I am NRVC
I am NRVC
Sister Tarianne DeYonker, O.P. is part of the vocation team for the Adrian Dominican Sisters headquartered in Michigan. Her six-person vocation team initiates and nurtures relationships with many young adults, especially those making decisions about how to use their gifts.
In July of 2023, I started my sixth year in vocation ministry. Prior to that I ministered in Prince George British Columbia in Canada as a family therapist, a justice and peace coordinator for the diocese, and a team trainer/facilitator for Returning to Spirit, a reconciliation program for those involved in Canadian Residential Schools.
I also have worked in elementary and high school education, grief resolution, and marriage and family therapy.
About a year ago, we formed a six-person vocation team for the United States and the Dominican Republic. Each of us is part time. We have divided up responsibilities and take turns coordinating events throughout the year.
NRVC has provided a strong foundation and become a continuing resource and inspiration to our team. Annual opportunities for continuing education and chances to interact with others in vocation ministry are key to what we do! The regional gatherings help us keep current and inject us with hope and patience.
Zoom has been a boon to our ministry, as it enables women to access us as they continue their discernment. The NRVC workshop "Accompaniment and Communication with Young Catholics" was helpful (held in October 2023). Publications, especially the one-page, two-sided handouts on specific topics are easy to use with our members and with leadership.
Although I haven’t used it much yet, the storymap has lots of promise.
This year we have a candidate, the first one during my time in office. She has shown me what it means when someone feels a call and moves toward us. Her enthusiasm and motivation are reminders of how one responds to a call.
I love walking with young women who are discerning God’s call for their lives. They inspire me with their authenticity.
I enjoy playing a baritone ukelele to accompany Christmas carols and other folk songs!
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...
CONNECT WITH NRVC
Holy Thursday/Good Friday
via Zoom
Washington DC/hybrid
Hybrid
Atchinson, KS
Albany, NY
via Zoom
© 2024 National Religious Vocation Conference NRVC
( * ) Site design and programming by ideaPort, LLC