|
April 2008 Issue
Back
to Feature Articles
A life time of commitment
to God's will
| 
|
Serra
Club of Grand Rapids celebrates 60th Anniversary It
was 1948 when Rev. Joseph Ciesluk and J. Bernard Haviland
started the Grand Rapids Chapter of Serra Club with
the invitation of Serra International. |
Sixty years and hundreds of members later,
the Serra Club of Grand Rapids is still going strong. To commemorate
the club's 60th anniversary, a special Mass will be celebrated
on May 12 at the Cathedral of Saint Andrew. The Most Rev.
Bishop Walter A. Hurley will preside. Among those concelebrating
are Serra Club's moderator, Rev. Edward Hankiewicz, and moderator
emeritus Msgr. Gaspar Ancona. An investiture ceremony of officers
and new members will also occur. Following the Mass and ceremony
is a reception and black tie dinner where Ralph Hauenstein,
honorary chair, will speak to the Serrans and their honored
guests, including the president of Serra International, Lloyd
Crockett. Hauenstein's attendance, as the only living charter
member of the Grand Rapids chapter, is the highlight of the
event.
"Ralph Hauenstein's presence is phenomenal,"
says Mark Kubik, local president, "and his commitment has
made the Serra Club attractive to many people, not only in
Grand Rapids, but throughout the world." In World War II,
Hauenstein served as a colonel in the United States Army and
he was chief of intelligence for the European Theater of Operations.
After the war he became a successful entrepreneur, eventually
owning companies that conducted business internationally.
Due to his extensive travels, Hauenstein was one of the first
Serrans to promote the organization outside of North America.
His efforts helped found chapters of Serra International in
Liverpool, England, in 1957, and later in Genoa, Italy - the
organization's first non-English-speaking chapter. Hauenstein
was chosen as international president in 1961 and now serves
as the dean of past Serra International presidents. At age
96, Hauenstein is the oldest living Serran among the worldwide
chapters. It is thanks to Hauenstein's influence that a broad
array of professionals in the greater Grand Rapids area have
become members of the Serra Club. He has always been dedicated
to the organization.
"Ralph Hauenstein provides input when asked,"
Kubik said, "and I have come to know him very well during
my time as president of Serra Club." In 2005, when Kubik served
as the president-elect, membership was at a record low. With
the mentoring of Hauenstein and through the efforts of Kubik
and thenmoderator Msgr. Ancona, changes were made to increase
the numbers. In addition to supporting vocations to the priesthood
and religious life through a variety of activities in the
community and promoting Catholicism through the friendships
formed by fellow Serrans, it was decided to focus on the "faith
formation" of existing members. Kubik and Msgr. Ancona looked
for ways in which the needs of lay Catholic members could
be worked into the Serra Club's business model. Under the
club's new focus, second Mondays of each month are dedicated
to a noontime luncheon and lecture series.
On every fourth Monday, members meet at Sacred
Heart of Jesus Parish for a working lunch and mid-day prayer
service. To accommodate the needs of members who may not be
available to attend noon meetings, the club also hosts high-profile
evening speakers on a quarterly basis. "We are the fastest
growing chapter in the U.S. and the business model we use
in Grand Rapids is being emulated in chapters worldwide,"
said Kubik. Since 2005, membership in the Serra Club has increased
by 52 percent, to an all-time high. To date there are more
than 800 Serra Clubs in 37 countries with more than 22,000
laypersons and permanent deacons calling themselves members.
Serra's success led the Vatican to recognize the club as the
official lay "apostolate" of the church for promoting priestly
and religious vocations.
|
