Serra Club of Brandon Honours Clergy and Religious of the Westman Deanery
Return to Main News page
Return to Homepage
On Tuesday, October 15, 2008, approximately130 people from throughout the Westman Deanery gathered at St. Augustine of Canterbury Parish, Brandon, to honour the priests, deacons and religious of the Deanery. This was the 30th annual Appreciation Dinner sponsored by the Serra Club of Brandon.
Special guests included Archbishop James Weisgerber, Fr. Jose Medeiros, Director of Vocations, Fr. Kevin Smith, Director of Seminarians, Guy Coughlin, Vice President of Serra Canada, accompanied by his wife, Marlene, and the keynote speakers, Bob and Annette Boucher of St. Augustine's.
After a delicious dinner, President of Serra Brandon, Beverley Hicks, introduced all the priests, deacons, and religious gathered. Deacon John MacKenzie then introduced Bob and Annette Boucher, the guest speakers, whose presentation was on the theme, "Marriage, A Vocation".
The Bouchers gave a thought-provoking, challenging, and warm-hearted presentation on the theme. They wove the theology of the Sacrament of Marriage into the story of the lived experience of their own marriage. It was very clear to all gathered that, on their wedding day, they made a commitment to always strive to grow in their marriage. Their love for God, for their family of three daughters and six grandchildren, and for each other was obvious-"and the two shall become one body".
Living their Sacrament of Marriage is their passion. They have shared this passion with others through many years of involvement in World Wide Marriage Encounter, and presently with young couples at St. Augustine's through a marriage preparation mentor program called "For Better and Forever". Their dream is to have a mentor couple in every parish in the Deanery. Presently there are mentor couples in Virden, Deloraine, St. Mary's Ukrainian Catholic Church in Brandon, as well as at St. Augustine's.
Their reliance on God as a definite partner in their marriage was illustrated through a story about a braid. A braid has three strands, but it only ever looks as if there are two. Take away the third strand and the braid unravels. It is God, the third strand, which binds the couple together in a sacramental marriage, and God has been the third strand in their marriage. The couple received a standing ovation from the crowd.
The evening which closed with the Prayer for Vocations, and a blessing sung over the clergy and religious, was a wonderful evening of celebration and joy.
