NRVC members, staff, and board extend greetings to Catholic brothers on this, their international day of recognition. The Conference of Major Superiors of Men is sponsoring a virtual celebration of brothers on May 1, 1-2 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. Register here.

Thank you, brothers, for your service and witness!

Learn more here.

The 2020 Study on Recent Vocations to Religious Life will be the focus of a HORIZON special edition mailing this month. NRVC members and subscribers can look forward  to:

• review and analysis of the study's major findings
• commentary from leaders of the major consecrated life organizations in the United States
• insights from newer members
• best practices based on the findings
• practical program ideas

Readers will be notified by email when the special edition is available online this month.

With COVID-19 stay-at-home orders in effect, many NRVC members  have begun doing additional online outreach to their target populations.

Many clergy are involved in live-stream Masses, and other religious are offering prayer, discernment guidance, and positive messages through a variety of means.

Following are ministry ideas assembled by the NRVC staff:

• Try learning a social media platform that is used by your target demographic.
• Hold conversations with discerners by Zoom.
• Place your activities on the VISION Vocation Guide calendar. Also: Please update VISION calendar listings about events that have changed venue or been postponed.
• Take a workshop or course in a topic relevant to vocation ministry.
• Learn more about Adobe Spark (which has a free version). At least one vocation director has used it to organize an online retreat.
• Pray for men religious suffering from or deceased from COVID-19.
• Read HORIZON online articles about an aspect of your ministry.
• Text or mail cards to vocation contacts.
• Organize your contacts to better track your interactions with them.
• Organize your digital photos for use in publicity.
• Update your job description.
• Update the application for entrance into your religious institute.
• Update your VISION Vocation Match profile.
• Download and read “Code of Ethics for Vocation Ministry.”

NRVC encourages its members and friends to celebrate World Day of Prayer for Vocations on Sunday, May 3, with internal and virtual events or activities.

Learn more about this day here. Click here to see this year's reflection by Pope Francis.

This October Father Raymond P. Carey, Ph.D., will be honored for his service to NRVC with a lifetime membership award. Carey has taught NRVC workshops on ethics and behavioral assessment for many years.

He will be recognized on the opening night of the NRVC convocation on October 30 in Spokane, Washington. He previously received the NRVC Harvest Award in 1992. There are just six lifetime award recipients: Brother Paul Bednarcyzk, C.S.C., Sister Catherine Bertrand, S.S.N.D., Sister Charlene Diorka, S.S.J., Sister Mary Ann Hamer, O.S.F., Sister Charlene Herinckx, S.S.M.O., and Ms. Dolores Orzel.

Convocation registration is open

The NRVC Convocation, slated for October 30 to November 2 in Seattle, will obey all COVID-19 safety protocols. Register here.

Nominate someone for the Mustard Seed or Outstanding Recognition award

NRVC members are encouraged to nominate people who have contributed to vocation ministry by submitting a nomination:

NRVC Mustard Seed Award Nomination Form

NRVC Outstanding Recognition Award Nomination Form

Sister Deborah Borneman, SS.C.M., the NRVC director of mission integration, gave online workshops to two international groups in March and April. She delivered a four-hour workshop online to 44 formators from various countries on March 25. The International Union of Superior Generals invited her to present this workshop, which focused on vocation discernment and young people.

In addition, she gave a presentation online on April 22 to Irish vocation ministers on the theme "Giving Hope."

Calling it "a great sign of life and hope in the Church in the United States, despite the . . . uncertainty in the world brought by the Coronavirus pandemic," the U.S. Conference of Catholic bishops released its annual ordination report in April.

The report shows a continuation in ethnic and racial diversity in the priesthood. Of this year's 448 ordinands, 17 percent belong to religious orders (62 filled out the survey).

Learn more about the class of 2020 by reading the full report or viewing a cross-section of men to be ordained.

Thank you to the NRVC webmaster, Curtis Long of ideaPort, who with his staff and TrueQuest Communications, has upgraded the nrvc.net homepage.

Check out our new look: nrvc.net!

This attractive, 16-page booklet is a compendium of key messages about religious life taken from the 2020 Study on Recent Vocations to Religious Life. Order copies to distribute to community members, discerners, parishioners, and anyone who supports vocations to religious life.

 $20 for 25 booklets with free shipping within the United States. For bulk orders of 100 or more, please email mailer@nrvc.net for further discounts.

NRVC's Summer Institute is accepting registrations and is scheduled for July 8-23 in Chicago, albeit with plans to comply with all social-distancing restrictions. Find updates, information, and registration at nrvc.net

Orientation Program for New Vocation Directors    
July 8-12            

Ethical Issues for Vocation and Formation Directors     
July 13-14

Behavioral Assessment 1   
 July 16-18                                         

Is it Generational, Cultural, Personality or Pathology?     
July 16-18                           

Understanding, Assessing, and Fostering Psycho-Sexual Integration   
July 20-23

The following areas will all convene on Zoom. For the latest information about NRVC regional activities, look for the  Member area news section of nrvc.net.

Hudson Valley  
June 3

Mid-Atlantic  
May 4

Midwest   
May 18

Southwest
May 5, 2020

West Coast
May 21

​Catholic Apostolate Center

The Catholic Apostolate Center provides online resources consisting of webinars, blog posts, podcasts, and a myriad of consulting services assembled through collaborative partnerships.

Prepare the Word

Prepare the Word is a resource to help preachers prepare homilies that hit home. It also offers material to help nourish and strengthen the faith of parishioners. 

St. Luke Institute offers help with COVID-19 anxiety

St. Luke Institute has pulled together resources for helping ministers—or anyone—cope with the strain of COVID-19. Find them here. Or call the SLI hotline at 888-526-9357.

"The Life" & vocation lesson plans by Global Sisters Report

Don't miss "The Life," the popular series by Global Sisters Report featuring reflections by a diverse panel of sisters from around the world: GlobalSistersReport.org/Series/Life. Global Sisters Report has also produced a series of high school vocation lesson plans available here.

Institute of Religious Formation & Hesburgh Sabbatical 

The Institute of Religious Formation and Hesburgh Sabbatical Programs at Catholic Theological Union offer programs for personal and professional development. For more information, see ctu.edu/academics/special-programs.

Redemptorist Renewal Center

The Redemptorist Renewal Center runs three sabbatical programs annually—spring, summer, and fall. The spring and fall programs each last 10 weeks, while the summer is only five weeks. For more information on the RRC program, see desertrenewal.org/sabbatical/ or contact office@desertrenewal.org.

Thank you HORIZON advertisers!

HORIZON reaches a premier niche of highly educated religious men and women and lay ministers. Readers hold leadership positions in their communities and influence community decisions. Contact editor Carol Schuck Scheiber for more information: cscheiber@nrvc.net or 567-288-2255. Download the current rate card.