The Here I Am Lord conference that is held in early March near Chicago this year brought together seven hundred young people from the Midwest, with as many as fifty religious communities.
Seven hundred young people come to HIAL
The HIAL conference, held in St. Charles, IL, brings a much-needed awareness of vocations to young people today. The vocations of marriage, single life, religious life and the priesthood are addressed by expert Church speakers.
Musicians and a general spirit of praise make the atmosphere alive and engaging for the young people.
The two-day conference is the largest parish-based vocations conference in the United States.
Will this conference help your vocations?
Such conferences as this one can be an opportunity for vocation directors to find new candidates. You meet people only briefly, so if you sense some interest, ask them for their name and email address so you can keep in touch.
On the down side, there isn’t much room for the display tables at the parish hall where it is held, and the large number of religious are no doubt overwhelming to the young persons to some degree.
Is it worth it?
Sometimes I wonder if religious communities benefit from such meetings. I know that if you go, it’s essential to come up with various techniques and gimmicks to make connections with your audience.
If you can give a talk there, that would be great, of course. Another idea is to tell those interested you will be having an informal break-out session during a break to talk about religious life. Overall, you should be very proactive in getting contact information from those who show interest. Then when you get home, follow up with emails of course.
It all should be compared with an ongoing promotion program, such as our own Come and See Vocation Promotion Program. With such programs, you are provided with an ongoing list of names and emails. With these, you continue to communicate with them.
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