Chuck Furr
Chuck Furr of St. Anthony Parish, Kailua, and district governor of the Serra Club of Honolulu, was re-elected for a third, two-year term on the Serra International board of trustees at the recent international convention in Sacramento, Calif.
The board sets the policies and direction for Serra, an organization that promotes and supports vocations to the priesthood and religious life around the world.
Serra International, which has served the Catholic Church as a lay apostolate for 79 years, has more than 1,100 clubs in 46 countries. The Serra Club of Honolulu, sanctioned by the Bishop of Honolulu, has been chartered for 43 years.
Serra Clubs foster, promote and support vocations to the Catholic priesthood and encourages and affirms vocations to consecrated religious life and the diaconate. Members also recognize and respond in their own lives to God’s call to holiness.
Since 1951 Serra International came under the Vatican’s Congregation for Catholic Education and the Pontifical Work for Priestly Vocations until 2013, it was placed under the Congregation for the Clergy, giving it a clearer focus promoting priests and priestly, particularly diocesan, vocations.
The episcopal adviser to Serra International is Cardinal Francis George, Archbishop of Chicago, where the Serra International office is located.
The apostolate is named after Blessed Junipero Serra, widely known as the “Apostle of California,” who founded nine of the 21 missions there.
St. John Paul II told the Serrans in his address to Serra International in 2000 in Rome, to “never forget” that their commitment to promoting vocations was one of “prayer, prayer that is constant, unwavering and full of trust.”
“Prayer moves the heart of God,” the pope said. “It is the powerful key to resolving the vocations question.”
Since its founding, Serrans have dedicated themselves to daily prayer for vocations.
“Our prayer has been seeing results in our diocese’s tangible increase in the number of its priestly vocations,” said Furr. “It has not seen a corresponding growth in the number of Serrans who support them.”
The Serra Club of Honolulu is looking for Catholic men and women to bolster the club and better promote and support vocations in Hawaii. If you are interested in carrying on the Serra mission, please call Mark Pillori at 721-1810 or Chuck Furr at 263-8670.
