Diocese of Tucson's Bishop Edward Weisenburger recently took to Facebook to announce the collaboration between the Diocese of Tucson and Vocation Ministry. Founded by Rhonda Gruenewald, Vocation Ministry describes itself on its website as an organization dedicated to fostering and promoting vocations within parishes.

"I am delighted to collaborate with Rhonda Gruenewald, founder of Vocation Ministry, to weave Vocations to the Priesthood and Religious Life back into the culture of the Diocese of Tucson,” Weisenburger said in a June 20 Facebook post. “Rhonda will help our Diocese bring to life these seeds that God continues to plant in every age.”

The bishop discussed the challenges of changing times for the profession.

"When I went to the seminary at age 19, the priesthood was seen by society as something noble to do with your life," Weisenburger said in his post. "Nowadays, the culture doesn't always include that reverence for Vocations that helps to nurture them. If I had a thousand lives to live, I would want to live every one of them as a priest. It's been a wonderful life!"

On June 17, more than 100 parishioners participated in a Vocation Ministry Workshop led by Gruenewald, the diocese said in a release. The workshop proved to be a valuable opportunity for attendees to delve into the topic of vocations. Additional workshops are planned in the future for school teachers, deacons and other interested individuals.

"I want the priests to do what they can do, and then I'm going to train the parishioners on what they should be doing at their parish," Gruenewald said of her process, according to a Diocese of Tucson podcast. "The day-in-and-out of all of this. How do you have a meeting? What does that look like? What should you be talking about? What kind of activities should you be doing? So that they can feel fully equipped to lead and affect change.”

Vocation Ministry was founded by Gruenewald and held its first workshop in 2015, according to Vocation Ministry. She was inspired to begin Vocation Ministry after learning that only a very small percentage of parishes try to promote vocations. Since then, Vocation Ministry has helped by training thousands of priests, laity in dozens of dioceses, hundreds of principals, thousands of teachers, and more.