NRVC extends deep appreciation to the people who provide local leadership in vocation ministry: the member area coordinators. Thank you to those who have taken on this responsibility and have completed their duties, and welcome to the incoming leaders! 

Elections are taking place for vacancies in the Heartland and Southwest member areas. The annual member area coordinator meeting will be held in Chicago, September 17-19.

Outgoing: thank you!

Brother Jonathan Beebe, C.S.C.
Sister Edith Bogue, O.S.B.
Sister Natalie Cain, S.S.J.
Sister Anna Marie Lionetti, R.S.H.M.
Mr. Len Uhal 
Sister Mindy Welding, I.H.M.

Incoming: welcome!

Sister Mary O'Donovan, O.Carm.
Sister Regina Hlavac, D.C.
Father Lino Oropeza, S.S.E.
Sister Stephanie Spandl, S.S.N.D. 

Below are the names and communities of the latest men and women who will now be able to join religious communities without the burden of meeting student debt obligations, thanks to assistance from NRVC's partner, the National Fund for Catholic Religious Vocations. Congratulations!

Rachel Carey            
Sisters of Saint Joseph of Rochester

Joselyn Ramey        
St. Scholastica Monastery

Elizabeth McGill        
Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

Morgan E. Bengel        
Dominican Sisters – Grand Rapids

Gerald L. Rice            
Salesians of Don Bosco

Holly Procko            
Carmelite Sisters for the Aged & Infirm

Amy Westphal        
Sisters of Mercy of the Americas

Jennifer Doyle            
Congregation of Sisters of Bon Secours, USA

Brandon Biagioli        
Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, The Redemptorists

The NRVC convocation, November 1-5, will be in beautiful downtown Buffalo, a place The New York Times says is "blossoming."  Here are just a few of the details.

Theme: Walk with me: encounter, accompaniment, and invitation

Speakers include: 

• Father Kevin DePrinzio, O.S.A.
• Miguel Naranjo, J.D.
• Sister Deborah Cerullo, S.S.N.D.
• Sister Mary Pellegrino, C.S.J. 
• Crystal Taylor-Dietz, Psy.D.
• Hosffman Ospino, Ph.D.
• Sister Xiomara Méndez Hernández, O.P.
• Father James Greenfield, O.S.F.S.
• Father Kevin Nadolski, O.S.F.S.
• Eran Talitman, Psy.D.
• Cardinal Joseph William Tobin, C.Ss.R.

Unique features: outstanding networking, renewing liturgies, evening with young adults, easy access to nearby Niagara Falls (for those who extend their stay or arrive early), the always uplifting spirit of your fellow vocation leaders, and much more.

Link to full details and registration.

NRVC is proud to present its latest edition of VISION Vocation Guide, the most comprehensive, reader-friendly guide for discerning religious life available. Our award-winning publication has served thousands of men and women since 1989.

It is available in a print and digital edition and includes a Spanish section. All articles also appear online in our article index. (Note the index includes a number of articles written for French-speaking discerners.) And the guide can be translated in many different languages online by clicking the Google "G" button in the upper right corner of the main page.)

Copies began shipping this week. If you haven't ordered VISION 2019 guides, bookmarks, or posters, click here to order online.

Missed out on the print ads? It's not too late to include your listing online or to enhance your print ad with a web or digital ad. Find advertising information here.

Members of NRVC are welcome to attend activities in any member area, not just within their local region. Find up-to-date information about member areas, their coordinators, and their events at nrvc.net under "member area news."

Delaware Valley
October 2, Philadelphia, PA

Southeast
September 21-22, New Orleans, LA

Hudson Valley
September 24-26, Albany, NY

Mid-Atlantic
September 25, North Beach, MD

Midwest
September 20, Chicago, IL

New England
September 25, Jamestown, MA

Please consider this easy way to donate to either NRVC or its partner, the National Fund for Catholic Religious Vocations (NFCRV). When shopping on Amazon, just click here to donate .5% of your final purchase to NRVC or here to donate .5% of your final purchase to NFCRV. You may want to bookmark these links to keep them handy for your next purchase.

Help us by spreading the word about this easy way to donate. The amount you give is based on your total purchase and adds no extra cost to your purchase.

Thank you to all who helped make this year's Summer Institute, held in Chicago July 10-21, a success. In particular, NRVC extends thanks to Sister Deborah Borneman, SS.C.M., director of member relations and services, for her outstanding work in coordinating this event. Vocation personnel from the United States and several other countries took part in workshops held in Chicago's Loop.

NRVC's newest product, the Vocation Vocabulary Booklet, is a great back-to-school resource. It provides simple, understandable definitions for the terminology particular to religious life. Take the mystery out of vocation conversations!

Consider purchasing copies for those inquiring about religious life, as well as for those who assist in vocation promotion, such as faculty, campus ministers, and volunteers. You may want to give out this booklet at faculty retreats, board meetings, or alumni reunions.

Cost: $2 each for members; $3 each for non-members. Purchase at the NRVC online store.

World Youth Day Cross to tour United States

The official World Youth Day Cross and Marian Icon will make a multi-city tour of the United States beginning in August, the first time in 25 years such a coordinated journey has occurred.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Secretariat of Laity, Marriage, Family Life, and Youth is coordinating the national tour.

The cross and icon will travel from Sunday, August 19 to Monday, August 27. The five stops on its U.S. journey will include, in order: Chicago, Miami, Houston, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles. 

Free webinars on beating ministry stress

The Catholic Apostolate Center and SLIconnect, a ministry of St. Luke Institute, are offering a free webinar on self-care, stress management, and personal resilience to support healthy, sustainable ministry. 
 
Grace Under Pressure: Increasing Your Stress Tolerance
August 28, 1-2 p.m. ET
Emily Cash, Psy.D.

RFC "Together" program starts in the fall

The "Together" program, a collaborative for theological education, formation, and community, will commence this fall in Chicago. The program is co-sponsored by Catholic Theological Union and the Religious Formation Conference.

For more information and registration materials, visit together-formation.com.
Direct questions to contact@together-formation.com or 773-675-8362.

Communicators for Women Religious conference October 2-5

Communicators for Women Religious will hold its 24th annual conference in Fort Worth, Texas, October 2-5. The theme is "FORTify your mission: The path WORTH taking." The conference will take place at the Sheraton Fort Worth Downtown. For more information, visit c4wr.org.

Brother Chris Patiño, F.S.C. has been director of vocation ministry for the De La Salle Christian Brothers, District of San Francisco New Orleans for three years. In addition he is the West Coast member area co-coordinator for NRVC. 

How does your community divide up roles for vocation ministry?

Our current vocation team is comprised of five members (four brothers and one laywoman). Given that we are accompanying and supporting 21 ministries and 17 brothers’ communities, the four brothers on the vocation team split up the schools and communities by geography. This allows us to more directly support schools in fostering a culture of vocation, provide a brother’s presence when needed, and maintain regular communication. It also allows us to assist our brothers’ communities in local vocation ministry efforts.

The layperson on the team is responsible for youth ministry programming at the district level, and so we are able to mutually support youth and vocation ministry efforts so that there is integration of these formative efforts. The team meets monthly and is able to discuss efforts to promote a culture of vocation within all of our schools. Finally, in terms of discerners, while the director of vocation ministry is the one primarily responsible for their accompaniment, this is also done collaboratively and in a way that encourages the participation of all brothers and those engaged in vocation ministry at the local level, i.e., campus ministers, teachers, etc.

Has being a member of NRVC been helpful to you? 

Membership in NRVC has been a great gift. The professional development resources and programs provide great support and encourage our own ongoing ministerial development. The quality programming and resources help vocation directors/teams stay engaged with wider vocation ministry efforts in the church, encourage collaboration, and provide the necessary data that helps one discern how to best respond to those discerning a religious vocation.

What approaches have you used in vocation ministry lately that you have been excited about?

 The use of technology has been very exciting. We recently embarked on a “docu-series” that involves filming the vocation stories of various brothers and sharing them via YouTube. This has been well received by many audiences and gives young people and others a glimpse into religious life as a De La Salle Christian Brother.

I also appreciate our emphasis on accompanying discerners to professionally and pastorally help them discern their call.

Lastly, being able to bring young adults together for discernment opportunities is very encouraging and I think a great gift to the church.

What’s a fun fact about you that you’d like to share?

 I am a big Los Angeles Dodgers fan!

What do you find challenging and what do you find rewarding in vocation work?

I would describe the challenge and rewarding aspect as the same: It takes time! It is very rewarding to be able to accompany someone on their vocational journey and yet it can be challenging because it means it is a long-term commitment. Sometimes this commitment will lead a person toward a vocation with us and sometimes (many times) it will help them discover their vocation is elsewhere. Yet I have often been much at peace with whatever discerners decide and grateful to have been part of their discernment.

Contact Brother Chris at brochrisfsc@dlsi.