11/03/2025
Amazing update from Fr. Jason Adams about the priesthood discernment groups at Georgia Southern! He says:
As we continue to pray for and create a culture of vocations for our respective dioceses and aboard, I wanted to take this time to share some glory stories about these Melchizedek Project aka Priesthood 101 Discernment Groups.
Since beginning the first discernment group with 10 men back in January of 2023, St Matthew Catholic Church and Georgia Southern University Catholic Eagles have now had 47 men complete Priesthood 101 with the 5th group just completed two weeks ago! Two men have gone on to seminary, and one is still currently in active formation.
The original group still keeps in touch and the first member from the group is about to get married next year to finally complete his personal "discernment to decision" when it comes to answering his vocation.
Some of the members in these groups were not always Catholic, and to date, 5 of the men have since either become Catholic or are currently in OCIA formation.
These are all 5 groups having completed at least Priesthood 101 and some of the same faces in subsequent photos are due to those men who became the role coordinators of the next 101 group and continue to walk with these men as they advance. To date, one group has completed Discernment to Decision, two groups, have completed Priesthood 201, and one group has completed Discernment Basics.
Thank you all for the roles you have played in supporting and equipping me to journey with these men. All 47 of them said they learned something new about the priesthood and that they would recommend these groups to a friend. Almost all said they were nervous about expectations when beginning and then kept returning as they built up community with one another and valued the space to be vulnerable with one another.
I share all this with you as encouragement in the work you all do. Next January, we pick up again with Priesthood 201 group and another Discernment Basics course.