. Please accept a goal of a 10 percent increase before May 31, 2006. Let’s go after the baby boomers and all active people in your parish. The best kept secret in the Catholic Church is SERRA! How can you make Serra more visible to others? Wear a badge, cap, shirt or pin with the Serra emblem at all church functions. If your club attends Mass together, make sure you all wear your pins and sit in a group. Give people an opportunity to ask, “What is SERRA?” Let us “sell Serra” every chance we get. Need a target? Try the people who attend daily Mass in your parish.

Thank you for all you do for Serra in the USA. I look forward to serving you as USA Council President this year.

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Boring but important: Saying “thank you”

by Ed Verbeke, USA Council Executive Director

We don’t need Emily Post to remind us when it is appropriate to say, “Thank You,” but the IRS has an etiquette all its own.

For example, the IRS requires that a letter be sent acknowledging all single gifts more than $250. So if your club receives a contribution for more than $250, you must send a letter to the donor.

The USA Council has a policy to send a “Thank You” letter for all gifts, no matter what the amount. Jan Cholke maintains a complete file of all contributions made to the Council, so if you have misplaced this tax receipt, give her a call 888.777.6681. (Please note: contributions to the Serra International Foundation are recorded by them, so questions concerning contributions made to the Foundation should be directed to them at 800.488.4008.)

At the USA Council Board Meeting in August, the Board passed a motion that requires our staff to track all individual contributions; when an individual’s cumulative contributions reaches $1,000, they will be eligible to receive the St. Andrew Award. In calculating this amount the staff was directed to include contributions made in the 2004-2005 fiscal year that ended on May 31, 2005. I had the honor of receiving the first award from Fund Development Committee Chairman and Past Council President Tom Benson. Needless to say, receiving the award came as a total surprise. More about this award will be published in the serraUSA magazine in the near future.

Finally, a word about insurance — each club is covered by the insurance policies carried by the Council. So you don’t need to buy insurance. If you need a certificate of insurance, call Jan Cholke. Please give her at least 72 hours to get the certificate from the insurance company.

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How to hold a club membership drive

by Ramon Jesch, USAC Membership Vice President

When your club decides to hold a membership drive, approach it with prayer, commitment and determination. Remind yourselves what a great privilege it is to be involved in such an important part of God's work, and you will be able to clearly convey that to prospective members. Planning, preparation and marketing are crucial to a successful membership drive. Below are five tips:

1. Decide on a campaign method and make sure every club member plays a part in it. Will you make announcements at Mass? Will you recruit by personal invitation only? How will you publicize your club? See the Membership Manual for ideas.

2. Schedule extra meetings during the drive. These meetings should provide a time for progress reports, encouragement, and exchange of ideas on individual members’ recruitment efforts.

3. Follow up. After potential members attend an informational meeting (at which they are personally made welcome), send them a thank you note and restate your invitation.

4. Set up a display table at the church entry highlighting Serran activities both at the club and district level. Distribute informational brochures, prayer cards and Serra publications. Customize your display to reflect the personality and activities of your club.

5. Wear items that identify you as a Serran. Easily visible hats, shirts and pins featuring the Serra logo will give people the chance to ask you what Serra is.

Recruiting new members is a challenge. If you need inspiration, look no further than our own patron, Blessed Junipero Serra, whose travails show us what prayer, faith and sacrifice can achieve.

But before you try to recruit another new member, do this:

Your club has given you your marching orders: Your job is to introduce one potential member to the idea of Serra, and invite that person to attend an informational meeting.
There are plenty of potential members waiting to be asked, but how do you do it? What will you say about Serra? Are you really clear on what our mission is, what your club does, and what is attractive about belonging to this great organization?
Here is an exercise for you to complete before you try to recruit a new member. Ask yourself the following questions, and write the answers down:

Why am I Serran? What convinced me to join?

In your own words, what is Serra's mission?

Why do I, personally, believe in this mission?

How many years have I been a Serran? What keeps me in my club, working for vocations?

Name three blessings you have received as a part of your membership to Serra.

Name three activities conducted by your club that fulfill Serra's mission.

What would the world be like without Serrans?

Name three reasons why the Church needs Serra.

Finally, think about the person you want to invite to join your club. What about this special person made you think that he or she would find membership in Serra fulfilling?

What qualities does this person possess that could make him or her a valuable member of your club?

After you have answered these questions, you may find yourself much better prepared to approach someone about joining Serra. Writing down your answers will give you a clear picture of your own personal experience of Serra and how you and your club play a part in its mission.

A snapshot of what Serra means to you, personally, could be much more effective than reciting the scripted mission statement on the back of every Serra brochure, and certainly more effective than saying something nebulous like "Serra: We're for vocations!" And if you remember what convinced you to join in the first place, you may have the key to recruiting many new members.

Don't forget to tell your potential member why you chose to ask him or her. This will show that you value what this person can offer, and that your choice to invite him or her was a thoughtful one. Try it! — the editor

Officers: You may reprint this article and distribute it to all members as part of a club program that focuses on expanding membership. The questionnaire above also ties very nicely into recommitment activities.

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Priesthood Sunday event provides opportunity for Parish Contact Program to flourish

by Homer Radford
Serra Club of Southeast Kansas City, Mo.,
USAC Vocations Committee Chairman

Can you recall the name of the priest who . . .

- heard your first confession?
- gave you your First Communion?
- officiated at your wedding?
- baptized your children?
- consoled you and your family when a loved one died?

How about the bishop who confirmed you? Will your children and grandchildren be able to answer these same questions 10 or 20 years from now?

In the Serran Prayer for Vocations, shared at nearly every Serra club meeting and activity, we pray for "an increase of laborers for your Church, to spend and consume themselves for souls." We need not only to pray for priestly and religious vocations, but also to become an active part of the national religious vocation strategy, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Vocations Committee Pastoral Plan, which calls for the creation of a true culture of vocations in North America.

As leaders in Serra, we have a responsibility to provide support for parish activities that create this culture. The USAC Vocations Committee has developed a plan to help each Serra club meet this responsibility.

This plan focuses on awareness (inviting), affirmation, prayer, and support. The first step in implementing it is to encourage each Serra club to establish and maintain the Parish Contact Program. The Parish Contact Program began several years ago and is a time-tested program in many dioceses. In this program, every club sends a volunteer Serran (called the “parish contact person”) from the club into each parish in the club’s service area. This includes parishes where we don’t yet have Serra representation. The purpose is to establish and maintain a vocations awareness relationship between the club and each parish to assist in the vocation activities of the parish.

Priesthood Sunday

One activity that every Serran can participate in this year, and can present to their parish staff or parish vocation committee, is Priesthood Sunday, which takes place on Oct. 30, 2005.

The involvement of your club vocations vice president and committee is essential for the success of this event in the areas we serve. Priesthood Sunday gives us an opportunity to build positive relationships between parishes and Serra clubs. The Vocations Committee encourages each club to establish and maintain the Parish Contact Program as a follow-up service to parishes.

The objective at this time is to make good use of the parish relationships you build via the Parish Contact Program while promoting Priesthood Sunday. After the event is over, don’t just disappear; while Serra is fresh in the parish staff’s mind, follow up and offer them service in the area of parish vocations activities. You may leave with them a copy of our Parish Vocations Activities Manual and some information about your club, for starters. Make Serra’s name synonymous with vocations activities in the parish.

In the beginning of this article you were asked to recall the names of the priests who are close to you and have helped you live your faith. Through the Parish Contact Program and by sponsoring Priesthood Sunday in your club's geographic area, you can help create a more positive culture for vocations. Your children and grandchildren will be able to answer the same questions with ease, because they will have priests available to them as we have had. Our work together can start a practical and tangible program to increase laborers for our Church.

Find out more about starting your parish contact committee at www.serraus.org or call the USAC office at 888.777.6681.

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