Ask any member of NRVC what they find valuable, and they will inevitably bring up the convocation. Every two years, this convening of hundreds of religious life leaders and vocation directors gives participants:

1)  Renewed spirit for the ministry

2)  Sharper skills and understanding

3)  Valuable networking with friends and collaborators

4)  Meaningful prayer and liturgy

It is not too late; register today and bring along someone else from your community.

Several of our own members will be honored at the convocation. For outstanding recognition, Sister Mary Rowell, C.S.J. and Father Joseph Nassal, C.P.P.S. will receive awards. The Mustard Seed Award will go to the Youth in Theology and Ministry Program. 

The Hudson Valley member area has chosen Gerard Place as the charity to receive our offertory collection during the Sunday Mass at the convocation. The Gerard Place in Buffalo provides housing and support services for homeless, single families. Ninety percent of graduates have transitioned to independent housing and have not returned to homelessness. 

We look forward to welcoming you to Buffalo, gateway to the Niagara Falls!

The member area coordinators for NRVC gathered in Chicago September 17-19 to receive staff and board updates, to share best practices, and to prepare for the year ahead. A warm thank you to all those who play this important leadership role in NRVC!

The U.S. church will uplift vocations to religious life, the priesthood, and the diaconate November 4-10, 2018 National Vocation Awareness Week. Be sure to order any special resources from NRVC that you might want for celebrating this occasion in your community and in your ministry (bookmarks, handouts, prayer cards, etc.).

Learn more about National Vocation Awareness Week at usccb.org. Find information, resources, and supplies at nrvc.net.

Two of NRVC's own will be part of the National Conference on Catholic Youth Ministry December 6-8 in Tampa, Florida.

NRVC Vocation Ambassador and member Sister Josephine Garrett, C.S.F.N., will be the keynote presenter on December 7. Sister Deborah Borneman, SS.C.M., NRVC director of member relations and services, will be presenting a pre-conference workshop on discernment and accompaniment on December 6 with Father Ralph O'Donnell from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and Mrs. Rosemary Sullivan, executive director of the National Conference of Diocesan Vocation Directors.

Priests get in free

This year all priests can attend NCCYM with a complimentary registration using the code UNLOCKPRIEST.  

Learn more about the conference, including information on participating and/or exhibiting at nccym.info. Learn more about the pre-conference workshops at nccym.info/preconferences.

Sister Debbie to present to Girl Scouts and Irish vocation ministers

In addition to co-presenting a pre-conference workshop for the NCCYM, Sister Debbie also will give a keynote talk to the National Catholic Committee for Girl Scouts and Camp Fire at their NCCYM luncheon.

In Ireland, from October 1-5, Sister Debbie will present the Orientation Program for Vocation Ministers as part of a collaboration that began in 2014 .

NRVC recently mailed membership renewal forms, so kindly be on the lookout for this mailing. Early renewals—before November 30—guarantee continuous service. No need to deal with paper forms; go to nrvc.net and start your renewal today.

Changes?

Our members often experience changes in their vocation teams; if your community has made changes, please contact the database manager to be sure your membership is set up correctly: Marge Argyelan, margyelan@nrvc.net; (773) 363-5454.

The NRVC will be hosting several workshops July 9-24, 2019 in its annual Summer Institute in Chicago. It will be held next year at Catholic Theological Union, near the NRVC offices in the beautiful Hyde Park neighborhood, within walking distance of the lake. "Orientation for New Vocation Ministers" will be followed by four workshops that will be announced later. Please pencil in these dates on your calendar and plan to be part of the learning and networking next summer.

For those doing long-range planning, the 2019 Fall Institute will take place October 7-24 in Leavenworth, Kansas.

Consider distributing these helpful, contemporary brochures during National Vocation Awareness Week. 

10 Questions People Ask brochure

This colorful brochure answers 10 commonly asked questions about vocations to religious life. From "How do religious brothers, sisters, and priests spend their days?" to "Is contact with family and friends allowed?" These brochures convey important basic information.

10 Questions Parents Ask brochure

This helpful brochure poses the most common questions from parents, answering everything from "Will my child use his or her talents and education?" to "How restrictive are the vows?" 

Both brochures come in packs of 100 and sell for $20 for members; $30 for non-members. Bulk pricing is also available: 1,000 for $175; 2,000 for $300. 

Gregory Darr is a lay staff member with the Vocation Ministries Team of the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers. He currently serves NRVC as a member area coordinator for the Upper Midwest.

How long have you been involved in vocation ministry? 

I've been a full-time member of our Vocation Ministries Team since January 2016. Vocation ministry was, however, always an important part of my earlier work as a Maryknoll regional director of mission education and promotion—a role I served in for about 15 years out of our communities in Minneapolis and Chicago.

Are you part of a vocation team?  

Our Maryknoll Vocation Ministries Team includes our director of vocations, Father Mike Snyder, M.M.; Father Joe Donovan, M.M., a Maryknoll priest in the Los Angeles area; two extraordinary administrative assistants, Linda Lynch and Norma Araujo; and three Maryknoll priests and brothers in Africa, Asia, and Latin America who are attentive to men in local churches where we serve abroad who express an interest in becoming Maryknoll missioners.

I have, through the years also served on diocesan vocation teams in Chicago, Detroit, Joliet, Milwaukee, St. Cloud, St. Louis, and St. Paul-Minneapolis.

Has being a member of NRVC been helpful? 

My participation in NRVC has benefited me beyond measure.  I have, first of all, been inspired and mentored by so many extraordinary women and men from diverse religious communities.  

In addition my initial training in behavioral assessment was foundational for me in beginning this ministry. Subsequent workshops and training have further instilled not only professional competencies but also ethical sensitivities. In accompanying any person who is grappling with meaningful life questions that surround discernment, I am more comfortable removing now, metaphorically, my sandals because the narrative ground of each person's life story I encounter in discernment is indeed holy. It deserves and calls forth the best in me professionally and personally.  

What idea(s) have you used in vocation ministry lately that excite you?  

Inspired by Pope Francis and the experience of our own Maryknollers, I tend now to work more from a spiritual and personal perspective of a three-stage process of vocational awareness: "Called," "Sent," and "Transformed."  Each of these stages embodies a unique mix of spiritual, emotional, intellectual, and behavioral attributes that, in any vocation, should ideally foster a maturity of Christian vocation toward an enduring witness of love and joy.

Tell us a fun fact about yourself. 

I am married and have two wonderful high-school-age daughters. There was a point in our young life as a family when the four of us held three different nationalities. (My wife was a citizen of the Philippines. Our adoptive daughter was a Chinese national. Our birth daughter and I are U.S. born.)

Are there aspects of the ministry in which being a layperson helps? 

I feel fortunate that Maryknoll recognizes the unique perspectives that lay men and women can bring to those who are discerning lives as missionary priests, brothers, and sisters. I am, for example, a married father of two with years of experience in cross-cultural mission. I also have an academic background in counseling and human relationships. While I am not in a position to model the vocation of missionary priest, brother, or sister, I can bring professional and personal experience in accompanying those facing meaningful life questions such as, "What do I sense God calling me toward?" and  "How can I grow, thrive, and love from any commitment that will ultimately face its tests?" 

Our Maryknoll priests, brothers, and sisters will also, no doubt, serve in mission and live almost entirely among laity of different cultures and backgrounds. The voice of skilled laypeople in discerning the readiness of a person to enter formation can help in assessing a candidate's ability to thrive in their future mission among laity. In the end, I've come to realize that our best Maryknoll priests and brothers are those who, if they had experienced a different call, would have made wonderful husbands and fathers. The gifts common to these seemingly disparate vocations are those I hope to see a person unwrap in his life so he can share them generously with the world as a Maryknoller.