NRVC's Summer Institute offers five vocation ministry workshops to take place July 10-21 in downtown Chicago. The final four workshops will take place simultaneously, allowing participants increased networking opportunities during meals, breaks, and evenings. 

Workshops and overnight accommodations will be at the Loop campus of DePaul University,  1 E. Jackson Blvd. The following courses will be offered;  registration is now open at nrvc.net.

Orientation Program for New Vocation Directors, July 10-14. Presenters: Sister Deborah Borneman, SS.C.M.; Sister Sharon Dillon,  S.S.J.-T.O.S.F.; Father Adam MacDonald, S.V.D. and Brother Chris Patiño, F.S.C.

Behavioral Assessment 1, July 16-18. Presenter: Father Raymond P. Carey, Ph.D.

Assessment of Family of Origin Issues for Candidates to Religious Life, July 16-18. Presenter: Father Gerald McGlone, S.J., Ph.D.

Ethical Issues in Vocation and Formation Ministry, July 20-21. Presenter: Father Raymond P. Carey, Ph.D.

Developing Intercultural Competencies in Screening and Assessment, July 20-21. Father Gerald McGlone, S.J., Ph.D.

Develop your skills in assessing candidates who have family of origin issues at NRVC's July 16-18 workshop in Chicago: "Assessment of Family of Origin Issues for Candidates to Religious Life." Unaddressed concerns that are connected to a candidate's family of origin can sabotage the health and well-being of both candidates and their communities. 

This workshop will teach how to ask specific, appropriate questions of candidates so you can surface and address such concerns early on. This interactive, adult learning workshop will be taught by Father Gerald McGlone, S.J., Ph.D., a HORIZON contributor and a psychotherapist who has worked in multiple church settings. Currently he is associate director for the protection of minors for the Conference of Major Superiors of Men.

Registration for this workshop is now open at nrvc.net.

If you shop on Amazon.com, consider making your purchase at smile.amazon.com, where you can designate NRVC as your charity of choice. (Use the initials "NRVC.") Amazon will then direct .5 percent of eligible purchases to NRVC.

The Amazon Smile login is identical to the login for Amazon. Learn more at smile.amazon.com.

Following are meetings and events being sponsored by member areas of NRVC. Members may attend events in any area.

Southwest, February 18-21
San Antonio, TX
Meeting in conjunction with NRVC workshop "Roots of Racism: Implications for Candidate Assessment and Integration into Vowed Communal Life" 
Flyer with details
Coordinators:
Brother Jonathan Beebe, C.S.C., 917-538-7561, holycrossbrother@gmail.com
Sister Bridget Waldorf, S.S.N.D. 507-217-0663, bwaldorf@ssnd.org

Delaware Valley, February 26
Ocean Grove, NJ
Retreat with theme of "Pursuing Our Questions in Good Company." Presenter: Sister Chris Koellhoffer, I.H.M. 
Flyer with details
Sister Celeste Mokrzycki, S.S.J., 215-248-7200, cmokrzycki@ssjphila.org
Sister Maryanne Tracey, S.C., 973-290-5325, mtracey@scnj.org

Mid-Atlantic, March 1
Washington, DC
Contact the member area coordinators below for details.
Sister Mindy Welding, I.H.M., 610-547-9715, sismindy@gmail.com
Sister Diane Roche, R.S.C.J., 504-388-8026, droche@rscj.org

Lake Erie/Ohio River, March 5-7
Notre Dame, IN
"Cultures of Formation: Young People, Faith, and Vocational Discernment." Presenters: Bishop Robert Barron, Nicholas Carr, Katherine Angulo, and Joe Campo. 
Flyer with details
Coordinators:
Sister Monica Seaton, O.S.U., 270-229-4103, ext. 218, monica.seaton@maplemount.org
Sister Mary Teresita Richards, S.N.D., 419-277-5184, trichards@toledosnd.org

There is still time to enroll in the NRVC workshop, "Roots of Racism:  Implications for Candidate Assessment and Integration into Vowed Communal Life," to take place February 18-21 in San Antonio at the Mexican American Catholic College (MACC). 

The workshop is aimed at exploring beliefs and mindsets about race and asking how we, as leaders, are called to even deeper conversion, reconciliation, and transformation. The workshop will look at implications for candidate assessment and integration into vowed communal life. The Mexican American Catholic College will provide a welcoming, safe space to engage in the often-difficult conversations about race and racism.  

Dr. Arturo Chavez, president of MACC, and Dr. John Chitakure, associate professor of pastoral theology at MACC, will lead the workshop. Details and registration are at nrvc.net.

The worldwide church will recognize and celebrate religious life on February 2, World Day for Consecrated Life (celebrated in parishes February 3 and 4).

NRVC encourages its members and friends to mark the day with special prayers, events, social media outreach, etc. Anyone is free to share the video "Why we love our vocation" that NRVC produced last year for this occasion. Also a colorful "Pray for vocations" prayer card may be downloaded for free. 

Other resources are available from the U.S. bishops conference.

Organizers of the National Catholic Sisters Week—slated for March 8-14—have made resources available to encourage locally organized events, and they are asking people to list their events and activities here.

Two different style T-shirts may be ordered online: 2018 shirt and a U.S. map shirt.

In addition, prepackaged kits ("NCSW in a box") will be available for those with limited time who want to hold an event. Learn more about the kits here. Other resources, such as prayers, ideas, bookmarks, etc. are available at nationalcatholicsistersweek.org.

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. The Director's Manual is available in English for a member price of $15; non-members $22.50. A Spanish Director's Manual is available to members for $5; non-members for $8. 

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.  

These products can also be ordered by calling the NRVC office at 773-363-5454.

"Here I am Lord" vocation event seeks religious participation

The annual "Here I am Lord" vocation event for teens and young adults, to be held March 1-2 in St. Charles, Illinois (Chicago western suburbs), welcomes the participation of religious communities. Learn more about this event online and in this flyer.

San Antonio Archdiocese gathers 55 discerners

The Archdiocese of San Antonio collaborated with area religious orders—many of them NRVC members—to host 55 men and women for its annual Life Awareness Retreat January 12-14. 

Registration open for conference on intercultural competencies 

Join national experts in human formation and intercultural competency to address opportunities and challenges in evaluating and forming international priests and religious for ministry in the United States. "Intercultural Competencies for Human Formation" will be held April 15-18, at Saint Meinrad Archabbey and Seminary in Indiana. The conference is co-sponsored by Saint Luke Institute and Saint Meinrad Archabbey. Learn more and register at sliconnect.org/conferences or contact Beth Davis at sliconnect@sli.org or 502-632-2471.

Canadian vocation conference

The National Association of Vocation and Formation Directors in Canada invites U.S. vocation directors to attend its conference April 22-25 in Hamilton, Ontario. Find details here.

To ensure that all online transactions work smoothly NRVC encourages members to check their operating systems and browsers to confirm that they are using relatively current editions.

An "operating system" is the overall platform from which a computer functions. The two main systems are Windows (for PCs) or Mac OS (for Apple). A "browser" is the software that lets people use the Internet. Popular browsers are Firefox (Mozilla), Chrome, Safari, and Internet Explorer.

As of February 28, 2018, PC users who wish to make credit card purchases on the NRVC website (membership registration, HORIZON subscription orders, and online store orders) must have one of the following:

1. Windows 7 or later operating system.

2. A browser released since approximately 2013. These browsers include the following forms or later editions: Chrome v22, Firefox v27, Safari v7, or Internet Explorer 11. 

Mac and Linux users also need to be sure they are running the latest (or a recent) browser version. 

Test your browser now!

Although we do not expect this to affect the majority of our members, it's a good idea to test your browser, using this this link sponsored by SSL Labs:

https://www.ssllabs.com/ssltest/viewMyClient.html

When you click it, the first item on the page that opens (Protocol Support) should be green and read: “Your user agent has good protocol support.”

If your operating system and/or browser fails the SSL Labs test above and/or your OS version is older than the ones mentioned above, you can find a list at this link indicating which OS/browser combinations offer the required TLS 1.2 security protocol, so that you can upgrade accordingly:

https://www.ssllabs.com/ssltest/clients.html

Why newer versions are needed

Support for web security protocol known as TLSv1.0 and v1.1 are being phased out internationally because they are no longer considered secure. Beginning February 28, NRVC's online merchant service provider will no longer allow purchases from outdated browsers using this protocol. If you are using an outdated browser or operating system after February 28, you will be able to view and navigate the NRVC website but will be unable to make credit card purchases.

Further ahead, in June of this year, TLSv1.0 support will be withdrawn altogether, and anyone using older browsers will not be able to view the NRVC website at all.

NRVC regrets any inconvenience this may cause, but the choice is outside the hands of our staff and contractors. The world of high-tech crime continues to advance, and security systems have to advance to stay ahead of the game. 

Note: If you vaguely remember having read an article like this last summer in this newsletter, you're not losing your mind. We advised you then of the impending withdrawal of TLS v1.0 support originally scheduled for September 2017. However, that cutoff date was postponed until this month.

Questions?

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Marge Argyelan at 773-363-5454 or margyelan@nrvc.net.

What is your role in vocation ministry?

I’m the charism promoter for my community. I promote our Franciscan charism, facilitate discernment of vocation, and encourage and support all vocations for men and women: vowed, lay, and ordained.

How long have you been involved in vocation ministry?

Ten and a half years. I was in vocation ministry from 2003-2007 and then from 2011 until today.

Has belonging to NRVC been helpful?

Yes, it’s provided me with training, information, support, and relationships with others in this ministry. Vocation ministry, due to its confidential nature and the number of people entering, can feel a bit lonely, but the relationships with others in this ministry are very supportive and energizing.

What ideas have you used lately that excite you?

We’ve been focusing on sharing our charism, especially with adults, rather than on recruiting. We’ve also adapted the Busy Person’s Retreat for use with employees, co-workers, students, parishioners, and more. We have shared the Franciscan Busy Person Retreat with another Franciscan congregation for their use as well. Additionally, eight Franciscan congregations came together to create a one-page ad for VISION Vocation Guide, and four of those same congregations collaborated on a booth at the National Catholic Youth Conference. This sharing of resources and ideas has been fruitful in many ways.

Do you have any words of wisdom for newcomers to vocation ministry?

1. Stay connected with others in this ministry. 2. Take care of yourself; say no and take a day off. 3. Don't rely only on numbers entering your congregation to measure success. If we help people find their vocation, whether or not it's to vowed or ordained life, we have succeeded.

What do you find most rewarding and most challenging?

What’s challenging is old “tapes” of diminishing membership which have not been accurate for 18 years and competition between different styles of communities, leading to misunderstanding and misinformation. However, what has been most rewarding has been building relationships with other congregations and vocation directors and learning about other charisms in order to better advise discerners.

Contact Sister Christine at cstill@osfphila.org.