Kids have Vocations, too!

As we have said a couple times here, one of the great things about raising money for Seminarians is that it spreads, in a more general way, the vocation message; it helps to build a “vocation culture.” We are all called by God to something great and it is in responding to that call with courage and zeal that we are best able to help make this world all that God designed it to be. When we recognize that call we have been given by God, we open ourselves to ministering to the very people God had planned for us to meet, to touch and to heal. By cooperating with God’s gracious guidance, we can light a fire of love in this world that reaches far more people than we could ever imagine possible.

Of course, it is difficult to figure out God’s will at times and there are many voices giving us conflicting messages and it takes great patience and discernment to truly know which is the voice of God. So, we must practice and, as in everything else, practice takes time. That is why we should start as early as possible. We need to be teaching our children that they too have a call. They, too, have a purpose and a role in this world that God has designed for them and that only they can fulfill it. In fact, if you read through some of the stories of our seminarians you will realize that the seeds of their vocational discernment were planted long before they entered High School. And so it is with great pleasure and excitement that we introduce the youngest members of our Run for the Call team! Lillie, Michael and (possibly) Henry, ages 3, 2 and 3, respectively, will be chasing after their vocation during the Flying Pig weekend! What a fantastic witness this will be! Your children are being called, too!

Let’s get this thing started!

Today is the first day of February and yesterday was the last day for Early Bird registration for all Flying Pig Marathon events…for everyone else!

Since we are officially a partner charity of the Flying Pig Marathon, if you join our team, your early bird registration doesn’t end until April 18th! In addition, by joining our team you will also be donating 10% of your registration fee to Run for the Call! So spread the word and let’s get this team growing!

Additionally, I am excited to announce the formation of our first fundraiser! On March 31st from 5:30-11:00 pm at St. Anthony of Padua church in Cincinnati, one of our team members, Marie Howe, is organizing a Young Catholics Square Dance with all proceeds going to Run for the Call! There is room for 250 people. Let’s see if we can fill it up!

Have you checked out our team page recently? Do you have any prayer requests for us to remember as we begin our training?

Flying Pig Partner Charity!!

It is with great pleasure and excitement that I announce today that Run for the Call is now a recognized Partner Charity for the Flying Pig Marathon!! With this recognition our team members will be able to register at a discounted rate and for all registered runners who use our discount code through April 18th, 10% of their registration fee will be donated automatically to Run for the Call! Additionally we will have an online donation/team page embedded into the Flying Pig Marathon website (still working out those details), a complimentary Yeatman’s Cove Charity Village tent space for the weekend of the Marathon, a listing on the Flying Pig Marathon website, a cheer station location (on the Marathon course), and more!

This will be a great way for us to increase our community recognition as well as easily increase the success of our fundraising efforts. With this increased recognition comes even more ways for you to get involved in the Run for the Call cause! We will need volunteers throughout the weekend helping to cheer on runners, telling people all about Run for the Call and our purpose at the Charity Village and Squealers on the sidelines throughout the course wearing our team tshirts! We haven’t set up a way to sign up for these things just yet, but keep an eye on this site as we grow! These are very exciting times!

Big News Coming Soon!

I don’t have all the details so I can’t let you in on it just yet, but we got some good news yesterday and I’m excited to share it with you when everything shakes out. What I can tell you is that if you haven’t registered for the Flying Pig event of your choice and you want to be part of our team, please wait. Things are about to get a little easier! Praise God!

A Beginner’s Guide to Long Distance Running

The Art of Manliness has a timely post for the new year. For all those who question their ability to join our team and run one of the Flying Pig races, here’s a very practical post that helps you take your first steps.

For the past few decades, running hasn’t seemed so cool. For most guys, the thought of running–not for another sport or because you’re being chased, but for its own sake–conjures up images of high school gym class. Or maybe a skinny guy in short shorts. But that’s all changing.

Go here to finish the read>>>

Now is the Time

Hello, New Year! Hello, new year’s resolutions!

Are you like the millions of other Americans who made a new year’s resolution to “be more active?” Well, guess what, I’ve got the perfect solution for you. Make a commitment to join our team and run in the Flying Pig Half Marathon on May 6th! It’s almost exactly 4 months away from today and that means that if you start training now (even just a little bit), you can be in shape enough to finish the half marathon. I know it sounds insane, because you can barely even run a quarter-mile without wheezing, but I believe anybody can do it if they put in the time (certain medical conditions dependent, of course). Setting achievable, recordable goals is the key to maintaining any resolution (whether that be in prayer, business, social life or physical fitness) and this is a great opportunity! Now is the time!

If you join our team you will not only become active in the physical sense, but will also become active in the community by helping to raise awareness and money for a very worthwhile cause! Think about it, pray about it and act on it!

The deadline for early registration is January 31st, so act soon. If you find that you simply cannot do this, please consider joining us in prayer, as we will need the strength of the Lord to accomplish all we have set out to do!

Prayer Pledges and Donations

One of the great things about putting together a team like this is the way that it helps to build the community. When everyone is working together toward one goal, each person doing what he can, there is a real sense of comaradarie that develops among all the participants and everyone starts to take ownership in reaching that goal. If something like this is successful, not only are individual lives changed, but a community is changed, and in this case, an Archdiocese.

On our Donations page you will find two great opportunities to take part in what has already begun in the Archdiocese. Over the past four years the number of college seminarians has nearly quadrupled from 4 to 15! The spirit and energy in these young men to serve the people of the Archdiocese is palpable and exciting to be around. With your help this spirit and energy can continue to grow and these fine young men will be able to discern more freely their call to become outstanding young priests who are on fire with the desire to shepherd and save souls. The first way you can contribute to this cause is by way of prayer. The power of prayer is very strong and its effect can be far greater than any monetary donation you can offer due to its lasting spiritual effect. Please consider offering a rosary once a week, or a decade every day, or offering a holy hour once a month, or fasting for one day; anything you choose. Just let us know about it on our Donations page and know of our gratitude for your extra efforts. Secondly, If you can, we would also very much appreciate a monetary donation. We can’t offer scholarships to seminarians with great financial need without it, after all. There are two ways of offering that donation: online contributions in the form of credit card or EFT, or personal check sent by mail (the tried and true, old-fashioned way).

No matter what way you choose to help, we can’t thank you enough for your support!