Continuation of:  “I Want to Encourage Vocations…but Where Do I Begin?” 

1. Ministry Fair Table – The Parish Ministry Fair is an excellent opportunity to recruit more volunteers (or establish a membership base in the event of a new ministry). If a Vocation Ministry exists, then you can skip to organizing the logistics of reserving a booth with the person who coordinates the Ministry fair. Otherwise, a consultation and blessing from Father to begin a Ministry will be in order and potentially a pitch to your parish pastoral council of the importance and necessity of such a ministry. Set up a beautiful, eye-catching display, replete with holy cards, religious ornaments and perhaps even a cut-out of the Pope. Be sure to also have a signup sheet and event flyers along with informational material on vocations. Enthusiastically greet those milling around the fair and be prepared to expound on the role of volunteers. Some may be willing to organize events, as well as plan, but others may be more interested in helping onsite. Every parish should have a Vocation Ministry and using the Parish Ministry Fair may be the perfect opportunity to start one. For vocation materials, please contact the Vocation Office. 
2.  Soup and Stations – This is an ideal activity to orchestrate during Lent when there is often a full schedule of Fridays for Soup and Stations. Upon your pastor’s approval, see if you can dedicate just one of those Fridays to promoting vocations. Contact a handful of priests and seminarians ahead of time to see if they’re available and have them prepare a short tale on what drew them to their particular vocation. Be sure to treat them to their meal, have a mic on hand and devote an appropriate timeslot for each of them to share their stories throughout the evening. Good publicity in advance, including announcements from the altar and ads in your church bulletin, should ensure a well-attended audience. Parishioners at the event will be treated to the inspiring tales your speakers share and will hopefully be compelled to pray for those living out a call and for discerners, as well. 
3.  Let the Children Come to Me(Adoration for Children) – Host a special Holy “Half” Hour designed just for the children of your parish (30-45 minutes is best considering their limited attention span). This is an exciting opportunity to introduce the children to prayer before the Blessed Sacrament, a place where God speaks to the heart of those gathered before Him to reveal His plan for them. After receiving approval from your pastor and determining who will lead the Holy “Half” Hour, you may want to coordinate with the DRE to have this event after Religious Education, so the children can flow naturally from one parish function to another. Set the date on the parish calendar and advertise in the bulletin, with announcements after Mass and a flyer that the DRE can send to his or her students. Coordinate with the priest to include a short talk and music geared towards the children (e.g. “Jesus, Jesus Come to Me” and/or “Jesus Loves Me”). A small reception afterwards would be ideal; if it’s in spring or summer, something held outside would be perfect so the children may run around.  This event has so much potential to do so much good - an interior prayer life is vital to hearing God’s call so you can be instrumental in planting the seeds for fruitful discernment.       

This is just a short listing of the many activities Rhonda has amassed that could help build a culture of vocations in your parish. For more ideas and inspiration, purchase Hundredfold: A Guide to Parish Vocation Ministry by Rhonda Gruenewald here.