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August 23, 2008
PRESENT: Fr. Armstrong, Deacon David Endres,
Mary Beth Nolan, Mike Schiller.
1) Traveling Chalice: Mary Beth Nolan noted
that the traveling chalice program had fallen off during the summer
months. She will continue to publicize the program and will place a
flyer in the “white envelope” for all school families. She will
provide a list of those who received the chalice in 2008.
2) Serra Club: Mike Schiller noted that the
Serra Club sponsored a summer cookout at St. Ignatius for priests;
the event was attended by about 20.
The most visible work of the Serra Club
continues to be its talks to high school seniors.
3) ACRE Test: Committee members reviewed the
ACRE question on vocations and noted the high number of eighth grade
graduates (21%) who said they were considering/had considered a
priestly or religious vocation.
4) Seminarian Intern Year: Deacon David Endres
will conclude his residence at St. Antoninus on August 31, 2008. He
will return to the parish occasionally on weekends as he is able.
The internship year was a valuable experience for both the parish
and the seminarian.
5) Year of St. Paul: Fr. Armstrong noted the
many activities planned for the year of St. Paul: a novena to St.
Paul; picture of St. Paul to be used at church and in school
classrooms; use of the Philippians prayer before Friday school
liturgies; preaching at weekend Masses by Deacons Endres and
Schroeder on St. Paul’s epistles.
6) Field Trip to the Seminary: David Endres
will contact fifth grade teachers to plan a class trip to the
seminary in winter/spring 2009.
7) “Called by Name” Program: Parishioners will
have the opportunity to suggest someone they know who might make a
good priest, brother, or sister. This will occur on the Feast of the
Baptism of the Lord (January 11, 2009). Father Armstrong will follow
up with a letter to those who have been suggested.
8) Priestly Ordination of Deacon David Endres
(May 23, 2009) and First Mass at St. Antoninus (May 31, 2009 at
11:30 AM Mass with reception to follow in undercroft).
9) Fr. Mick Burse at Mt. St. Mary’s Seminary:
In recognition of Fr. Mick’s 60 years in the priesthood, a “burse”
has been established at the seminary to offset the cost of educating
our future priests. It is hoped that many of the parishioners will
make a donation in honor of Fr. Mick’s service to the Church.
10) Annual Parish Leadership Night (7:30 PM,
August 25, 2008)
11) St. Michael Prayer Warriors and “Call of
the King Conference” (September 21, 2008): Fr. Schnippel of the
Archdiocesan Vocation Office has founded this apostolate of the
laity to pray for vocations. The members agree to pray before the
Blessed Sacrament for an increase in vocations at least one hour per
month. To kickoff the apostolate, the Vocation Office is hosting the
inaugural “Call of the King Conference” on September 21 from
7:00-8:30 PM at the Our Lady of the Holy Spirit Center, 5440 Moeller
Ave., Norwood, Ohio. The conference features Fr. Anthony Brausch,
faculty member at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary, speaking on personal
holiness as an avenue of renewal in the Church. Contact the Vocation
Office for information at 513-421-3131 or
http://www.cincinnativocations.org/
12) Frohlich Farm Gathering (October 5, 2008):
The Archdiocesan Vocation Office invites young men and their fathers
to a gathering at the Frohlich Farm in Lebanon, Ohio. Contact the
Vocation Office for information at
513-421-3131 or
http://www.cincinnativocations.org/
The committee expects to meet next in January
2009 on a Saturday at 8:45 AM.
May 31, 2008
PRESENT: Fr. Armstrong, Deacon David Endres,
Mike Schiller.
1) Fifth Grade Trip to Seminary: The fifth
grade made their annual field trip to the seminary on Monday, April
14, 2008. The day included a vocation talk from now-Deacon Shawn
Landenwitch and tours of the grounds, building, library, etc. The
students seemed to enjoy the day; there was a lot of positive
feedback.
2) Vocation Awareness at St. Antoninus School:
A review of NCEA ACRE (Accessing Catechesis/Religious Education)
test scores for our school show an increasing number are considering
a religious vocation. The question asked to fifth and eighth grade
students is: “I have thought of becoming a sister, brother, or
priest.”
The numbers below are a combination of
percentages for:
“agree strongly + “agree” answers
| Year |
5th
Grade |
8th
Grade |
| 2002-03 |
2% |
4% |
| 2003-04 |
2% |
2% |
| 2004-05 |
6% |
6% |
| 2005-06 |
16% |
13% |
| 2006-07 |
22% |
6% |
| 2007-08 |
15% |
21% |
*It was noted that while 21% of the eighth
grade had considered a vocation, when that same class was in fifth
grade, only 6% had considered a vocation. This was seen as
encouraging.
3) High School Discernment Day for Men: This
event sponsored by Mount St.
Mary Seminary and the Archdiocese Vocation
Office was held at the seminary on Saturday, May 10, 2008. 18 men
were in attendance, including 2 from St. Antoninus. Deacon Endres
invited about 12 young men from the parish including those from the
“Called by Name” initiative who would have been eligible to attend.
4) Discernment Weekend for Young Women: Event
is scheduled for June 6-8,
2008 at the Holy Spirit Center in Norwood.
Event is open to women ages 15-30. Brochures are available.
5) Father Armstrong and Deacon Endres have
visited all classrooms in the school (1-8) to promote the Traveling
Chalice program. Deacon Endres taught the fifth grade unit on “Holy
Orders” the week of May 5.
January 26, 2008
PRESENT: Fr. Armstrong,
David Endres (seminarian intern), Mary Beth Nolan, Mike Schiller.
EX-OFFICIO: Jack Corey (parish school
principal), Deacon Bob Schroeder (pastoral associate).
1)
Traveling Chalice
Program – Mary Beth Nolan reported on the program. The program had
better participation in the fall months, but dropped off near
Christmas time. She has a list of those willing to participate and
will follow up with them. She asked if there was a way for those
who are homebound to participate.
Seminarian David Endres was asked to
look at the traveling chalice prayer book with an eye to revising
and simplifying it. Fr. Armstrong has spoken to grades 5-8 about
the traveling chalice program as part of his weekly classroom
visits.
2)
The parish marked
Vocation Awareness Week, January 13-19, 2008. David Endres
(assisted by seminarian Marc Soellner) spoke to all students in
grades 5, 7, and 8. He preached on vocations at the school Mass on
January 18, 2008.
3)
As part of Vocation
Awareness Week, the parish again initiated the “Called by Name”
program that elicited names of parishioners with a possible vocation
to the priesthood or religious life. David Endres spoke at all
weekend Masses inviting those in attendance to take part in the
program. The result was that 20 names surfaced. Father Armstrong
has contacted those named by letter.
4)
The fifth grade will
take their annual trip to the seminary on Monday, April 14, 2008.
The day will include a tour of the seminary, vocation talks, lunch,
and tour of the rare books collection. The PTO has approved funding
for the transportation.
5)
David Endres will ask
Deacon Schroeder for ACRE (Accessing Catechesis/Religious Education)
test scores for past years regarding the question on religious
vocations: “I have thought of becoming a sister, brother, or
priest.”
6)
Deacon Schroeder will be
contacted to see how vocations can be better promoted among the
servers.
7)
The next meeting is
tentatively scheduled for Saturday, May 31, 2008 at 8:30 AM in the
St. Joseph Room.
September 8, 2007
PRESENT: Fr. Armstrong, David
Endres (seminarian intern), Joe and Mary Beth
Nolan, Mike Schiller.
EX-OFFICIO: Jack Corey (parish school
principal), Deacon Bob Schroeder (pastoral
associate).
1) Traveling Chalice Program – Joe and
Mary Beth Nolan discussed the program to date. It was stated that
the program is averaging two families per month. It is hoped that
now that the school year has begun more families will take part. It
was stressed that those who have already taken part are eligible to
receive the chalice again.
It was mentioned that some are not
able to take part because they are confined to their homes or not
comfortable receiving the chalice in front of the congregation. The
possibility of someone accepting the chalice on their behalf and
bringing it to them was discussed as a possibility for the future.
Joe and Mary Beth agreed to keep a
contact list for the program and to encourage those who will be
bringing up the offertory to consider taking the chalice as well.
2) Parish School: Fr. Armstrong and
seminarian David Endres will visit school classrooms weekly on
Tuesday mornings. David will go to the school to eat lunch with the
students every Thursday. Fr. Armstrong stressed the importance of
this interaction in prompting students to think about the
possibility of a vocation.
3) “Called by Name” Program:
Parishioners will have the opportunity to suggest someone they know
who might make a good priest, brother, or sister. This will occur
on the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord (January 13, 2008). Father
Armstrong will follow up with a letter to those who have been
suggested.
4) Servers: Deacon Schroeder will be
contacted to see how servers could become more aware of vocations.
5) Bulletin Column: David Endres will
write a weekly column, highlighting vocations among other topics.
6) Serra Club: To recruit new members,
Mike Schiller from the Serra club will include a bulletin insert for
the Fourth Sunday of Easter (April 13, 2008).
7) Youth Group: David Endres will
contact the youth group moderator, Julie Heil, to inquire about the
possibility of assisting with the program.
8) “Adopt a Seminarian” Program: David
Endres will inquire about beginning this program in the grade
school. Students would have the opportunity to send a note or ask a
question of a seminarian at Mount St. Mary’s.
9) Graded Course of Studies: Deacon
Schroeder will be contacted about the content of religious education
regarding vocations and where it is inserted within the curriculum.
10) Field Trip to the Seminary: David
Endres will contact fifth grade teachers to plan a class trip to the
seminary.
The committee
expects to meet next at the beginning of 2008. The normal meeting
time of a Saturday at 8:30 AM was agreed upon. |
