Vocations Placement Service

[Lisa]

Hi, so I've been meaning to post this for a while for any newbie discerners. If you are thinking about religious life but have no idea where to start, you should check out [url="http://www.vocationsplacement.org/"]http://www.vocationsplacement.org/[/url]

You fill out a survey/interest section, and they send your information to different religious orders that fit your interests. don't worry about the personal analysis thing, you don't have to get it, and it doesn't change your results. It's super cool because I had no idea what type of life even attracted me (cloistered, active, missionary, teaching, etc.), so I checked everything and heard from a wide variety of communities- now I feel bad bc I have a better idea and some of them wasted their postage on me. Some of the cloistered sisters sent me prayer cards! The *small* downside is that the communities do have your information, and one has been contacting me even though I don't feel particularly called there- but this is probably my fault, I just feel bad outright telling them "I don't think this order's for me". Many of the communities they are in contact with are non-habited, but they do have a really good mix- including some of the cloistered sisters that don't have a website or any online presence.

Anyway, it also sent info about vocation retreats and free live-in experiences, which I thought was pretty a.wesome.

This is definitely a great tool for those starting discernment- we've talked before about how there sometimes aren't a lot of people "in real life" to point us to different communities.

Anybody else have any thoughts/experiencees with Vocations Placement?

[TeresaBenedicta]

I remember doing that way back when...

It's good if you have [i]no idea[/i], at all. But you do get hounded by communities and it's tough to get rid of them. It can also be overwhelming. And if you're living at home with parents who don't know/are supportive...

So I'd say only go for it if you really don't have any clue what you're looking for, but prepared for a huge response!

[MargaretTeresa]

I went on something else... vocation-network.org...I might look at this other one since I am still looking at different communities haha. OR maybe not...

The quiz on vocation-network.org was good because you could read a little on each community suggested before sending for more information.

And speak of parents-I took the vocation network quiz off my phone at Christmas dinner with my Protestant family milling about.



Thanks.

Pax and God bless.

Edited March 28, 2011 by MargaretTeresa

[Lisa]

[quote name='TeresaBenedicta' timestamp='1301336065' post='2223943']
I remember doing that way back when...

It's good if you have [i]no idea[/i], at all. But you do get hounded by communities and it's tough to get rid of them. It can also be overwhelming. And if you're living at home with parents who don't know/are supportive...

So I'd say only go for it if you really don't have any clue what you're looking for, but prepared for a huge response!
[/quote]


Very very true. I was in the "no clue" boat, so it was helpful to me.

Just a thought: if you aren't ready to get mail at home yet (haven't told your parents), try asking a friend or even your local church if you can use their address and have them hold the mail there. (This can go for any "nun" mail you might send off for, not just for this particular tool.)

[OnlySunshine]

I've used this online tool before. I didn't really like it because the coordinator (Natalie) was constantly sending me emails asking if I was interested in donating or getting a DVD about vocations. I opted to get the DVD, but it was focused on her, not on religious life or discernment. I finally sent her an email asking her to remove my information from her contact list because I wasn't interested. All the communities that my information was sent to hounded me to the point where I was extremely confused about which order I should focus on. It's good if you want a place to start, like at the beginning of your discernment, but for someone like me who tends to be distracted because of small things, it was overwhelming.

[sistersintigo]

[quote name='MaterMisericordiae' timestamp='1301336718' post='2223947']
I've used this online tool before. I didn't really like it because the coordinator (Natalie) was constantly sending me emails asking if I was interested in donating or getting a DVD about vocations. I opted to get the DVD, but it was focused on her, not on religious life or discernment. I finally sent her an email asking her to remove my information from her contact list because I wasn't interested. All the communities that my information was sent to hounded me to the point where I was extremely confused about which order I should focus on. It's good if you want a place to start, like at the beginning of your discernment, but for someone like me who tends to be distracted because of small things, it was overwhelming.
[/quote]

You confirmed my hunch! I used the tool from the same source, and I decided not to bother with the DVD -- good decision, sounds like.

[littlesister]

Our Congregation is one that the VPS refers discerners to. It seems that, in filling out the information, you could avoid a flood of correspondance by simply not filling out the address line. Most of the referrals that we receive prefer contact by e-mail only and we do respect that The Service has put us in contact with some very nice candidates, but it was a surprise to learn that information went out to multiple comunities. At least in an earlier day, it was confined to four or five potential matches in the same area as the discerner.

It is always a help even if someone replies that she has already found her way, or that our mission / lifestyle / habit does not seem to conform with her desires. We will assure her of our prayers and leave her in peace!

[OnlySunshine]

[quote name='littlesister' timestamp='1301439024' post='2224435']
Our Congregation is one that the VPS refers discerners to. It seems that, in filling out the information, you could avoid a flood of correspondance by simply not filling out the address line. Most of the referrals that we receive prefer contact by e-mail only and we do respect that The Service has put us in contact with some very nice candidates, but it was a surprise to learn that information went out to multiple comunities. At least in an earlier day, it was confined to four or five potential matches in the same area as the discerner.

It is always a help even if someone replies that she has already found her way, or that our mission / lifestyle / habit does not seem to conform with her desires. We will assure her of our prayers and leave her in peace!
[/quote]

I actually was referred to the Little Sisters of the Poor through using the VSP the first time. I had already contacted Sr. Camille and Sr. Constance in the Baltimore Province, and when they got my information from the VSP, they thought I was someone different until they had already emailed me. It seems VSP floods their email quite a bit!