Nov. 2, 2016 By Mary Lou Kilian Rhonda Gruenewald accepted an invitation to become involved in her parish’s vocation ministry with little idea “As a convert, I did not know what the word ‘vocation’ meant in the Catholic context at the time,” the Houston, Texas, woman said in an email interview with the North Country Catholic. “Which should prove to all of us that God can use anyone to further His kingdom on earth if they just say ‘yes.’” Five years later, Mrs. Gruenewald is accepting invitations from dioceses across the country to share what she has learned about building vocations in Catholic parishes. On Saturday, she will lead a program at the Church of the Visitation parish center in Norfolk, focusing on her book Hundredfold: A Guide to Parish Vocation Ministry. After the first meeting of her parish group back in 2011, Mrs. Gruenewald said, “I went home and scoured the Internet and read anything I could about vocations. I found several websites with various activities, but nothing comprehensive about how to start or revive a parish-based committee, just bits and pieces. Our ministry had no guide to follow, so we tread our own path. “After hosting different activities every month at our parish for several years, the Serra Club Governor’s Council in Houston asked me to consult with them about how to bring our model of a vocation ministry to every parish in Houston,” she said. “So, in December of 2013, I said I would write a pamphlet, a short road map for how to have a successful parish vocation committee,” she said. “Only 17 months later, it was a professionally edited book with an imprimatur,” she said. “The Holy Spirit has been working overtime!” According to its author, “the goal of Hundredfold: A Guide to Parish Vocation Ministry is to provide information, activities, and inspiration to anyone starting, reviving, or refreshing a vocation ministry, and to make those ministries thrive.” “It is designed to inspire parishes to get involved in vocation work, to help new ministries start strong by providing a clear guide to the nuts and bolts of the ministry, and to reinvigorate long-standing committees with fresh ideas that attract new workers to his vineyard,” Mrs. Gruenewald said. On her website, vocationministry.com, Mrs. Gruenewald explains that “creating opportunities for the Holy Spirit to reach the hearts of the discerners is integral to this process and one of the overarching purposes of a vocation ministry. The ministry helps families understand the value and importance of vocations, ensuring a future generation of priests, nuns, sisters, brothers, and others who dedicate their lives to Christ. “Such a ministry should actively pray for, educate, and gently encourage parishioners who already are discerning their vocation, whether it is the priesthood, religious life, or marriage,” she said. “Furthermore, if God has the priesthood or religious life planned for a young man's or woman's life, a vocation ministry can help by offering time in adoration for God's call to be heard with clarity and by promoting discernment events within the parish or diocese,” she said. “Finally,” she said, “the ministry must guide parishioners to celebrate and honor those already in a vocation.” |
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of what she was taking on.