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January 22, 2022BY BILL DOYLE | CFP CORRESPONDENT
Last spring, the Serra Club of Southern Worcester County was on the verge of closing because of a lack of interest and the pandemic. Now it’s the fastest growing Serra Club in the country.
That’s what John Hickey, vice president of the Serra Club of Southern Worcester County, said he was recently told by an official of the USA Council of Serra International in Texas after the club submitted 20 membership applications to the national office.
“It’s pretty official,” Mr. Hickey said. “We’re the fastest growing club they’ve got.”
Membership had dwindled to a dozen last May 1 when Roland Malboeuf became president. Now it’s up to 38, the most in about five years.
The USA Council was so impressed with the growth of the Southern Worcester County club, Mr. Malboeuf and Mr. Hickey were invited to speak at the organization’s Zoom meeting on Feb. 15 to explain how they boosted membership.
“It’s not only the growth,” Mr. Malboeuf said. “It’s great to have new members, but our members are engaged.”
Serra USA was formed by a group of Catholic lay people in Seattle, Washington, in 1935 to promote and foster vocations to the priesthood and consecrated religious life. The organization is named in honor of Father Junipero Serra, a Franciscan missionary who founded a string of California missions in the 18th century.
There are two Serra clubs in the Diocese of Worcester. Serra Club of Southern Worcester County, which is based in Webster and was founded in 1954, and Serra Club of Northern Worcester County, which is based in Leominster and was founded in 1951, are among the more than 700 Serra clubs in 40 countries.
The Southern Worcester County club stopped meeting in person during the pandemic and Mr. Malboeuf said he received a letter from the club last March stating the intention to close because of the pandemic and a lack of interest.
The club is important to Mr. Malboeuf because years ago he served as treasurer for 12 years and he was a seminarian for eight years. So he offered to take over as president for a year and work to boost membership. He recruited Mr. Hickey, his business partner, to join the club and become vice president in September. Mr. Malboeuf, 77, and Mr. Hickey, 54, own two funeral homes in Webster: Sitkowski, Malboeuf & Hickey Funeral Home and Scanlon Funeral Service.
Mr. Hickey, a Dudley resident and a parishioner at St. Louis in Webster, lured back a few former members, including his mother, Mary Anne Hickey. He also recruited new members, including a few young men from the funeral homes.
“I tried to convince people to give me 12 meetings, give me a year,” he said, “and we’ve been very fortunate.”
Monthly in-person meetings resumed in September. Prior to the pandemic, the club had met exclusively at St. Roch Parish in Oxford where the club’s chaplain, Father Michael J. Roy, is pastor. Now meetings rotate to different parishes to expose the club to more people and boost membership. Each month, the club takes the pastor to lunch to explain its goals and the pastor advertises the meeting in the church bulletin and invites people he believes might be interested.
Mr. Malboeuf and Mr. Hickey do most of their recruiting in person and seek such church leaders as cantors, organists and lectors.
St. Roch, St. Ann Parish in North Oxford, St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Dudley and St. Joseph Parish in Webster have hosted club meetings recently. The next meeting is scheduled for Feb. 16 at Mr. Malboeuf’s home parish of Sacred Heart of Jesus in Webster.
The club conducts half an hour of eucharistic adoration, followed by Mass celebrated by the pastor. Father Roy preaches. Then there is dinner and a meeting where officers discuss upcoming events and that month’s pastor talks about his journey to the priesthood. The monthly dues of $25 for adults and $20 for seniors includes dinner.
Since September three priests have joined Father Roy as members, Father Michael Lavalle, pastor at St. Ann; Father Adam Reid, pastor at Sacred Heart of Jesus; and Father Grzegorz Chodkowski, pastor at St. Joseph. Two deacons, Peter Motyka of St. Louis Parosh and James Denning of St. Ann Parish , have also become members.
Mr. Hickey said about half of the club’s members are women. Ages range from 24 to 80-something. Each member is assigned a seminarian to pray for daily and to send encouraging cards and letters, usually with money inside, a handful of times a year.
“It’s nice,” Mr. Malboeuf said, “to know somebody’s supporting you, somebody’s thinking about you, somebody admires you.”
The club recently sold Christmas swags and cemetery baskets and distributed the profits to seminarians as Christmas gifts.
“These guys are overjoyed that there are people out there,” Mr. Hickey said, “who are concerned about them and hoping and praying for their success.”
Seminarians spoke about their journeys at an Epiphany party at Point Breeze in Webster on Jan. 6 when the latest members were inducted into the club and new officers were announced. Father Roy said 65-70 people attended the party.
“I left that Epiphany party,” Father Roy said, “with high hopes for the welfare of the diocese and the most positive experience that I’ve had in a long time listening to these young men who got up to speak about themselves and their hopes for the future.”
Father Donato Infante, director of the Office of Vocations and Holy Name of Jesus House of Studies, attended the Epiphany party and was amazed by the number of people there.
“I think the work they do,” Father Infante said, “promoting and praying for vocations and writing letters of support to our seminarians and spiritually adopting and praying for them is a huge gift to the diocese and I’m delighted to see the club growing and revived.”
Seminarian John Amidon, a 27-year-old Worcester native, attended the party before returning to Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland. He’s been grateful since the club began supporting him by helping pay his expenses while he served a summer assignment in 2020 at St. Denis Parish in Douglas.
“They generally care for the future of our Church in the diocese,” he said from the seminary. “They’re constantly trying to build up the priests, the seminarians, and it’s great to see a community that wants to come together and really seek faith out together, not as individuals.”
To sponsor a meeting, to help pay for guests or to join the Serra Club of Southern Worcester County, contact your pastor or call Mr. Malboeuf at 508-612-0251 or Mr. Hickey at 508-729-0057. Members are welcomed from everywhere. Longtime members Richard and Colleen Brisbois travel to meetings from Somerset.
For more information visit the club’s Facebook page at serraclubswc.
President John J. Shannon said the Serra Club of Northern Worcester County, has 45 members, the same as in recent years. His club also has an adopt-a-seminarian program.
“Members are there to show support through prayer, correspondence and conversation,” he said. “Many members build a positive relationship with their seminarian that continues as they are ordained.”
To join the Serra Club of Northern Worcester County, contact Mr. Shannon at 978-534 -4607 or john_shan5@hotmail.com.
