Partners Conference 

Every fall, Catholics On Call offers the Partners Conference.  Campus ministers, vocation directors, volunteer directors, and anyone who ministers to young adults have the opportunity to come together to learn and discuss best practices for supporting young adult men and women in their vocational discernment. 

The 2009 Partner Conference will be held on September 24/25, 2009 at CTU, Chicago. We are very pleased to have Bishop Robert Morneau, Auxiliary Bishop of Green Bay, WI as as our main presenter. The theme of the conference is: "Discerning God's Call in the 21st Century." We have asked Bishop Morneau to talk specifically about the best ways to accompany young adults in their discernment of vocation. On Thursday evening we will have a special opportunity to pray and be inspired by members of the Notre Dame Folk Choir.

You can download the flyer for more information and registration.

The 2008 Partner Conference took place on September 25 & 26, 2008 at Catholic Theological Union , Chicago

Keynote speaker of the Partner Conference 2008 was Thomas Rausch, SJ (Professor of Theology at Loyola Marymount University and author of Being Catholic in a Culture of Choice) gave two talks:

"Young Adult Catholics Today"

"Meeting the Living God: Beyond a Culturally Determined Faith"

To post the recorded talks on the website, we had to devide them in smaller pieces. Click on the following links to hear the podcast:

Tom Rausch, SJ: Young Adult Catholics Today - Part 1
Tom Rausch, SJ: Young Adult Catholics Today - Part 2
Tom Rausch, SJ: Young Adult Catholics Today - Part 3
Tom Rausch, SJ: Young Adult Catholics Today - Part 4

Tom Rausch, SJ: Meeting the Living God - Part 1
Tom Rausch, SJ: Meeting the Living God - Part 2
Tom Rausch, SJ: Meeting the Living God - Part 3
Tom Rausch, SJ: Meeting the Living God - Part 4
Tom Rausch, SJ: Meeting the Living God - Part 5

We are grateful to Tom Rausch for making available the Bibliography he used.

Dan Allen, 2007 Catholics on Call alumni gave a very deep and insightful witness talk on vocation and calling on Friday morning!

Scroll down on this page to watch a slide show from the conference.

*If you are not a Catholics On Call Partner, and wish to learn more about the Partners Conference and the partnership, contact us at 773.371.5431 or email the Associate Director, Birgit Oberhofer. Click here for more information about the partnership.

Information from our first Partners Conference 2005

Presenters and their papers:

• Fr. Donald Senior, C.P., New Testament scholar and President of Catholic Theological Union. Topic: Theology of Call. Download Fr. Senior's paper.
• Fr. Jim Bacik, Catholic campus ministry director, University of Toledo, and prominent author. Topic: The Spirituality of Contemporary Young Adults. Respondents: Young adult panel. Download Fr. Bacik's paper.
• Sr. Barbara Bowe, R.S.C.J., New Testament and Christian spirituality scholar. Topic: Principles of Discernment. Respondents: A panel of a campus minister, young adult minister, and vocation director.  Download Professor Bowe's paper.

Slide Show