Communications

Communications

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What every vocation minister should know about public relations and advertising

HORIZON interviews Helen Wilkie

Religious need to put themselves into young people’s field of vision. They have a lower visibility than they did years ago. Read more...

With one voice: Addressing vocation communications throughout the congregation

By Annmarie Sanders I.H.M.

With one voice. Read more...

Work effectively with the news media

By Beth Murphy OP

In the best of all possible worlds, you have a team of people who work with you to help you accomplish your goals in the vocation office. One of those people is your community communication director. Read more...

A good story is still the most valuable tool of vocation directors

By Fr. Eugene Hemrick

There’s no denying that our electronic age is providing us with wonder tools that are a marketer’s delight, making it much easier to promote an idea or a product. These tools not only hold out enormous promise for the secular world, but also for those who promote vocations. Read more...

10 tips to make you a better speaker

By Gregory Sandler

How can vocation ministers make the most of public speaking engagements? Gregory Sandler, a business writer based in Northhampton, Mass. (greg@ thinkglobal. Read more...

Make the most of your Web site by promoting it

Your Web site is up and running. You’re proud of that little baby and maybe a little tired of tweaking it into perfection. Read more...

Preaching vocations: Telling the story and wooing hearts

The act of preaching is an opportunity to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ through inspiring the hearer and evoking a response. The preaching of the Gospel must not demand, persuade or coerce others to follow Christ. Read more...

Put the Web to work for vocations

By Kathleen Wayne R.S.M.

Internet technologies make it easier than ever to connect with young adults. Here are tips for using these new forms of communication in your ministry. Read more...

Reach young adults where they are

Online video and social networking

By Brian Halderman SM

YouTube, MySpace and Facebook sites are not only free, they let vocation ministers meet young adults on their own turf. Read more...

The 10 commandments of DVD production

Today more and more messages get delivered via film, including those about religious life. Before you begin a streaming Web video, a DVD or a mini-CD, read what this experienced producer has to say. Read more...

How vocation ministers handle initial inquiries

By Carol Schuck Scheiber

Vocation ministers work hard at responding to initial inquiries. Here’s a look at how they reply, what they send, how they follow up, and what concerns them about the process. Read more...

Go pro: work effectively with a communications staff

By Jean Dennison

Vocation ministers can stretch their communications dollars and get more impact out of their efforts when they team up with a communications professional. Read more...

Four secrets to great presentations

By Steve Hegele

Connect better and communicate better with these tips from a presentation expert. Read more...

Help the media to help you

By Karen Katafiasz

Your community is doing good things, and you want the public to know. Here are valuable tips for working with the media to get positive stories circulating. Read more...

Anatomy of a news release

Anatomy of a news release

By Carol Schuck Scheiber

See the elements that you need for a successful news release. Read more...

How instant messaging enhances my ministry

By Sr. Andrea Westkamp S.M.I.C.

Instant messaging can be an ideal tool for communicating with discerners. In spite of its name, it actually allows for deliberate, un-hurried, thoughtful dialogue. Read more...

Present your community to the world with Internet video and audio

By Sr. Judy Zielinski O.S.F.

With podcasting, religious communities have a vast and low-cost resource for sharing their good news. Read more...

Use new media to promote vocations

By D. Scott Miller

An experienced youth minister brainstorms ways vocation ministers can use Internet media to promote vocations. Such technology can be the gateway to making lasting human connections. Read more...

From fear to Facebook: first steps into social media

From fear to Facebook: first steps into social media

By Carol Schuck Scheiber

Social networking has such great power for enhancing vocation ministry, it is worth wading into unknown waters to use this free technology. Read more...

Good reads for grasping digital culture

Good reads for grasping digital culture

By Sr. Angela Ann Zukowski M.H.S.H.

Hamlet’s Blackberry: A Practical Philosophy for Building a Good Life in the Digital Age, Born Digital, The Facebook Effect, Life on the Screen: Identity in the Age of the Internet are all good books that offer insight into digital culture. Read more...

Using social media to further vocation goals

Using social media to further vocation goals

By Sr. Patricia Dowling C.B.S.

Social media of all types are ubiquitous. Here are tips from a seasoned and well-wired vocation minister on choosing and using this powerful technology. Read more...

25 ways to communicate your vocation message

25 ways to communicate your vocation message

By Debbi Della Porta

Communication is central to vocation ministry. That’s why it is important to know and use the smartest, most effective forms of communication. Read more...

What can a hashtag do for you?

What can a hashtag do for you?

By Rebecca Hiscott

If you´re a social media novice, hashtags—those short links preceded by the pound sign (#)—may seem confusing and unnecessary. But they are integral to the way we communicate online, and it’s important to know how to use them. Plus, they can be a lot of fun. Read more...

Social media: an invitation rooted in the gospel

Social media: an invitation rooted in the gospel

By Sister Julie Vieira I.H.M.

Social media is helping foster thousands of real-life relationships between lay people and those in religious life. Read more...

Tap your Web site's potential

By Anne Boyle

A strong Web site with fresh, ever-changing content is essential in vocation ministry. Careful planning, good design and vigorous marketing are among the secrets to success. Read more...

Reframing religious presence in a digital culture

By Sr. Angela Ann Zukowski M.H.S.H.

The Internet is not just a handy tool for reaching out to prospective members. If we are to understand, evangelize and invite younger generations, we must grasp how the digital age is shaping the whole culture. Read more...

Smart ways to use smartphones

Smart ways to use smartphones

By Andrew and Fr. Andrew M. McAlpin OP

Smartphones have multiple tools that can help vocation ministers be more effective. Read more...

"Tipping Point" tips for communicating vocation messages

"Tipping Point" tips for communicating vocation messages

By Nicholas Collura

Some ideas and trends capture public interest and spread. Vocation directors can build on what is known about igniting this kind of interest. Read more...

Create a vocation communications plan

Create a vocation communications plan

By Cheryl Aughton

A strategic plan for communications can help vocation directors be more focused and effective. Read more...

Develop high-quality social media content

Develop high-quality social media content

By Fr. Larry Rice C.S.P.

High-quality content on your social media sites is key to fulfilling your goals for those sites. Read more...

From Facebook to face time

From Facebook to face time

By Siobhán O’Neill Meluso

Use social media to engage with your vocation contacts authentically and to encourage them to meet you face-to-face. Read more...

Six tips for using Snapchat in your ministry

Six tips for using Snapchat in your ministry

By Josh and Aimee Shank

Young people use Snapchat to communicate. Why not meet them where they are? Read more...

Responding to inquirers

Responding to inquirers

By Sr. Virginia Herbers A.S.C.J., Len Uhal, and Sister Nancy Gilchriest S.S.N.D.

When a person makes a vocation inquiry, it’s critical that a community respond well. Read more...

Five tips to up your communications game

Five tips to up your communications game

By Miranda Caulkins

Looking to be an effective vocations communicator? Here are five tips from a Millennial expert in branding and communications. Read more...

Talking with video

Talking with video

By Carol Schuck Scheiber

Even if you never fancied yourself a videographer, it is worth experimenting in this platform in order to remain engaged in a lively, contemporary way with young adults. Read more...

Your online image: what it is and why it matters

Your online image: what it is and why it matters

By Sister Julie Vieira I.H.M.

Religious communities have an image that needs care and tending so that the public can know who we are and what our mission is. Because the internet is a major way that the public gets information about us, our online image—that is, how we present ourselves on the internet—matters. Read more...

Design hacks for vocation ministers

Design hacks for vocation ministers

By Sister Michele Lesher S.S.J.

Women and men can’t discern with us if they don’t first come to “see” us. These tools help us exercise creativity in telling our stories. Read more...

Collaborating with our communications director

Collaborating with our communications director

By Sister Laura Zelten O.S.F.

Collaboration among the vocation, development, and communications directors has been key to successful outreach for one religious community. Read more...

Let’s learn and innovate as if our future depends on it

Let’s learn and innovate as if our future depends on it

By Father Bill Murphy S.J.

What if rather than attracting roughly 500 men and women to religious life in the United States each year, God is asking us to find a way to attract 1,000 or even 2,500? Read more...

Cheat sheet for homemade videos

Cheat sheet for homemade videos

Vocation video outreach may be at an all-time high, thanks to COVID-19. For some basic advice for newbies—that is, any vocation director with a phone—we’ve adapted a handout developed by Father Tom Gibbons, C.S.P., creator of the video series NunsTalkChurch.com. Read more...

Make the most of your website

Make the most of your website

By Dan Masterton

Here are practical tips for improving your website—from ensuring it looks good and reads well, to helping it show up in a browser search. Read more...

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Sister Tarianne DeYonker, O.P.

Sister Tarianne DeYonker, O.P.

Sister Tarianne DeYonker, O.P. is part of the vocation team for the Adrian Dominican Sisters headquartered in Michigan. Her six-person vocation team initiates and nurtures relationships with many young adults--especially those who are making decisions about how to use their gifts. Read more...

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