Técnicas de recolección de datos

Leaders were asked in the survey about the type of material that the congregation had used for vocation promotion during the previous five years (Figure 4.1). Results revealed that congregations utilise a range of advertising and promotional material. There were eight options in the list, with the last option providing leaders with the opportunity to describe other promotions that were not included in the list.

Figure 4.1 Use of promotional materials by congregations

15 0 2 24 72 4 70 85 20 0 3 50 77 10 83 87 0 20 40 60 80 100 Other TV Radio Social media Print materials Print media - secular Print media - religious Website

Per cent

Male orders Female orders

Note: Men's orders (n=30). Women's orders (n=45). Congregation's use of vocational promotion materials in the previous five years. Totals add to more than 100% as respondents could choose more than one response.

Websites, print media and print materials (i.e. posters, prayer cards, brochures, etc.) were all used by at least 70 per cent of responding congregations. The written comments made in response to open-ended questions in the survey provided further useful information about the type of promotional activities they utilised:

 Expos at youth gatherings

 Participation in vocation promotions in the diocese  Personal meetings

 Word of mouth – personal contact  Wrist bands

 Youth ministry conferences, festival, booths and expos  Presence at youth conferences and youth festivals  Visits to schools, parishes and youth groups  Vocations stalls

 Video clips.

For the most part, differences between the ‘Selected’ congregations and the other congregations in relation to their use of promotional materials were small, except that ‘Selected’ congregations (78 per cent) were much more likely than the rest of the congregations (28 per cent) to use social media as a promotional tool.

An analysis of the interviews with ‘Selected’ congregational leaders reveals that many congregations devote a great deal of resources to improving the quality and presentation of their promotional material. They endeavour to make it relevant and visually attractive to young people while at the same time appealing to their special interests. Many make use of the Internet and social media, and attend youth events to promote their work. Some websites include stories about the people who join and about the work they undertake in helping those in need of assistance or support. The ‘Selected’ congregations tended to have a range of programs and activities to promote their work, many of which involve young people. For example, the Sisters of the Good Samaritan, who had recruited ten new members since 2000, all of whom were still present in the congregation, have an integrated approach which includes Come and See gatherings, discernment weekends, booklets, prayer cards, linking of school students to ministry endeavours and participation in vocation days in schools.

Likewise, another ‘Selected’ congregation, the Congregation of the Mission (Vincentian Fathers and Brothers), a congregation with 28 new members since 2000, 21 of whom were still in the

congregation, had a similar integrated approach to promoting their order and their mission. The leader wrote that their approach included the following activities:

(i) Speaking at our parishes about Come and See Weekends. (ii) Personal invitation to a Come and See Weekend or observation of our works. (iii) Commitment to running two Come and See Programs a year. (iv) Regular accompaniment sessions with those seriously interested in a vocation in the near future. (v) Meals from time to time with our members in our community houses. (vi) Spending some time in more than one of our community houses to allow more members of our congregation to form an opinion as to the prospective candidate's suitability. Most ‘Selected’ congregations ensure that they are present at youth events and are highly visible in a range of events and activities. The Dominican Sisters of St Cecilia (13 new members, 11 still in the congregation) represent this multi-pronged approach by being highly visible, and by actively

engaging with prospective new members and providing them with an experience of community and religious life.

Our community tries to be present at various events for young people in the archdiocese. We also attend and speak at retreats/conferences sponsored by the archdiocese in addition to hosting two vocation retreats each year [with a maximum number of eight participants in each]. In the past we have established a discernment group to assist young women who are discerning. This was successful as young women entered not just our congregation, but others, as well as discernment toward marriage. We now post events on Facebook as well as having a mailing list in which we advertise events or significant church feasts etc.

Writing about personal experiences of vocation is seen to be a way of providing an insider’s account and in so doing demystify and personalise it. For example, in the publication Veritas61 there is an article by an Australian-born sister about her experiences of joining the Dominican Sisters of St Cecilia and the ways in which she was supported and encouraged in her spiritual journey. Some congregations focused their attention on specific ethnic communities within Australia. For example, the Augustinians’ vocations director spends a lot of time interacting with the Vietnamese community.