Parish
Why in the parish setting?
We are so happy you are here and looking for a way to promote vocations in your parish. Here are the first simple steps:
Steps to forming a parish vocation ministry:
Step 1- Pray
Pray often for your pastor that he is willing to support a Vocation Ministry. Ask Him to show you exactly how this ministry should look and to send those willing volunteers to help put all of God’s plans into action.
Step 2- Read Hundredfold: A Guide to Parish Vocation Ministry
We recommend reading at least the first 50 pages of the book and then perusing Part II with 67 activities as you need them to grasp the task fully.
Step 3- Meet with your priest
Meet with the priest or pastor about making the parish more vocation minded. Having the priest’s blessing must be achieved before initiating any activity at the parish or involving parishioners. See Chapter 3 in Hundredfold for more information on this.
Step 4- Download resources from this website
Below, you will find the phases where the resources are for each activity. If you are new, start with Phase I and work your way through Phase IV over time.
Step 5- Gather members
Brainstorm with your priest who would be right to join this new ministry/committee. A few parishioners who love Jesus, our Blessed Mother, and care for the Church would be great. Add to this a Knight of Columbus and representatives from other groups in your parish, and you are ready to go. More on this in Chapter 2 of Hundredfold.
Step 6- Set up a meeting time and start planning
To help your planning sessions, download these resources that include a Vocation Calendar and Parish Action Plan:
Phase I
Laying the Groundwork
The activities in Phase I are vitally important for the early and long-term success of a Vocation Ministry—and the peace, energy, and joy of the volunteers involved…
Phase II
Establishing a Presence
While God inspires all vocations, programs and activities can invite and encourage individuals to be open to God’s call to a religious vocation. Phase II…
Phase III
Spreading the Word
After implementing a solid foundation of prayer and education in the local parish, a ministry in Phase III is typically…
Phase IV
Expanding the Ministry’s Reach
By Phase IV the ministry is at the pinnacle of influence, operational capabilities, and visible results within its parish. The Vocation Ministry…
Ministry in Action
The last time we were in Stockton in 2019 they had no seminarians and no discerners. Today, they have 7 and a few new ones entering for the next school year!
How does a parish become vocation-producing? With expectant prayer and activities that promote vocations. In 2019, I met Lupe and her husband Angel from Sacred Heart parish in Stockton, California, at our Hundredfold workshop.
The parish had not had a vocation in many years. Lupe and Angel learned what to do at our workshop and from our book Hundredfold (Sembrando Semillas in Spanish), and after about a year of praying, their new priest Fr. Hamilton arrived at their parish, ready to get the soil fertile for vocations. Their new ministry of 6 incredible couples worked on that soil for a year, doing various activities. In 2021, Josue, from their parish entered the seminary. Praise God!
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