Pacific Northwest Region NewsletterMARCH 2020

Dear Fellow Serrans,

To begin with I want to apologize to all of you for being so late with this newsletter. The demand of being a Regional Director to say the least is time challenging. I need to manage my time better between family, church, community and work. So - here’s a quick rundown of 2019 that was not mentioned in the last newsletter:

Spring Leadership Planning Conference in all 3 districts. We became so creative with our SLPC to accommodate and meet the need of each club. What it used to be a full weekend gathering of the clubs in the region has been reduced to one day (less than 8 hours) event.

Lynn Jones was recognized and awarded 2019 Serran of the Year at the end of 1-S SLPC. We caught her completely by surprise with a well-deserved recognition!

We supported Quo Vadis (for boys) and VOCARE (for girls) We hosted the US Serra Council weekend meeting at

Immaculate Heart Retreat Center in Spokane where we officially welcome Most Reverend Thomas Daly, Bishop of Diocese of Spokane as US Episcopal Advisor.

Appreciation dinners or luncheons for our seminarians, priests and religious were held across our region.

Attended several ordinations of transitional deacon, priests and permanent deacons. One of them is Fr. Kurt Hadley, the son of Serra Club of Tri-Cities members Kyle and Karl Hadley, was ordained priest for Diocese of Yakima. The Hadley’s joined the fellow members Barnett, Davis, St. Hilaire and Ratuiste with a priest in the family.

1-S District hosted the NCDVD – National Conference of Diocese Vocation Directors in August.

We welcomed in 2020 with Serra Rally in Ventura, CA under the leadership of Ed Lupton District 4 Governor Pacific Region. There were 170 attendees and 13 outstanding speakers.

Most Reverend Thomas Daly, Bishop of Diocese of Spokane, met with US Council

Seattle Seminarians Luncheon with Fr. Brian presenting the seminarians.

On January 15th the USA Council Board met (Session 1 of 3) in the afternoon followed by a Holy Mass at Mission San Buenaventura. The San Buenaventura Serra Club hosted the reception. January 16 was a busy day with several

concurrent meetings in the morning Serra International Board and USA Council Board. That afternoon Mike Downey, Chairman – Leadership Committee held the District Governor and DG-Elect training. Followed by Vocations, Communication, and Programs trainings. Katie Radford and I teamed-up to give the Programs training. The day was concluded with a Holy Mass celebrated by Most Reverend Thomas Daly, Bishop of Diocese of Spokane (US Episcopal Advisor) and concelebrated by His Eminence, Thomas Cardinal Collins, Archbishop of Toronto, Ontario, Canada (SI Episcopal Advisor). Rally welcome reception followed right after the mass at the hotel lobby.

Cardinal Collins led the Holy Hour of Adoration that evening.

Friday, January 17th - The speakers are very talented men and women of God. They are priests, educators, business leaders and retired Army officer; and I ended the day - what a hard act to follow to say the least!

I begin my presentation with a short reflection on the quality attributes of the previous speakers. Priests (the heart of Jesus), educators (the intellect), business leader (sense of mission and vision), and retired Army officer (zeal and grit). All good qualities that spell out what all Missionaries of Saint Junipero Serra ought to have - especially if they are supported by the power of prayer.

Pope Benedict XV1 said “I often think that prayer – the unum necessarium – is the one aspect of vocations work which we tend to forget or to undervalue.”

I presented the Vocations Apostolate Daily Prayer pamphlet, developed with the help from USAC Programs committee (Aileen Fields, John Osterhart, Katie Radford, and Barbara Meehan), Dr. Anne Roat, USAC VP for Vocations, and Candice Tyrell, member of USAC Membership committee, and guided by Serra Club of Tri-Cities’ Chaplain Fr. Rex Familiar and Vocations Director for the Diocese of Spokane, Fr. Kyle Ratuiste.

The prayer pamphlet is well received that we ran out as all Serrans in the rally went after the five hundred copies that we printed! Comments and questions like – “Very well done!” “How and where can we get more?” - are very humbling to hear. Dr. Ruben Gallegos, SI President added – I have been trying to put together a prayer pamphlet for over a year and you guys did it (in 4 months). Truly it’s a product of great collaboration, and lots of prayer. The Vocations Apostolate Daily Prayer pamphlet is a prayer process with seven different vocation themes, one for each day, that spells BAPTISM. It’s now available in Vianney’s eStore.

Here are some highlights from the speakers:

His Eminence, Thomas Cardinal Collins, Archbishop of Toronto, Ontario, Canada (SI Episcopal Advisor). He talked about Serra Spirituality, by sharing the story of St. Pierre Chanel Futuna Island, Oceania – the impact one priest can make.

He encourages us as Serrans to become the fire – 1.) fire of total sacrifice, 2.) fire of penance or purification, 3.) fire of zeal or Pentecost, 4.) fire of the burning bush (readiness), 5.) fire of adoration and Majesty. One Serran who is on fire can make a big difference!

Most Reverend Thomas Daly, Bishop of Diocese of Spokane, WA (US Episcopal Advisor). He shared some keys factors to creating a culture of vocations – 1.) Eucharistic adoration in parishes, 2.) Ask, seek, knock – with increasing intensity, 3.) Mary’s intercession – as at the wedding at Cana – “We have no more wine/priests”. The role of intercessor is powerful. 4.) Sacrifice/simplicity of life, 5.) Generosity of heart – compassion but never compromise Church’s teaching, 6.) Humility – humility is just truth: pride

is just lying, 7.) Healthy seminaries and house of formation, and 8.) Bishops who care. He reminds us to have intense fidelity to the faith and our mission. He thanks Serrans for their generosity of heart.

President Judy Cozzens opening comments reminded us that we are not Serrans by accident. God has put this ministry in your heart. This is the work God has committed to you. That we ought to look at our dues as an investment in the future of our church. With your investment we have developed Serra SPARK, Parish vocation ministry training, Vocations Apostolate Daily Prayer pamphlet and building

partnership with FOCUS.

Monsignor James Shea. Ordained in 2002. He served as an associate pastor in Bismarck and Mandan, ND. He has served on the National Advisory Council to the USCCB and the Governor’s Commission on Education Improvement for the State of ND. He serves on the Board of Directors for FOCUS. At the age of 34 he became the sixth president of the University of Mary (Bismarck, ND), the youngest college or university president in the United Sates. In creating a culture of vocations, we ought to consecrate our

effort to the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary….and that takes courage, fidelity and humility in an Apostolic Age that we now live in when Christian values are being attacked and removed from our lives. To live our lives in Christ and to embrace the opportunity to suffer for our faith.

Father Luke Ballman. Ordained in 2001. Served as Parochial Vicar, Pastor, Vocation Director, and Vicar for Clergy in The Archdiocese of Atlanta and served as Director of Apostolic Formation at the Pontifical North American College. STL, Executive Director of the U.S. Bishops’ Secretariat for Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations (CCLV). He shared several statistics like the trends for new priest ordinations and graduate seminarians have been steady for the past 25 years.

Father Paul Hoesing. Ordained in 2002. He served as parochial vicar, high school chaplain/teacher, Director of Vocations for the Archdiocese of Omaha, Director of Campus Ministry, Dean of Seminarians and Director of Human Formation at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary. Currently, the Vice Rector of Formation, Kenrick-Glennon Seminary, St. Louis, MO). He looks for a seminarian capable of receiving love from God, motivated by a sense of overflowing love (above duty). With effective maturity – will he take care of the Church or will the Church have to take care of him?

Ken Johnson Mondragon (Coordinator of Research in the Consultation for the Encuentro) & Armando Cervantes (Director of Youth & Young Adult Ministry for the Diocese of Orange) – They talked about how to engage Hispanic/Latino Catholics in promoting vocations. Here’s some worthy statistics - they represent over 1/3 of US Catholics, and 52% of young US Catholics. In Hispanic culture “family” is an extension of you! There are four basic groups of Hispanic/Latino: 1.) Assimilator – frequently interact with host culture but interact less with culture of origin, 2.) Bi-cultural – those frequently interact with host culture and culture of origin (candidates for priestly and religious vocation come from this group), 3.) Separatist – those who interact little with host culture and frequently with culture of origin, and lastly 4.) Marginalize – those who interact little with host culture and little with culture of origin.

Sr. Elizabeth Miles. S. deM., Vocation Co-Director, Congregation of Servants of Mary, Ministers to the Sick, Archdiocese of Los Angeles. She entered the convent on October 7, 2000, the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary and professed her Perpetual Vows to God in 2009. As volunteer in a nursing home for religious sisters, she felt closest to God when she was with the ill. She feels that she gets more from the ill and dying than what she gives.

Farther Brian Humphrey. St. Mary Magdalen Church, Camarillo, CA. After 15 years in the music industry as an engineer and producer with many famous artist – he found his calling when he was introduced to Jesus in the Eucharist and the Word of God. He graduated from St. John’s Seminary in LA and was ordained in June 2019. “Suffering is important in our faith as a purifying fire: join with young people not to cure their suffering but in their suffering”.

Father Joseph Shea. Ordained in 1978 as a priest for the Archdiocese of Los Angles. Served as Associate Pastor, Pastor of St. Rose of Lima and Simi Valley, CA. and Director of Vocations. Jesus Christ called us to be “fishers of men not aquarium keepers”. What young broken people have in common – a.) no personal relationship with Jesus Christ, b.) no sense of belonging to a community, and c.) no challenge to a mission.

Fr. Dave Heney. Ordained in 1978 for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. Pastor of St. Bruno Catholic Church, Whittier, CA. He’s an avid writer and authored several books like “Motivating Your Parish To Change, Don’t Tell Me What to Do, and new release - Like 10 Leadership: How to Succeed at Parish Ministry”. Church is like a cruise ship with no passengers – everyone is member of the crew. Based on Luke 10 - some advice for our work: 1.) greet others with peace, 2.) announce the Kingdom of God by getting involved in your church ministry, 3.) if rejected, shake the dust from your feet and

move on. 4.) don’t take rejection personal and respect the other’s freedom.

His Eminence, Thomas Cardinal Collins concluded the day with a Mass at St. John’s Seminary in Camarillo, CA.

Reception dinner was held at Padre Serra Parish Hall.

At the Awards Luncheon on January 18th, The Serra Club of Spokane was recognized the best Newsletter in PNW Region, Karen Domini editor. And two of

our past District Governors 1-S were recognized the “Face of Serra” – Jerome Buckmier and Greg Dayton. I’ll be presenting their plague at the Spring Leadership. Congratulations to these hard working Serrans!

The rally’s closing Mass was celebrated by Most Reverend Bishop Robert, Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and concelebrated with H Eminence, Thomas Cardinal Collins.

Our PNW Region was represented by (see left) Lynn and Dan Jones (Past S.I. President), Celine and Dick Petersen (1-N D.G. and S.I. Trustee respectively), Val Ordway (member of Serra Club of North Idaho), Cocot and Morie Ratuiste (Serra Club of Tri-Cities President and PNW Region Director respectively).

Serra Club of Tri-Cities rep with US and SI Council Office Staffs (right) – Anne McCormack, Sarah Knapp and Marlen Gonzalez. (Eileen Lee not in picture).

Some notes of U.S. Council accomplishment (July-Dec 2019) per President Judy Cozzens:

1. Maintaining and promoting Serra Spark, a digital resource for Vocation Directors and Vocation Promoters, a one-stop-shop for all vocation needs, easy to find, easy to use and available 24/7. This is prepared at the request of the US Catholic Council of Bishops (USCCB) and National Conference of Diocesan Vocation Directors (NCDVD).

2. Seven Serran Prayer Initiative. Through this program, we lift every diocesan vocation director up in daily prayer by seven Serrans from a local Serra club. Each Serran takes one day of the week and commit to pray for one hour for a year.

3. Leadership. We continue to provide monthly planning calendar and holding quarterly webinars for District Governors.

4. Vocations. We have developed Serra Spark Parish Vocation Ministry (PVM), a training for dioceses across our country. This new ministry trains parishes in dioceses to start and maintain Parish Vocation Ministries at no cost.

5. Programs. Our Call to Holiness Manual have been updated putting emphasis on training and its use. Prayer continues to be emphasized in the work of our call to holiness and promoting vocations.

6. Membership. The Missionaries of St. Junipero Serra membership contest is progressing well, offering 10% rebate on paid dues for the Serra operating Year beginning July 1 and ending June 30, 2021.

7. Communications. Newsletters are great but need to expand to Facebook and websites. Like the other pillars, doing conference call every other month.

8. Relationship. We maintain very positive relationship with other Catholic Organizations.a.) Serra USA is one of three consulting organizations to the US Bishop conference committee on Clergy,

Consecrated Life and Vocations (CCLV). The other two are NCDVD and National Religious Vocations Conference.

b.) We are working closely with NCDVDc.) We are represented on the Newman Connection Boardd.) We are working with FOCUS (Fellowship of College and University Students) Missionaries.

These are some initiatives/programs of how our membership dues are being invested in the future of our Church. The religious vocations we support and promote today may someday be the ones that serve our children and grandchildren.

Question: Somebody asked me - - - How do you see Serra in five years from now?

Answer: As God will it, we continue to do His will and we win!

We just got to get from here to there! And ought to by building the future today…together!

So, how do you see Serra in five years from now?

Save the Date:

1. June 25 – 28, 2020: Serra International 78th Conference at New Orleans, LA2. October 16 – 18, 2020 PNW Regional Conference at Mount Angel Seminary Saint Benedict, OR

THANK YOU for everything that you do every day in promoting and sustaining our Serra Vocations Apostolate!

Morie RatuisteRegional Director