Vocations

For more information on VOCATIONS click on the following links:

What Is a Vocation?

The root word for vocation is vocare, which is Latin for "to call." God has created each one of us for a particular calling or destiny in this life and the hereafter. Through the Sacrament of Baptism God calls each one of us to live out that calling in love, holiness and service to God and one another. The path we choose to follow is important, because by actively discerning God's call and responding, we will live our lives in true joy and fulfillment.

It is important to remember that a true vocation is an invitation from God to assume some responsibility to share in the mission of the Church. God never forces Himself upon us. The Lord constantly encourages, nurtures and pulls us in the direction we should be heading. If we truly listen with our hearts and not to our fears and doubts, the authentic invitation from God will be easier to know.

Some will live out their vocational calling in marriage and parenthood; some will remain single; others will be called to serve as priests or consecrated. Each call is unique and we are totally free to respond.

Learning what our specific vocation is requires a process we call discernment. It will be utilized at various stages in our lives and God will use others to assist us in that process.

What is most important is to actively seek from God what it is we are called to do.

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find;
knock and the door will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks, receives, and the one who seeks, finds;
and the one who knocks the door will be opened."
Matthew 7:7-8

St. Mary Queen of Creation Parish
New Baltimore, Michigan
Vocations Awareness Committee Meeting
Minutes of the April 16, 2008 Meeting

Opening Prayer: The meeting began at 7:05 PM. Mike Desmarais distributed a special prayer for vocations from the Knights of Columbus. A new prayer is generated every month for various needs.

Attendance/Review of Minutes: Fr. Nick, Dan Chisholm, Mike Desmarais, Michelle Donovan and Ken Krause were present. We welcomed Mike Cousins to the committee. Jerry was absent because of work.

Ongoing Education and Formation: Fr. David Burgard, current pastor of Immaculate Conception Parish in Anchorville and Vicar of the Blue Water Vicariate, is being transferred to St. Mary Parish in Wayne, Michigan effective July 1, 2008. Fr. Nick explained the process for the selection of a new vicar. Two or three names are submitted to the Cardinal for approval. The nominee must have completed two full assignments and is not newly-assigned to the vicariate. Upon approval, the clergy of the vicariate vote for the new vicar. This selection is ratified by the vicariate pastoral council at their next meeting.

Ongoing Issues:

a. Issues for discernment/consensus (Old Business)

1. Luminary Articles: Michelle has a two-part article, one for April and one for May, regarding the Blessed Monstrance for Vocations which will be part of Eucharistic Holy Hours from May 17-26, 2008 in various locations within the Archdiocese of Detroit. Jerry will take care of the article for the month of June.

2. Vocare Newsletter: Our Wall of Fame article finally made it in the newsletter! The Good News is that they spelled Fr. Nick's name correctly. The Bad News is that they misspelled Dan's last name and the photo was very fuzzy. ("It was a dark and foggy night…") NOTE: This photo is crystal clear in Fr. Nick's "hard copy" of the Vocare newsletter which arrived on Saturday, April 19th. Hoo-ray!

3. Wall of Fame: The next quarterly grouping will be our two parishioner candidates for the permanent diaconate, Bill Schmitz and Mike Oldani (Discerning/Ordained) and Mary Jane Schmid and Sr. Pat Whalen (Lay Ministry). Mike will take photos of the honorees and will also frame the bio's and the photos as he does so very well. This display will cover the months of July, August and September.

4. Annual Collection for Vocations Support: $4000 was collected between the members of St. Mary Queen of Creation Parish and the Anchor Bay Knights of Columbus. An additional check of $5000 was donated from the estate of Ann ("Jean") Holland. With this new total of $9000, several more seminarians and novices can be helped financially.

b. Issues for dialogue, sharing, reaction, proposing (New Business)

1. Web Site: This link on our parish web page needs some serous overhauling. There is a link to the Archdiocese of Detroit vocations web page, which will help us not to "re-invent the wheel." That is, not create something that is there already. Such as: "Frequently Asked Questions" about Diocesan Priesthood. Fr. Nick will send to Roy LaRoche our web-master, an attachment with the latest Vocare newsletter and CARA surveys.

2. Vocations Convocation: The next meeting of the Archdiocesan Vocation Convocation will be on Saturday, September 13, 2008 at Sacred Heart Major Seminary. More info is coming in the summer edition of the Vocare newsletter.

Evaluation of the meeting: Productive and timely!

Next Meeting: Wednesday, June 11, 2008 at 7:00 PM at St. Mary's Rectory.

Closing Prayer: The meeting ended at 7:55 PM with the Parish Prayer for Vocations.

Submitted by: Fr. Nick Zukowski

"WALL OF FAME"
Graces the Hallway of St. Mary Queen of Creation Parish
New Baltimore

A clever way to promote vocations is to add a little Broadway pizzazz! The Vocations Awareness Committee of St. Mary Queen of Creation Parish in New Baltimore (on beautiful Anchor Bay in the Blue Water Vicariate) chose to highlight two types of vocations in the parish: Discerning/Ordained and Lay Ministry. In a hallway display decked with golden-trimmed picture frames and an elegant draped curtain, the Wall of Fame pays tribute to those in the local St. Mary community and in the larger diocesan, provincial and world-wide Church.

The "premiere" display includes on the left side, St. Mary's own John Kopson -- a First-Year Philosophy student at Sacred Heart Major Seminary -- and three novices from the Adrian Dominican Sisters religious community -- Sisters Sara Bingham, Thanh Nguyen and Elily Malleis. On the right side of the display are John and Carrie Sobetski who, among many other ministries, co-chaired the three-year RENEW process, which was recently concluded at St. Mary's. Also included in the lay ministry display is the coordinator of the local conference of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and the parish food pantry, Mrs. Denise Parks.

The Vocations Awareness Committee plans to change the display "honorees" every three months. Next up to be honored will be the other four seminarians from the Blue Water Vicariate. The next display change will be just in time for the Springtime celebration of the 25th anniversary of ordination of the pastor of St. Mary Queen of Creation Parish -- Fr. Nick Zukowski. In the future, parish staff and other parishioners will be selected and honored by the committee on the "Wall of Fame." The "Wall" is seen by passers-by at all parish hall functions.