If you are a member, the NRVC needs to hear from you. Please take a few moments to provide the board with your ideas regarding services and experiences with the organization. 

Your input will help shape the future, as the board is preparing a strategic plan and will rely on information gathered in the survey. Find the survey in an email sent by Marge Argyelan on April 27 titled "Reminder to complete the NRVC Needs Assessment Survey. Thank you!"

Following are the new NRVC board members selected from among those nominated by members. They will begin their three-year terms of service in fall 2017.

Sister Virginia Herbers, A.S.C.J.

Sister Virginia Herbers, A.S.C.J. is an Apostle of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. She has a master's in pastoral studies and has ministered in education at both the elementary and high-school levels in Connecticut, New York, Missouri, and Taiwan. In addition to her current work in vocation and formation ministries, she has been involved in spiritual direction on university campuses, in leading the Queen of Apostles Spiritual Life Center in St. Louis, and in speaking and presenting on spiritual topics. Herbers currently serves as the vice-provincial and vocation director for the United States Province of the Apostles of the Sacred Heart and resides at the Provincialate in Hamden, Connecticut. She previously served on the NRVC Editorial Board and the Keys to the Future planning committee.

Friar Charles Johnson, O.P.

Friar Charles (Charlie) Johnson, O.P., a native of Wilmington, North Carolina and a professed Dominican friar since August 2002, is the director of vocations and a member of the Provincial Council for the Province of St. Martin de Porres. He served as a campus minister at Tulane University from 2011 to 2014, was in mission in Guayaquil, Ecuador from 2006 to 2011, and was a lay missionary in Guatemala from 1996-2000. In addition he spent several years in formation as a diocesan seminarian. In Ecuador, Johnson served as a parochial vicar, high-school chaplain, seminary professor, and representative for religious life on the archdiocesan and national levels. His studies include an M.A. in theology from the Oblate School of Theology and an M. Div. from Mundelein Seminary in Chicago as well as additional graduate studies elsewhere.

Sister Lisa Laguna, D.C.

Sister Lisa Laguna, D.C. is originally from Southern California. She became a Daughter of Charity of St. Vincent De Paul, Province of the West in 2003. She has served as a middle-school teacher and in school administration, working in inner city schools in East and South Los Angeles. Laguna also serves the Vincentian Family as national advisor for Vincentian Marian Youth, USA. In 2010 she was assigned to be vocation director for her province. A resident of the Bay Area of California, she has previously served as an NRVC regional coordinator.

Father Adam MacDonald, S.V.D.

Father Adam MacDonald, S.V.D., a native of Flint, Michigan, was ordained a priest of the Society of the Divine Word in 2000. He served at a parish in the Philippines from 2000-2002 before returning to the United States to serve in leadership at the Society’s Chicago headquarters. Since 2011, MacDonald has served as a vocation director, based at Divine Word College in Epworth, Iowa. Since 2014, MacDonald has also been serving as vice-provincial superior for the Chicago Province. His younger brother, Timothy, is a priest of the Diocese of Lansing, Michigan, while his older brother, Eben, is a priest of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. He has previously served on the NRVC Editorial Board and the Vocation Ambassador Design team. 

Sister Belinda Monahan, O.S.B.

Sister Belinda Monahan, O.S.B. has been a vocation minister for the Benedictine Sisters of Chicago since 2014 and was part of the vocation team for several years prior to that. She has helped her community integrate new technologies and methods for reaching potential discerners. She holds a Ph.D. in anthropology from Northwestern University and, in addition to her vocation ministry, serves as an archeologist. Her current research focuses on animal bones from the Tsaghakohvit Valley in Armenia, and she is currently completing a co-authored book on the ceramics from a fourth millennium site in Southeastern Turkey. Monahan also directs the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA) and acts as a spiritual companion for some of the students enrolled in the Christ the Teacher Institute at the Sheil Catholic Center at Northwestern University. She was part of the writing team for the NRVC Women's Assessment Instrument.

World Day of Prayer for Vocations is Sunday, May 7. NRVC encourages members and friends to publicly celebrate vocations to ordained ministry and religious life on this church sanctioned day.

Parishes and religious institutes typically commemorate this day with prayer for vocations and vocation promotion events. Since most Catholics who enter religious life are active parishioners, our presence and participation in parish activities that mark this special day are essential.

Consider asking parishes for opportunities to speak, pray, provide bulletin inserts or prayer cards, to hold conversation before and after Masses, speak in religious education programs, or to visit RCIA and confirmation formation classes on this day.

Click here for various vocation prayers.

Click here for resources offered by the U.S. bishops' conference.

In the first study of its kind, A Nun's Life Ministry found that while most U.S. women religious have a website (92 percent), few are fully employing the internet technologies that young women routinely rely upon.

“The new research study highlights both the need for and desire of religious institutes to receive increased training and resources to enhance vocation outreach, especially on the most promising platforms,” said Sister Maxine Kollasch, I.H.M., co-founder of A Nun’s Life.

The study found that 92 percent of women’s institutes have a website; 70 percent are on Facebook. However, they tend not to be involved in the social media sites that younger women use, namely Snapchat (4 percent of institutes use it), chatrooms (4 percent), Pinterest (14 percent), and Instagram (11 percent). Only 24 percent of institutes have a plan that identifies strategies and desired outcomes for vocation outreach on the internet. 

Mark your calendar to attend the National Catholic Youth Conference (NCYC) November 16-18 in Indianapolis. Sponsored by the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry (NFCYM), this biennial conference will bring together approximately 23,000 high-school teens, youth ministers, and parents.

NRVC is working with NFCYM to provide volunteers, exhibits, prayer experiences, and space to engage participants in conversations about vocations. NRVC members will receive detailed information in the coming weeks about registering and participating in this event.

In 2015, 55 NRVC-member communities participated in NCYC as mentors, exhibitors, presenters, storytellers, and more. See their comments here.

The National Catholic Youth Conference (NCYC) is a biennial conference that aims to help youth encounter Christ, experience the church, and be empowered for discipleship. The 2017 theme is Called/Llamados.

NRVC database director  Marge Argyelan is happy to help departing NRVC members register an incoming member.

If you are moving on from full-time vocation ministry, NRVC thanks you for your service and encourages you to help the incoming vocation director to get connected.  

A few tips:

♦ Consider introducing the newcomer to your fellow vocation directors at member area meetings. 

♦ Leave contact lists in Excel sheets for the incoming minister.

♦ Register the new vocation director and team members for NRVC workshops, especially the Orientation Program for New Vocation Directors offered at both the Summer and Fall Institute. 

♦ Change your membership online into the new person's name and contact information. Or contact Marge Argyelan at NRVC to ensure that the new director is properly registered with NRVC. This helps the new person receive all email and postal communications: margyelan@nrvc.net or 773-363-5454.

♦ Update your VISION contact information by contacting Dianne Potter at mail@vocationguide.org.

You may also wish to read and share these HORIZON articles about transitions in vocation ministry.

“Five steps to a smooth transition out of vocation ministry,” by Sister Anita Louise Lowe, p. 16,  Fall 2010

“Healthy transitions for new members, ministers and the community,” by Sister Mercedes McCann, p. 20, Fall 2010

On behalf of all our members, NRVC's staff thanks you for your efforts to build the Kingdom through this important ministry.

Sister Deborah Borneman, SS.C.M., director of NRVC member relations and services, and Father Raymond P. Carey, Ph.D. will each present workshops in Ireland this month as part of a Vocations Ireland effort to provide professional development to vocation directors.

Sister Deborah Borneman, SS.C.M. will present the workshop "Orientation Program for New Vocation Directors" to more than 50 participants in Ireland, May 8-12. This collaborative work with Vocations Ireland is being funded by the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation. The workshop is part of a larger Irish effort to provide skills and professional development to vocation ministers.

In addition, longtime NRVC workshop presenter Father Raymond P. Carey, Ph.D. will conduct the "Ethics in Vocation and Formation Ministry" workshop May 13-14 in Ireland, followed by "Behavioral Assessment 1," May 15-17. 

In addition to this collaboration, Margaret Cartwright, Vocations Ireland's director, is on the NRVC Editorial Board, allowing the NRVC publications to draw from the rich store of writers and thinkers in Ireland and beyond.

The Vocation Ambassadors Program still has a few openings for teams. Any community that would like to consciously focus on the following should apply.

♦ Preparing young people they know to promote religious life

♦ Improving communications, particularly in the digital world

♦ Upgrading coordination between young adult contacts, communications personnel, and vocation ministers

Learn more and/or apply here for this grant-subsidized program.

Please take note of the NRVC regional meetings happening this month.

Mid-Atlantic — May 2-3, 2017
Marriottsville, Maryland

New England — May 20
Discussion topic: Preparatory document for 2018 synod on "Young People, the Faith and Vocational Discernment"

More information about member areas is at nrvc.net.

NRVC will present its workshop "Orientation Program for New Vocation Directors" July 21-25 in Chicago at the De Paul University downtown campus. The presenters are Sister Deborah Borneman, SS.C.M., the NRVC director of member services and programs, and Sister Sharon Dillon, S.S.J.-T.O.S.F., the executive director for NRVC effective June 1.

The program is aimed at recently appointed vocation directors. Its goal is to provide participants with the skills, context, theory, challenges, and practicalities of contemporary vocation ministry. Topics will include: theology of call; candidate issues; the discernment, assessment, and application process; the role of membership and religious leadership; advertising and education; ethics and boundaries; and self-care of the vocation director.

Details and registration are at nrvc.net

Take advantage of the low prices now available to members for purchasing back issues of HORIZON. Members may purchase these editions for prices ranging from $1 to $20, plus shipping, depending on the date of publication. Articles in these earlier editions continue to be relevant to today’s vocation ministers. Consider purchasing enough for:

♦ leadership who need to understand targeted issues

♦ a regional discussion group

♦ a vocation committee study group

♦ a HORIZON circle with your vocation minister friends

Call 773-363-5454. Or better yet, go online and see which editions best fit your needs. To purchase available editions, click here. View the full editorial content of available editions in the HORIZON issue index.

RFC offers a variety of events, programs

Space is still available in the Life Commitment Program for religious approaching final profession at Marillac Center in Leavenworth, Kansas, July 5-13.

Registration is now open for the Religious Formation Conference biennial National Congress, "Grace in the Now: The Gospel of Encounter," November 16-18, in Milwaukee. Pre-congress workshops will be offered on the 16th and a new feature, a post-congress workshop, is scheduled for the 19th. Other new features include a seminar offered in Spanish and in English and a panel of newer, younger religious who will respond to keynote presentations.

Detailed information and registration materials for Congress 2017 and for the Life Commitment Program are available on the Conference website, relforcon.org. 

LCWR publishes reflection journal

The Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) presents a new reflective journal, The Intimate Nearness of God: A Reflective Journal Exploring Contemplation and Transformation. This collection of reflections written by 30 LCWR members explores how they are reclaiming and deepening the contemplative dimensions of their lives and how this focus is leading them to an even fuller embodiment of love. Copies may be ordered online for $6, plus shipping and handling. 

CMSWR offers course for Spanish-speaking sisters

The Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious will offer its third summer course, “Spouses of Christ, Daughters of the Church” (Esposas de Cristo, Hijas de la Iglesia) July 17-28 in Hopewell Junction, New York. Registration for the course is now open to all Spanish-speaking women religious from across the country. The two-week summer class will be hosted by the Oblates to the Blessed Trinity. Learn more at cmswr.org

Job opening

The Office of Vocations for the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston is searching for a new associate director. Candidates must be a religious sister in good standing in the church, have a bachelor’s degree in theology, pastoral ministry, or a related field, and have a minimum of five years of vocation ministry experience. For more information, please contact Father TJ Dolce, director of the Office of Vocations, at 713-652-8239 or vocations@archgh.org. The application deadline is May 15.

Calling all musical artists

The Daughters of Charity are seeking talented musicians and singers to create two music videos to be recorded Labor Day weekend in St. Louis. They need eight to ten people, including priests, brothers, and sisters from different religious communities or dioceses. Those selected would be responsible for travel and taping fees. For more information, please contact Sister Liz Sjoberg, D.C. at elizabethann.sjoberg@doc.org.

Communicators conference: Save the date

Communicators for Women Religious (CWR) will host its 23rd annual conference October 3-6 in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada—its first outside the United States. The theme is “One Voice: Charged by the Current/Voix Unies: Courant Puissant.”

Presenters and topics include: Dr. Moira McQueen (Catholic social teaching and communications), Heather Mansfield (social media), Sister Nuala Kenny (ethics of communication), Blayne Haggart (copyright), and Sister Kateri Mitchell (spirituality of communications).

For more information, visit c4wr.org.