With an exciting experiment, the Catholic Church is currently providing an authentic look at life in the seminary: In the documentary web series “god or not?”, Three students from the University of Media (Stuttgart) explore the St. Georgen seminary in Frankfurt / Main with the Camera the world of four young priest candidates. The project was initiated by the Center for Vocation Pastoral (ZfB), an office of the German Bishops’ Conference. The twelve episodes have been running on social media since mid-November 2020. The Archdiocese of Paderborn also supports the supra-diocesan, experimental series format – and with its own digital format also invites you to get to know the diversity of church service: On Saturday, January 16, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. under the motto “Dich schickt der Himmel “the first digital career information day will take place in the Archdiocese.
The three students shoot and edit the episodes of the series “god or not?” Themselves. Their perspectives and those of the four seminarians could hardly be more different: The young prospective priests are faced with the question of whether they want to fundamentally change their previous life and follow God. The students, on the other hand, try to find out whether faith can have meaning for them in their lives – an experiment in which both sides can learn from each other. The students ask the candidates for priests questions where no subject is taboo. Viewers can use comments to ask questions for the next episode.
“The series allows for a believable external view of life in the seminary. It can give impulses for believing and less believing people to search for God and meaning, ”says Pastor Stefan Kendzorra, who heads the diocesan office for vocational pastoral care in the Archdiocese of Paderborn. The format could certainly also help young men who are thinking about becoming priests, said Kendzorra.
In the individual episodes of the documentary series, the seminarians have their own experiences and motivations to speak: Life in the seminary offers the space to ask many questions about your own vocation and the associated path, says seminarian Julian Kania, for example in a row two. The encounter between the students and the seminarians can be followed on the following channels: www.god-or-not.de/youtube; www.god-or-not.de/facebook; www.god-or-not.de/instagram; www.god-or-not.de.
Career information day
The digital career information day of the Archdiocese of Paderborn is also about vocations and professions in the church service. On Saturday, January 16, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., he will give an insight into all pastoral and non-pastoral activities in the Archdiocese. The digital event is organized jointly by the Pastoral Personnel and the Personnel Recruitment Team in the Archbishopric General Vicariate Paderborn and by the diocesan office for vocational pastoral care. When registering, participants can select key areas of interest so that on January 16 they will be taken to a virtual room with the right contact person. In the virtual rooms, they can ask questions via video and chat.
A stable internet connection and a device with a camera, microphone, loudspeaker or headphones are required to participate in the digital format. Shortly before the career information day, participants will be sent an individual period for their participation. Interested parties can register at https://www.erzbistum-paderborn.de/dich-schickt-der-himmel.
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