| Parish Vocation Fair a Success |
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On January 10 and 11, 2009 a Vocation Fair was held at St. Anthony Church in Frankfort, Illinois during the National Vocation Awareness Week (NVAW) - a special time in which the Church prays for the renewal and strengthening of vocations of dedicated people as married and single people, men to serve as priests, deacons, brothers, and women as religious sisters. NVAW is held annually and begins with the Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord on Sunday. Several Vocation Directors representing the Diocese of Joliet and the Chicago Archdiocese came with booth displays and vocation awareness materials.
Despite the snowy weather that weekend, parishioners at St. Anthony’s filled the worship space at every Mass and plenty of people of all ages remained after Mass to stop by and chat with several vocation directors at their display booths held at the parish hall. Could it be because of the coffee, juice and doughnuts served by the Hospitality team? The giveaway items from our booths? The personal invitation from the directors as we introduced ourselves one by one to the assembly at the end of each Mass? Perhaps it’s the combination of all three. But there is one thing each of the booth display participants would agree upon: we all had the grandest time with the pastor, the staff, and the parishioners.
To find out more about CAVA parish vocation awareness programs, click here.
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In March, five participants and two CAVA Sisters jumped into the “Nun Run” van and visited four convents in the north side of Chicago. The participants had a taste of how Consecrated Religious women pray, have meals together, and come together as a community.
Most of the participants have never visited any convents before. They have so many questions about what God seems to want in their life.
Asked at the end of the experience how the Nun Run weekend helped her, one participant says she was glad she came because at least some of her questions have been answered. “ I really learned a lot,” says another. All the women initially had some concerns about being pressured into joining a community, but after the trip, they all expressed their relief about the “no-string attached” environment and how much they felt supported and prayed for by all the Sisters no matter what decision they make in the future.
What is a Nun Run?
A Nun Run is a 24-hour + experience during which young women are invited to visit Religious Sisters where they live from the first evening until the next evening. We offer you transportation, overnight hospitality, meals, prayer and fun.
What a Nun Run is NOT:
It is not a running marathon! Rather, we carpool to each convent. Don’t worry, there won’t be nuns running after you. This is a “no-strings attached” event.
For more information and a copy of the brochure, call Sr. Jenny Howard at 800-860-1840 x2897 or email jhoward@spsmw.org. Or click here for a copy of the brochure.
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| Resurrection High School Fair |
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On March 18th and 19th, a Vocation Fair was held for the Juniors and Seniors at Resurrection High School. There were 11 different communities represented. At the beginning of each period, a short talk on call was given followed by the young women “interviewing” 3 different communities. The communities were assigned to them with specific questions to ask. Then the students had time to visit the rest of the displays. Comments from students and teachers were very positive as all agreed that they got to visit with the Sisters and get a better understanding of religious life.
To find out more about our high school programs, please click here.
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