Summer Institute presenters: Father Raymond P. Carey, Ph.D.; Sister Deborah Borneman, SS.C.M.; Brother Paul Bednarczyk, C.S.C.; and Father Gerard McGlone, S.J., Ph.D.

Following are eight workshops and a retreat that NRVC is sponsoring in 2015. A detailed workshop brochure and online registration will be posted in early February.

Past workshop participants have praised their experiences:

My community said: 'Anything you can get from a Ray Carey presentation is great!' They were right!  

—Sister Mary Jo Stein, D.C.

Their delivery, knowledge of content, and life experience examples were truly helpful.The sense of support from NRVC and the networking with other vocation ministers was extremely helpful.  

—Sister Kelley Rush, S.N.D. on the Orientation Program

 

Summer Institute

The NRVC 2015 Summer Institute workshops at DePaul University in Chicago include:

Behavioral Assessment II  Details and registration
by Father Raymond P. Carey, Ph.D., July 17-18

Behavioral Assessment I Details and registration
by Father Raymond P. Carey, Ph.D., July 20-22

Orientation Program Details and registration
by Brother Paul Bednarczyk, C.S.C. and Sister Deborah Borneman, SS.C.M., July 24-28

The Assessment of Family of Origin Issues for Candidates to Religious Life Details and registration
by Father Gerard McGlone, S.J., Ph.D., July 29-31

Fall Institute

The NRVC 2015 Fall Institute at the Marillac Center in Leavenworth, Kansas offers:

Behavioral Assessment I Details and registration
by Father Raymond P. Carey, Ph.D., October 13-15

Ethics in Vocation Ministry Details and registration
by Father Raymond P. Carey, Ph.D., October 16-17

Orientation Program Details and registration
by Brother Paul Bednarczyk, C.S.C. and Sister Deborah Borneman, SS.C.M., October 18-22

Year of Consecrated Life Details and registration
by Sister Maria Cimperman, R.S.C.J., Dr. Ted Dunn, Ph.D., Brother Sean Sammon, F.M.S., October 23-25

Retreat

The following retreat will take place at the Redemptorist Renewal Center in Tucson, Arizona:

Advent Days of Renewal and Reflection
by Sister Addie Lorraine Walker, S.S.N.D., December 14-17

This will be a collaborative program with the Religious Formation Conference.

All NRVC members will receive in the mail this month a packet of information regarding the newly established National Fund for Catholic Religious Vocations (NFCRV). In the packet will be a grant application form for religious institutes wishing to apply for financial assistance for candidates with educational debt. Complete details on the guidelines and requirements will also be included.

Please note, as per the terms of the original grant from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, until further notice applications for financial assistance will only be accepted from women's religious institutes. As additional funds are secured for the NFCRV, men's religious institutes will also be eligible to apply for grants.

Eligible candidates must be either conditionally accepted or currently in a pre-novitiate program within a religious institute that is currently a member of the National Religious Vocation Conference. Novices and temporarily professed religious are not eligible.

In its annual survey of new members of religious communities, the U.S. bishops' conference identified 190 newly professed members. They are highly educated and more likely than the average Catholic adult to have attended a Catholic high school or university.

The survey of 800 religious communities was conducted by the Center for Research in the Apostolate (CARA). Details and a news release about the survey can be found here.

Organizers of National Catholic Sisters Week hope to bring together sisters and young women at an event at St. Catherine University in Minneapolis, Minnesota and in events sponsored by communities around the country.

National Catholic Sisters Week (NCSW) organizers are encouraging religious communities to celebrate this event locally and to urge their affiliated parishes, schools, colleges, and sponsored ministries to also mark the occasion by bringing together young people and sisters.

A  weekend called “discern. Conference” will take place at St. Catherine University, St. Paul, Minnesota, March 6-8. Fifty pairs consisting of a sister and a college student can attend. The focus of the conference is on helping young women to discern life choices.

NRVC's Sister Debbie Borneman, SS.C.M. will be giving a presentation on discernment on March 7.

On-site costs are covered; attendees must pay travel. For information about the conference, see nationalcatholicsisters.org.

A toolkit with resources and information for organizing an event is available online.

To learn about the overall week, click here.

Contact organizers, based at St. Catherine’s University, at 651-690-6925 or contact@nationalcatholicsistersweek.org. The National Catholic Sisters Week initiative is supported by a grant from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation.

Pope Francis vocation prayer cards are available through Vision Vocation Network to download in a pdf file. Printed cards can also be ordered for free in packs of 50.

These colorful prayer cards will soon be available in Spanish, Polish, and Vietnamese through the generous translation assistance of NRVC members and their communities. NRVC extends appreciation to: Sister Michael Francine Duncan, S.S.M.O., Sister Raquel Ortez, S.S.N.D., Miss Rosa Maria Gouveia, Sister Mary Beth Bromer, C.S.S.F., and Sister Mary Eliana Remiszewska, C.S.S.F. 

The cards have been made available thanks to a grant from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation.

Current members of NRVC are invited to nominate themselves or others they feel could make a positive contribution in leading the organization. Board members should be experienced and knowledgeable members of NRVC with an ability to collaboratively participate in board responsibilities. Board members must attend three meetings a year (each meeting involves three days, plus two travel days).

Learn more in the e-mail sent to members by NRVC on January 26. Contact current board members here. Nomination forms should be sent to the NRVC office at nrvc@nrvc.net by March 1.

Download a nomination form here.

Download a self-nomination form here.

Current board members for the National Religious Vocation Conference.

Vocation ministers are encouraged to post information about their Year of Consecrated Life events on the following national media to give a higher profile to their efforts.

VISION Calendar

Click here to post.

NRVC Facebook events page

Click here to post.

Sister Maria Cimperman, R.S.C.J.

The new Center for the Study of Consecrated Life launches February 12 at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. Its goal is to conduct research and dialogue on contemporary issues in consecrated life. It wants to encourage new scholarship across disciplines; provide processes for reflective dialogue and creative imagining; assist in the discovery of new calls to ministry; and explore the internationality of consecrated life. Sister Maria Cimperman, R.S.C.J. has been appointed director of the center.

Learn more about the Center for the Study of Consecrated Life at ctu.edu/consecratedlife or contact consecratedlife@ctu.edu for more information.

Communicators for Women Religious is sponsoring the following event. Visit c4wr.org for details.

The Communicators for Women Religious Conference coincides with the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta.

Conference of Communicators for Women Religious
Theme: Spirit of the Wind: Spirit of the Message.
October 6-9
Albuquerque, New Mexico

Religious Formation Conference (RFC) is offering the following. Details are at relforcon.org.

Life Commitment Program
July 14-22, 2015
Immaculata Retreat House
Willimantic, CT

For Mission Program
First of several sessions: June 2-10, 2015
Catholic Theological Union
Chicago, IL

Grant monies to expand CWR capacity

The Communicators for Women Religious has received a grant for $70,000 to conduct an extensive evaluation of the organization and identify where capacity building would be effective. The group's goal is to develop a strategic direction to grow the organization and its impact.

Sold as two distinct resources, the Director's Manual contains behavioral assessment questions based upon 14 themes. This resource is for vocation ministers who have attended NRVC's Behavioral Assessment workshop, to be used with discerners who are serious about meeting regularly. This spiral-bound resource includes director's notes and all information in the Vocation Discernment Journal. This resource is available in English. Member price: $15. Non-member price: $22.50.

The Discernment Journal contains 14 themes with scripture reflections, quotes from Vatican II and church documents, as well as reflection questions. This resource is intended for use by inquirers who want in-depth conversation and assessment in discernment. Available in English. Member price: $7. Non-member price: $10.50. For more information or to purchase these resources, visit nrvc.net's online store or call the NRVC office at 773-363-5454.

It's important to step back now and then and look at the image you project through social media.

If you, like most vocation ministers, use Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or other social media, consider taking a moment to evaluate your media image. If people did not know you already, what kinds of conclusions might they draw from reading your posts? Some questions you might ask are:

• Am I posting so many travel photos that it looks like I’m frequently on vacation? It isn’t obvious to viewers that you spent 10 hours in meetings and 20 minutes at the beach if the photo shows you at the beach.

• Do my photos and posts show the communal nature of religious life? Or are my photos and posts mostly about myself with little connection to my community?

• Do my photos and posts reflect the prayerful nature of religious life? Many vocation ministers post short meditations at least occasionally. For quality meditations on the Year of Consecrated Life, see vocationnetwork.org.

• What is it I want my social media contacts to learn about me and my community on social media? Am I posting content that will further my goals?

How long have you been involved in vocation ministry?

Four years.

Are you part of a team?

I am a one-person operation. However, I enjoy the service of a volunteer vocation team that assists me with Come and See events and the IWBS Vocation Discernment Retreat. Several sisters participate in vocation efforts by sharing their own vocation story or providing a reflection about an aspect of consecrated life. Many sisters also serve the vocation effort as Emmaus companions when we have visitors. Two of our retired sisters are great with environment; they set up a lovely space for our gatherings. In addition, sisters accompany me sometimes when I travel to parishes or when I visit college campuses. I am blessed with support.

Has being a member of NRVC been helpful to you?

NRVC resources are terrific. I use them on a consistent basis—to assist young women with their discernment journeys; for information and updates that help keep our community invested in vocation efforts; and for my ongoing learning and spiritual wellbeing.

Our vocation team used the Moving Forward in Hope reflections and videos for reflection and assessment. We provided a presentation and process for community sharing. With NRVC resources and support of community we are able to do the following: keep our sisters informed, focus our energy on best practices, and more effectively elicit support from our sisters for our vocation efforts.

What has been your best vocation effort?

This past November our Diocesan Vocation Retreat was a great success. It was our first in several years. The collaboration among religious women and with the diocesan vocation director helped us build relationships among ourselves and facilitated our preparation process. The weekend retreat was a wonderful opportunity for 38 men and women to meet and support each other in discernment. Seven women have been in touch with us since.

Also, because there are no Catholic universities in either the Corpus Christi or the Brownsville Diocese, working with college campus ministers in other dioceses has been fruitful. The Busy Students Retreat has been an important way to build relationships with college students. Finally I have found that Come and See events are always appreciated by the young women with whom I am in contact. Sometimes we simply invite young women to join us for evening prayer and supper at our motherhouse. They love to come.

What do you find most rewarding about vocation ministry?

I love sharing my vocation story and listening to the vocation stories of my sisters. I never tire of hearing them. Each one is different. Sharing a vocation story becomes an Emmaus walk experience. In the sharing, I find that God reawakens in me a deep gratitude for the beauty of God’s call to a life of love and service. When I hear, “How did you know you wanted to be a sister?” I know that a sacred journey has begun.