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Happening ... in the Local Church
 A
Mass and dinner on Oct. 29 celebrated the re-chartering of the Serra
Club of the Carmel Deanery. Bishop William L. Higi was principal
celebrant of the Mass; concelebrants included Father Dennis O’Keeffe,
Father Brian Doerr, Father Joshua Janko and Father Douglas McCormack.
(Photos by Caroline B. Mooney) |
 From
left are Father Douglas McCormack; Stu Baxter, Carmel club trustee; Tom
Hausladen, Serra regional director; Father Brian Doerr; Bishop William
L. Higi; Father Joshua Janko; Tom Derksen, Carmel club president; Father
Dennis O’Keeffe; and Ray Fairchild, Serra district governor. |
“It’s a phenomenal group to be involved in.”
By Caroline B. Mooney
The
Catholic Moment
ZIONSVILLE — Seminarians of the Local Church are receiving more spiritual aid with the re-chartering of the Serra Club of the Carmel Deanery.
Stu Baxter, a parishioner of St. Alphonsus Church, Zionsville, was president of the old Carmel Serra Club, and is a trustee of the new one. “The club started on Sept. 10, 1995, and due to a lack of members hasn’t been active for about the past three years,” he said.
Encouraging, promoting, fostering, developing and nurturing vocations is the primary goal of the Serra Club. Serrans help promote the priesthood and religious life by supporting not only priests, but also seminarians and novices in religious communities through the diocesan vocations office. The Local Church has 30 men in formation for the priesthood.
Approximately 60 people commemorated the re-chartering with a Mass and dinner Oct. 29 at St. Alphonsus Church.
Bishop William L. Higi celebrated Mass, with concelebrants Father Douglas McCormack, former pastor of St. Alphonsus, now retired, who helped start the first Carmel Deanery Serra Club; Father Brian Doerr, diocesan vocations director; Father Joshua Janko, associate pastor of St. Alphonsus and Serra Club chaplain; and Father Dennis O’Keeffe, pastor of St. Alphonsus.
“It’s a good thing we are getting the club re-chartered,” Father Janko said. “The Serrans were such a help to me in my years as a seminarian — this is important work of the Church.”
“I am thrilled that we have yet again a Serra Club in the Carmel Deanery,” Bishop Higi said in his homily. “Please God it will flourish. Please God it will provide a witness that proclaims loud and clear that the call to serve the Church as a religious, a permanent deacon, a priest and/or a bishop is something to be celebrated, affirmed, encouraged and supported.
“During this Year for Priests, our Holy Father has challenged all of us who are priests to focus on our call to holiness,” he said. “The call to holiness is not intended to be a solitary journey. The support of prayers, prayers of other people, the sacraments and appreciation for the ministry we provide is most important. Serrans proclaim that it is OK to think about a vocation to the consecrated religious life, the diaconate and priesthood. Not only is it OK, it is a call needed in our world as surely as it was in the time of the apostles, the very first men called to priesthood. It is a unique call, one that deserves to be respected, and encouraged and affirmed by the faith community. Serrans do that. It is very much appreciated.
“… We who are priests, deacons and religious walk with you, our brothers and sisters, as you respond to God’s call to holiness,” Bishop Higi said. “We are most grateful to you as you walk with us as we, too, struggle to respond to that same call. Let our mantra be, ‘If God is for us, who can be against us?’”
“With so many seminarians, we really need to support them,” said Tom Derksen, club president and a member of St. Maria Goretti, Westfield. “You really have to have someone to help them and Father Brian.
“We have been having regular meetings once a month, and members really run the gamut in age,” he said. “It’s so good to see that some are parents of young priests. This gives them a common place to get together.”
Derksen said that each Serran has adopted a seminarian, who is then sent e-mails and cards to let him know someone is praying for him.
“At the end of last year, Father Doerr and Bishop Higi were interested in getting the Serra Club started again,” said Chris Wrobel, a member of Our Lady of Mt Carmel Church, Carmel, who serves as the club’s vice president of vocations and communications. “Father Brian contacted people at parishes in the deanery and we passed the required minimum of 25 dues-paying members with just over 30 members.”
“I felt a loss when the Carmel Serra Club disbanded,” Father Doerr said. “But, it didn’t take much to get it going again. The strength of the club is going to be the people — good people who are eager to be involved for the good of the diocese.
“The Serrans first and foremost pray for the seminarians, and they serve as a liaison between the seminarians and the diocese,” he said. “They are in the forefront in keeping in touch with the guys. It can be rather like a desert at seminary. Seminarians can feel kind of alone, then they get a letter or maybe a gift from the Serrans and it reminds them why they are there — to come back and serve the diocese.
“It is not exclusive,” Father Doerr said. “The club is for anyone who wants to be actively involved in supporting young men and women of the diocese who are pursuing the religious life. It’s a phenomenal group to be involved in.”
Aileen and Robert Shocklee, members of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, are the parents of Father Christopher Shocklee, who was ordained June 9 and serves as associate pastor of the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception and St. Lawrence Church in Lafayette. The Shocklees are vice presidents of programming for the club.
“With a priest in the family, we know how important it is to have support,” Aileen Shocklee said. “The seminarians give their lives to us — it is important to show some appreciation. Father Chris used to tell us about things he had received from Serrans while in the seminary. It’s a special club and it will be an active organization in our Carmel Deanery.”
“My parents were involved in the Serra Club when I lived in Texas,” Robert Shocklee said. “My son, Chris, received a lot of benefits from Serrans, and that really reacquainted me with the club. With the influx of new seminarians, there seems to be a lot of interest in the Serra Club. This is an ideal time for support of this group.”
Other Serrans with positions in the Carmel club are: Bob Giczewski of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, trustee; Joseph Marcheggiana of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, vice president of membership; Terry Spartz of St. Alphonsus, secretary; and Brant Howe of St. Louis de Montfort, Fishers, treasurer.
The diocese also has Serra Clubs in Lafayette and Kokomo.
For more information on the Carmel Deanery’s Serra Club, contact Christopher Wrobel at 317-313-1982 or christopher.wrobel@univarusa.com or Tom Derksen at 317-773-0020.
About Serra
Serra International began in 1934 in Seattle, Wash., when four Catholic laymen came together to form what would become the first Serra Club.
There are 10 Serra Councils in the world that report to Serra International. The geographical areas under those councils are further broken up into districts and, in some cases, regions and areas. Each Serra Club is part of one district.
As of October 2006, Serra International had more than 20,000 members in 1,088 Serra Clubs chartered in 44 countries. Membership is open to all practicing Catholic laymen, laywomen and permanent deacons.