I am NRVC
I am NRVC
Short-term volunteer stints have proven to be a good way for Sister Jenny Wilson, R.S.M. to get to know women who might consider religious life. Building a relationship with people is key, she says, and the volunteer experience allows time for that.
Wilson is a vocation minister for the New Membership Team of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas. She also serves as NRVC's Hudson Valley Member Area coordinator. She is now in her third year of vocation ministry. Previously she taught theology at Mount Mercy Academy in Buffalo, New York.
I found the NRVC orientation program helpful when I first started in this ministry. It gave me concreate suggestions and best practices that I still take into account three years into this ministry. The ethics workshop was also impactful, and it helped me to remember to continue to evaluate what I am doing from an ethical standpoint. Also, belonging to the NRVC has helped me connect to other vocation ministers, which has helped me through conversations about what they are doing.
Something I really appreciate about vocation ministry is that there is not one approach or one thing that works for accompanying young adults in their discernment journey. I find that building a relationship is what seems most important.
Once a relationship has been established, it is important for me to follow up with women and stay in touch using whatever means are most familiar to them. Lately this is through texts, and then those might lead to meeting in person.
I particularly like doing short-term service with high school and college students and young adults. I find that this initial week spent together lends itself to being able to build a relationship with volunteers over time.
I love listening to books on my phone. I love being outdoors—hiking, kayaking, or anything else that involves being in nature.
People say I am a funny person, and sometimes I imagine myself doing standup comedy!
Sister Carmella Luke's vocation ministry includes some built-in time for fun. She looks forward each year to hosting "S'mores with the Sisters," an event that builds relationships with students and staff at Mount Marty University. Apart from her ministry, she enjoys raising chickens so much that her sisters have dubbed her the "Chicken Whisperer." Read more...
Renée Dee says the best compliment she's received lately was hearing: "We haven't talked this much about vocations in years!" As national vocation director for the La Salette Missionaries, she is focusing on developing a culture of vocations throughout the community's parishes, schools, and ministries. Read more...
Sister Rejane Cytacki, S.C.L. thinks big when it comes to vocation ministry. She converses with women from around the world who are interested in “a nun’s life,” which is also the name for the longstanding ministry that she heads up, A Nun’s Life Ministry. A member of the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth, Kansas, she is also part of a five-person vocation team for the Charity Federation. Read more...
Sister Jean Rhoads, D.C. says that more recently she has been trying to strengthen her relationship with campus ministers so that she can be invited to events they are already doing. Prospective discerners will participate more when an event is already a part of campus ministry. Learn more here. Read more...
Sister Kathleen Persson, O.S.B. of the Benedictine Sisters of Virginia became vocation and formation director just as COVID hit the nation. The good news is that she wasn’t already used to doing lots of in-person activities. Seeking a way to virtually connect with people, she turned to YouTube and became the producer of “Benedictine Bytes.” Read more...
Consecrated life runs in the family for Sister Jill Reuber, O.S.B. She's a triplet, with one of her sisters belonging to another Benedictine community. Find out what ideas for vocations are working for Sister Jill these days as she walks with women considering life as a Ferdinand, Indiana Benedictine. Read more...
"It is essential that vocation ministers have a good support system of friends and 'truth tellers' who will keep us honest, support us in those difficult times, and challenge us in times when we might become complacent," says Father Joe Nassal, C.PP.S., who has been involved in vocation work for decades. Read more...
As part of their successful "Vocation Culture Project" Augustinians annually hand out 30,000 mini-posters of their men in formation. They ask people connected to their ministries to display the poster as a reminder to pray for the men in the poster, for themselves, and for all discerners. Read more...
"NRVC has been a wonderful source of support and encouragement in my ministry," says Sister Anna Maria Lionetti. "I have received much in the way of formation by attending the convocations, and these moments have helped me network and be enriched by the experience of other vocation directors." Read more...
"Listen, listen, listen. Be available to young people. Go where they are and stay awake, literally as well as figuratively. Their schedule is not 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday! Don’t be afraid to ask lots of questions, especially of seasoned vocation directors. Don’t get stuck on numbers. Be faithful to your call as a vowed religious, and live with joy!". Read more...
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