{"id":1887,"date":"2007-09-24T10:48:00","date_gmt":"2007-09-24T10:48:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/deaconsbench\/2007\/09\/a-flood-of-vocations-from-one-parish-in-michigan.html"},"modified":"2007-09-24T10:48:00","modified_gmt":"2007-09-24T10:48:00","slug":"a-flood-of-vocations-from-one-parish-in-michigan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2007\/09\/a-flood-of-vocations-from-one-parish-in-michigan.html","title":{"rendered":"A flood of vocations from one parish in Michigan"},"content":{"rendered":"

This story has been floating around for a bit — the National Catholic Register published it back in July — but it’s getting a second life in the blogosphere, earning a mention here<\/a> and here<\/a>. It’s truly astounding: <\/p>\n

Occasionally, one hears of a parish that has a man in seminary \u2014 but 15 from one parish?<\/p>\n

<\/a> Priestly and religious vocations have become commonplace at Christ the King in Ann Arbor, Mich., since its inception 25 years ago. Father Ed Fride, pastor, estimated that 15-20 men from the parish have become priests \u2014 men who either grew up in the parish, became members while attending the University of Michigan, or who were affiliated with the church when they discerned their call.<\/p>\n

Six of 23 seminarians this year studying for the Diocese of Lansing, Mich., were from Christ the King. Of the other five seminarians from the parish, two are in the neighboring diocese of Saginaw, Mich., one in Minneapolis and St. Paul, and two in religious orders.
Christ the King also is the home of the 15 sisters who make up the Servants of God\u2019s Love, half of whom came from the parish. Six other women from Christ the King have joined religious life in the past five years, two with the Servants of God\u2019s Love, and four with other orders. The parish also has five permanent deacons, three candidates and several more in formation.<\/p>\n

Why such a number of vocations from a parish of 830 families? Father Fride has his theories.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe spirituality of the parish, in which a personal relationship with Jesus is continually stressed, is key,\u201d he said. \u201cWe began as, and still are, part of the charismatic renewal, again where a living, active relationship with Jesus is encouraged.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn addition, since beginning perpetual adoration five years ago when we finished our church building, almost all of the present seminarians, and those to begin this fall, have heard the call to seminary,\u201d Father Fride said. \u201cJesus has a plan for everyone, whether to marriage, religious life or celibacy, and I address that, but it is proximity to the Lord Jesus during adoration that helps people hear the call.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlso, we can\u2019t overlook the influence of John Paul the Great,\u201d he continued. \u201cWe constantly reference him, his teachings and the example of his life. He was the only pope that these kids knew, and they want to be like him. They want to participate in the New Evangelization, and becoming a priest is a great way to do that.<\/p>\n

Said Father Fride: \u201cWhen you preach orthodoxy, the Eucharist and the centrality of Jesus, vocations result. It seems natural to me to have so many young people who love Jesus and want to serve him become priests. I\u2019m surprised there aren\u2019t more vocations, both here and elsewhere.\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

If you read on<\/a>, you’ll hear from some of the families who are producing this floodtide of vocations. Bless ’em. Each and every one.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This story has been floating around for a bit — the National Catholic Register published it back in July — but it’s getting a second life in the blogosphere, earning a mention here and here. It’s truly astounding: Occasionally, one hears of a parish that has a man in seminary \u2014 but 15 from one…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":365,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1887","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-vocations"],"yoast_head":"\nA flood of vocations from one parish in Michigan - The Deacon's Bench<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2007\/09\/a-flood-of-vocations-from-one-parish-in-michigan.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A flood of vocations from one parish in Michigan - The Deacon's Bench\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This story has been floating around for a bit — the National Catholic Register published it back in July — but it’s getting a second life in the blogosphere, earning a mention here and here. It’s truly astounding: Occasionally, one hears of a parish that has a man in seminary \u2014 but 15 from one…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2007\/09\/a-flood-of-vocations-from-one-parish-in-michigan.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Deacon's Bench\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2007-09-24T10:48:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/_0DySLTT4PWo\/RvfPcLdyh-I\/AAAAAAAAA-8\/bLos53k_i6s\/s320\/CATH%2520Fr.%2520Ed%2520sm%5B1%5D.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"deacon greg kandra\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"A flood of vocations from one parish in Michigan - The Deacon's Bench","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2007\/09\/a-flood-of-vocations-from-one-parish-in-michigan.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"A flood of vocations from one parish in Michigan - The Deacon's Bench","og_description":"This story has been floating around for a bit — the National Catholic Register published it back in July — but it’s getting a second life in the blogosphere, earning a mention here and here. 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