Office of Vocations

" A Welcoming Community of Faith Rooted in the Catholic Tradition "

 

 

 

 

Come Follow Me

 

As you are well aware, the Sacramental needs of the People of God can only be fulfilled by dedicated pastoral leaders. One of greatest frustrations of any Bishop is when he or she receives a call requesting a priest to help establish and to lead a new parish community and the Bishop has nobody to send.

For the Evangelical Catholic Church to grow and continue deepening its vocational mission, we wish to foster and encourage vocations to the clerical and religious life.  For those who are considering Religious Life we invite you to speak with us about assisting you in your decision making process. 

The Evangelical Catholic Church unconditionally embraces its responsibility to provide a format for the academic formation of our candidates for Orders.  Saint John the Evangelist Seminary is the academic formation program adopted and redesigned for use for candidates of the Evangelical Catholic Church.  We believe that you will find thatr Saint John the Evangelist Seminary has a viable academic formation second to none.

The Evangelical Catholic Church knows that vocations do not always necessarily mean service within the confines of a parish community.  God has blessed many individuals with gifts which can be used in a variety of pastoral assignments within chaplaincies which also brings the Good News of the Gospels to many.

We believe that our reforms, which permits our diocesan clergy the option to marry, we welcome women to the clerical life and we have set aside so many of the past illogical impediments to Holy Orders - will permit those, who believe that they have been called to a life of service to the clerical or religious life hope and freedom to experience the fullness of God's gift of a vocation.

We also encourage all inactive deacons, priests, bishops and religious who are considering a return to the clerical or religious life to speak with us about returning to active clerical or religious life.

Given the times in which we live, it must be pointed out that the Evangelical Catholic Church does not consider God's gift of a vocation as a hobby or as an opportunity for individuals to "dress up" and play cleric or religious. We take our vocations seriously and seek to determine similar seriousness in our candidates.

We are most serious when we say that the Evangelical Catholic Church is not a clerical or religious repository for dysfunctional individuals.

The discernment process promises each person to deal with many questions.  We promise that you will not be alone in this journey.  Please contact us regarding any questions you may have regarding your vocation.

For additional information, please contact Canon Mark Herbert at vocations@evangelicalcatholicchurch.org

 

 

Return to Main Page for Vocations