2014 Vocations Conference Announcement – Promises, Prophecy and Hope
*The National Association of Vocation and Formation Directors will be holding their two-yearly conference on March 9-12th, 2014 at the Courtyard Marriot Hotel in Toronto.
The title of the conference is Promises, Prophecy and Hope.
The Keynote speaker next year will be Sister Barbara Reid, O.P. a Dominican Sister of Grand Rapids, Michigan. Sister Barbara is a Scripture Scholar at Catholic Theological Union and a much sought-after speaker. Her publications include: Choosing the Better Part: Women in the Gospel of Luke; The Parables for Preachers and A Retreat with St. Luke.
The Conference will also include numerous lively and important workshops on the topic of Vocation Culture and Formation Ministry as well as opportunities for discussion and relaxation. Mark your calendars well ahead for this hope-filled conference!
Deadlines:
January 15, 2014 — Early Bird Hotel Reservation
February 1, 2014 — Hotel Reservations
February 10, 2014 — Conference Registration
Download the brochure
(Note: it is a 1.3MB PDF)
Enclosed in the brochure you will find the following:
General Conference Information
Conference Announcements – themes and keynote speaker information
Workshop Sessions Details
Environment/Liturgy Committee Participation Form
Registration Form
Hotel Information
Sisters of St. Joseph – A New Congregation!
*Sisters of St. Joseph TOGETHER in God’s hope and joy! Recently, four of the Canadian communities of the Sisters of St. Joseph from the Dioceses of Hamilton, London, Peterborough and Pembroke amalgamated to form a new Congregation, the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada. This step was taken following a prayerful period of discernment by the Sisters of these communities in order to garner their combined energies and diverse gifts for God’s ongoing mission in the Church and the World. The gathering at which this coming together took place was marked by deep joy, peace and hope in the future of religious life. As one Sister remarked “God’s Spirit with us is palpable”.
The installation of the new Congregational Leadership Circle will take place on the Feast of St. Joseph, March 19, 2013 at the Cathedral of St. Peter’s-in-Chains in Peterborough, Ontario. The Sisters of St. Joseph, founded in Le Puy-en-Velay, France in 1648 are rooted in a mission of unity and reconciliation. Their charism calls them to a living out of Christ’s mission, “That all may be one as You, Father, are in me, and I in You. I pray that all may be one.” (John 17: 21) As Sisters of St. Joseph in the 21st century that mission continues across the world as the various Congregations of St. Joseph strive with God’s grace and love to respond to the deep hungers of peoples’ hearts and the critical and unmet needs of our world today.
“Renew Your Faith” – The Year Of Faith And Vocation Awareness
*This year, 2013 Pope Benedict XV1 declared as a Year of Faith. It is a great invitation to all of us to learn more about our faith but most importantly, to deepen our relationship with God through prayer and through witnessing in our lives to the joy, promise, hope and freedom of the Gospel. This is a special time to ask the question: “How can I follow Jesus more closely in my world and in today’s world?” And the question is a VOCATION QUESTION! What is the special way that I am called this year and beyond it to love God more deeply, to live the Gospel more truly, to be Church in the world, as I witness to love, truth, justice and life? This is a gift in time for VOCATION AWARENESS, for VOCATION COMMITMENT, for VOCATION DEEPENING and through it for evangelization so that the name and love of Jesus Christ will be more known in our world.
A Meditation For Lent
*The liturgical seasons that we celebrate in our Church are gifts for our journey. The season of Lent reminds us that our faith journey is ultimately a journey of the heart. On Ash Wednesday, the prophet Joel reminds us that our God invites us to “return to me with all your heart.”
How does that invitation call me this year? God offers each of us a new beginning, a whole new opportunity to listen to God’s voice in quietness of spirit. Perhaps I am being called to live more fully the gift of my personal vocation with the love and joy through which I am entrusted to reveal God in the world or as my wise and gentle novice director would have said, “Go out today and make God look good!” Or perhaps the invitation is to claim the time to discern in prayer and with the help of a “soul friend” what is my life’s call or vocation. Am I fearful of listening, of choosing for God? Perhaps Lent then becomes a time to ask God for mercy, for courage, for clarity and for fidelity as I embrace the dignity and gift of my baptism seeking to live it fully as I am called. This Lent, may I come to God with all my heart.
Sister Mary Rowell, CSJ