Serra Club announces Vocations Essay Contest theme

Photo caption: Three students from Cathedral High School in Indianapolis, from left, Katie Zupancic, Michael O’Neil and Elizabeth Jamison, pose with their principal, Dave Worland, during a 2005 luncheon at the Knights of Columbus Hall at 511 E. Thompson Road in Indianapolis. The students were winners in their grade division in the 2005 Indianapolis Serra Club Vocations Essay Contest. (File photo by Sean Gallagher)

By Sean Gallagher

The Serra Club of Indianapolis has announced the theme for its 2007 Vocations Essay Contest.

It is inspired by the recent canonization of St. Theodora Guérin, the 19th-century foundress of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods and Indiana’s first saint.

Students throughout the archdiocese in grades 7 through 12 enrolled in religious education programs or interparochial and private schools, as well as those who are homeschooled, will be asked to reflect upon the following words of St. Theodora:

“If you lean with all your weight upon providence, you will find yourself well supported.”

They will be invited to answer the following question in their essay: “How do deacons, priests, and religious brothers and sisters, through their lives and their ministry, demonstrate their trust in God’s providence?”

Contest rules and procedures will be sent to all parishes and schools early next year. The deadline for entries is Feb. 15, 2007.

Teachers and catechists for each grade may choose one or two essays from each grade to be submitted to the contest. A committee will read and judge the entries.

One winner from each grade will be chosen and receive a cash prize, be invited to read his or her essay at a recognition luncheon and have the essay published in The Criterion.

The Serra Club of Indianapolis is a chapter of Serra International, a Catholic organization dedicated to promoting vocations to the priesthood and religious life.

Immaculate Heart of Mary parishioner John Kelley of Indianapolis, who is also a Serra Club member, said the contest is an opportunity for young people to recognize the importance of vocations to the priesthood, diaconate and religious life.

“[It] forces kids to stop … and reflect on the service that priests, deacons, brothers and sisters perform, which I think is all too easy to take for granted,” he said. “We just expect a priest to be there to say Mass and hear confessions.

“It’s not automatic. We have to nurture [vocations] and encourage them and do everything we can.

Dave Worland, the principal of Cathedral High School in Indianapolis and a Serra Club member, said that participation in the contest is an integral part of his school’s curriculum in all four grades, and is a way to open students to the possibility that they might be called to the priesthood, diaconate or religious life.

“That’s part of what we do here,” he said. “We don’t shy away from that. We want to make sure that if any of the students are getting a calling … that they can hear it.”

According to Kelley, approximately 50 percent of archdiocesan schools participated in the contest last year, which is also open to students in parish religious education programs. He hopes that participation will increase for next year’s contest. †