A letter from Anne Roat, Serra US President.
Dear Serrans,
As I write to you, the National Eucharistic Congress has already taken place in Indianapolis, Indiana. For the United States Council of Serra International the year leading up to this historic event was filled with meetings, planning, discussions, and a lot of hard work!
Over one year ago, the USSCB approached the US Council about providing a major sponsorship for the NEC. Working through the Serra International Foundation, the Council agreed to become a major sponsor of the NEC and began the task of raising $150,000. The US Council, Serra International, and the Serra Foundation each made donations toward the sponsorship. However, bulk of the funds came from individual Serrans, Local Serra Clubs, and friends of Serra. This generous response was gratifying because it showed that everyone understood the connection between the mission of Serra and the importance of the Eucharist.
Greg Schwietz, Judy Cozzens, and I formed the core committee for the US Council’s work on the NEC. We were joined by Indianapolis Serrans Mary Dougherty and Dave Fink who contributed their expertise to all of our planning efforts. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ had a wonderful group of people who organized the Congress and we were blessed to work with such a professional organization.
As a premium sponsor of the NEC, the US Council was given naming rights for the Vocations Area of the exhibit hall, 50 booths, a breakout session, and a reception for our members. The Vocations Area in the Convention Center had large banners hanging that boldly showed the Serra name and we had an impressive display area at the entrance. When it came to what to do with the 50 booths in the exhibit hall we kept two booths for our own use and offered the remaining booths to religious orders who could not afford to have a booth. Our breakout session was entitled Parish Vocation Ministries: A Grassroots Solution to the Vocation Crisis. Finally, our reception honored Rosemary Sullivan, Executive Director of the National Conference of Diocesan Vocation Directors (NCDVD).
We worked for almost a year on our participation in the NEC, but the fruits will be long term. We met thousands of people, engaged them, and told them about the mission of Serra when they passed by our large display area. The religious orders to whom we gave a booth were effusive in their gratitude and we have new partners in vocations work. The breakout was attended by over 625 people who are now interested in working for vocations in their home parish. Our reception highlighted the work of NCDVD’s Rose Mary Sullivan, who was presented with the Serra Partnership Award.
The two booths that we staffed were a huge success. The Prayer Booth collected thousands of prayer intentions for specific people who were discerning vocations, or struggling with a vocation, or dioceses that needed more vocations. The Parent Booth provided an opportunity for parents of young people who were discerning a vocation to speak to Serrans who were parents of priests and religious. It gave them a place to talk about their concerns for their children who were pursuing a vocation and to receive encouragement or advice.
The National Eucharistic Congress lasted five days, but it felt like a lifetime. Serrans from across the US volunteered to help at the NEC by staffing the booths and talking to folks.
All of us fell more deeply in love with our Eucharistic Lord. More importantly we all gained a further awareness of the importance of the work we do to fulfill the Mission of Serra. Thank you to everyone who was involved in the US Council of Serra International’s participation in the National Eucharistic Congress!
God bless,
Anne
