It was a wonderful evening at the sixth annual Homegrown Harvest Festival. We had a record number of guests and raised a record amount for our seminarians. At last count, we brought in about $190,000, all of which will support our 12 current seminarians and our efforts to continue promoting the priesthood throughout the diocese.

Currently, we have three men applying for the seminary for next August. We would love to hit $200,000 – our goal heading into the night – so if you haven’t given and would like to, please contact Rebecca Harris in the diocesan Development Office at (601) 969-1880. Thanks to everyone who worked so hard to make this night a huge success.

One of the greatest gifts of the evening was seeing our seminarian parents having such a great time and working together in support of their sons. We have a diverse group of young men, and their parents have really grown together in the past several months as they walk with them on this journey.

The silent auction included 12 baskets put together by each seminarian’s family. The baskets were filled with items that each seminarian enjoys. For instance, Eli McFadden’s basket was full of St. Louis Cardinals items because his grandparents are from St. Louis, and he loves the team. Our parents are also considering starting a prayer group among themselves to pray for their sons, for more seminarians and for me – which I greatly appreciate.

It is also a joy to see more supporters feeling called to join our cause. We’ve had several families supporting seminarians for many years, and now we are seeing an increase in that support, which is a great blessing. Our new poster will be delivered in the next couple of weeks with all of our guys’ smiling faces, and I think that will be another witness to our diocese of the good work being done and the Lord’s blessings being bestowed on us.

The work of calling forth more young men to consider the priesthood is continuing. Our discernment groups are ongoing, and I was blessed to take three young men down to St. Joseph Seminary College right after Homegrown Harvest. The guys had a great time and, as usual, were amazed by how “normal” all the seminarians were. I think they saw themselves in those seminarians – which is exactly why we take those trips.

Thank you for your prayers and support. God bless our diocese.

(For more information on vocations, visit jacksonvocations.com or contact Father Nick at nick.adam@jacksondiocese.org.)