Rhonda Gruenewald, a convert to Catholicism, recently published the book, “The Harvest: A Guide to Vocation Ministry in Education.” It includes 75 simple activities that can be used in any classroom to teach students about the different vocations.
Gruenewald says it's a pressing matter, given the declining number of priests and religious sisters in the United States.
RHONDA GRUENEWALD
Founder of “Vocation Ministry”
“So we have a lot of work to do, yes. But I don't want to forget married couples, because if we don't have marriages striving for holiness, we won't have the other vocations anyway. For example, for National Marriage Week, why not have the kids draw, write a letter to a couple they look up to, married couple they look up to, and affirm them and say thank you?”
Or doing the same for priests on World Priest Day. Gruenewald explains that the larger Vocation Ministry project has helped boost the number of seminarians in some dioceses in the United States. And their impact continues to grow.
RHONDA GRUENEWALD
Founder of “Vocation Ministry”
“We've spoken with about 8,000 people in five years, to train them and equip them. And we have 25 workshops on the books for this year. So the workshops are an extension of all of this, like, 'How do you put this in action?'”
The Vocation Ministry team has given 100 workshops in 48 dioceses in five years. Now, with “The Harvest,” educators can start to promote prayer, awareness and affirmation of all vocations on a daily basis in their own classrooms.
CT
Vocation Ministry
