NAVFD conference carries forward a vision of vocations
"This conference is one of those rare moments when you see a dream come alive," says Sr. Elizabeth Davis, RSM, facilitator of the National Association of Vocation and Formation Directors (NAVFD) conference which concluded last week in Halifax.
As Sr. Davis explains, NAVFD is carrying forward the vision of the Montreal 2002 Third Continental Congress on Vocations to Ordained Ministry and Consecrated Life in North America.
"They (NAVFD) made a major decision here that they would make this culture of call, this vocation culture, the raison d'être of their organization," Sr. Davis says. "They made a conscious decision that they would restructure themselves to make that vision happen in the church, recognizing that the vision can only happen if there's networking among all the parts of the church - laypeople, religious men and women, priests, bishops, and all the organizations - parishes, dioceses, congregations, Catholic Women's League, Knights of Columbus, Serra Club, all of the ways we organize ourselves as Catholics."
Youth play a key role. As the NAVFD vision statement says, "We envision a Church that has an option for young people….We wish to support them in their discernment of how to live out the call to holiness and service that flows from baptism."
Kara Walsh, youth representative on the Charlottetown diocesan pastoral initiatives council, attended the conference. She was inspired by the pastoral action plan that came out of the Montreal congress, which gave youth a voice and included people called to live as married or single persons. "It's almost as if they're finally opening a door for young people to have a place and, really, the majority of our church community to have a place in vocations."
Sr. Joanne O'Regan, CSM, who is moving towards making her final vows, appreciated the opportunity to meet with newer congregational members and other participants. "Just having people that live their lives in different ways together and sharing is really helpful," she said.
Attendees were inspired by speaker Fr. Anthony Gittins, CSSp, an international missionary expert, anthropologist and author of Called to be sent: Co-missioned as disciples today (2008, Liguori). When asked what difference a vocation culture can make, he says:
"It can make people conscious of their own call, their own dignity, their own responsibility. But it's both of those things - dignity and responsibility. It's not enough merely/only to be a 'me and Jesus' person because my relationship is not privatized or exclusive. I must be a 'me-and-Jesus-for-you-and-others' person, because the call to discipleship requires a commitment to social action and justice."
Sr. Jovita MacPherson, CSM, who served on the NAVFD leadership team and the conference planning committee, offered these conference reflections. "We have come from all over Canada and parts of the USA to the waters of the East Coast, but more importantly we have come to the waters of our baptism which is both the source and strength of a vocation culture. We have gathered with other segments of the Church, been refreshed by the water and like drops, waves, rivers and streams, been sent to be active participants and catalysts in fostering a vocation culture."
The newly elected NAVFD leadership team: (l-r) Kathleen Kelly, SSS (Toronto); Marianne Rohrer, SA (Vancouver); Mary Rowell, CSJ (Peterborough); Michael Traher, SFM (Toronto); and Maureen Baldwin, CND (Fredericton).