The exploreAway vocations discernment programme is to hold its
first ever taster session later this month and another in September.
The
programme for young single men and women between the ages of 21-40, to
explore religious life and the priesthood, runs for five residential
weekends.
“It is a lot to commit for five weekends, so this meeting is to see
what is lined up and ask questions and to meet other like minded
people,” Ann-Marie Gallagher, Vocations Ireland, told catholicireland.net.
“It is going to be an informal relaxed afternoon with input about what
is involved, and it will be a social event with pizza and a chat as
well.”
exploreAway aims to provide support and accompaniment to
participants who are discerning their call. Participants are invited to
embark on this journey of exploration in the company of others who are
also searching. This was the experience of one participant, Rose aged 25
and who said it was: “a joy to spend time journeying with a group to
discern how to live out God's call."
The programme involves five residential weekends in Dublin. The
weekends provide input on vocation call, discernment, prayer and
religious life - its core values and the various ways it is lived. So
far there have been two exploreAway programmes with six participants in
the last in 2012-2013 – slightly up on one held in the previous year.
Some attendees are at the initial stages of discernment and establishing
which community or diocese they might join and others are already
linked with a religious community.
“You have the whole spectrum and that is what makes it so
interesting, that they can learn from each other and can support each
other. It was a very lively group last year and the format seems to have
worked well,” said Ann-Marie Gallagher. “When they finish the
programme, they are further along their discernment journey and are
clearer as to what direction they would like to go and maybe more
prepared and more empowered to take steps, for example maybe to live in
with the community or spend more time with a community and to go further
with that. There are always one or two who are still not too sure.”
The last figures for vocations showed that in 2011 there were 22
new entrants to the religious life (not including diocesan priests).
More men than women entered religious communities.
The exploreAway Taster is on Sunday 26th May 2013 from 2-6pm in St. Teresa's Church, Clarendon Street, Dublin 2.
See: www.exploreaway.net
and