History
of Serra
Serra is a voluntary organisation which was started in
1935 in Seattle, USA by four Catholic business men who
used to meet regularly for lunch. They decided to do something
constructive for the Church and decided, with the blessing
of the local Archbishop, to work for vocations to the
Priesthood. They chose the name Serra from Father Junipero
Serra, the noted Spanish Franciscan missionary, who played
a leading role in early missionary work in Mexico and
California.
Responding to Christ’s call to ”pray the Lord
of the harvest to send labourers into his harvest”
(Matt 9.38) Serra has made the encouragement of Church
vocations its hallmark.
Objectives
and purposes
To foster and promote vocations to the ministerial priesthood
in the Catholic Church as a particular vocation to service,
and to support priests in their sacred ministry;
To encourage and affirm vocations to consecrated religious
life in the Catholic Church; and
To assist its members to recognize and respond in their
own lives to God’s call to holiness in Jesus Christ
and through the Holy Spirit.
Serra
Clubs
The basic unit of Serra International is the Serra Club,
and the primary presence of Serra International in local
communities in any country.
As at July 2005 there are over 750 Clubs in 32 countries
with a total membership of about 20,000. The aim of Serra
is to have a Club in as many countries and dioceses as
possible, and the Holy See strongly supports this target.
In the UK we have 12 active Clubs, 3 in Scotland and 9
in England.
The Serra Club is a place for spiritual growth and fellowship.
Retreats, prayers at meetings and regular liturgies nurture
the spiritual growth of each individual and help members
grow together as a Christian community.
A Serra Club can only exist and function with the approval
and blessing of the respective Bishop or Archbishop. It
is NOT normally a single parish club, but rather covers
many parishes in a deanery and from nearby deaneries.
Clubs meets once per month, or in some cases twice per
month, in a central location of an area of say 10 to 15
miles radius for the convenience of its members to attend
and also to support the clubs activities. Meetings invariably
start with Holy Mass, then a light meal, followed by a
talk preferably given by a Priest, and ends with night
prayers.
One of the principle activities of Serra Clubs is the
establishment of “31” Clubs in parishes. Serrans
make appeals at all Masses in a parish over a weekend,
reminding all attendees of their responsibility as active
Catholics to pray regularly for religious vocations, especially
priestly vocations, and to offer up Holy Mass every month
for vocations, Invariably we find in most parishes that
many of the laity think that vocations are the responsibility
of the Bishops and priests, but as the Holy Father continually
stresses this is the duty of all Catholics, religious
and laity.
Serra can also help in other ways by initiating Parish
Vocation Committees, and possibly organising Deanery or
Diocesan “Called by Name” programmes. Another
programme which is encouraged is “friendship”
on a one-on-one basis which demonstrates a Serran’s
affirmation of vocation through personal and ongoing contact
with Priests and religious.
Serra
Club of South Herts
The Serra Club of South Herts (SCSH) which was established
in 1996, meets on the second Tuesday of every month at
Our Lady and St Michael Church, Garston. It currently
has over 20 members coming from various parishes including
Rickmansworth, Watford Holy Rood, Bushey, Bovington, London
Colney, Wealdstone and Garston. Meetings start at 7.30
pm with Holy Mass, followed by a light meal provided in
rotation by Club Members. Usually a neighbourhood or visiting
Priest is invited to speak about his own personal vocation
and journey to the Priesthood, and this has been very
interesting indeed. The meetings end with night prayers
before 10 pm.
Our principal outside activity is the “31 Club”
programme mentioned above, and have established such clubs
in Rickmansworth, Garston, Watford Holy Rood, Bushey,
Hemel Hempstead and Carpenters Park. Our Club also holds
an Annual Retreat at Belmont Abbey near Hereford.
How
can I find out more?
If anyone is interested in joining this club or knowing
more about Serra in general, please contact the parish
office or the club secretary, Eric Selley 01923 776304.
History
of Serra