BROTHERS BROTHER PARKER Jordan, B.H. rejoices at his final vows ceremony.
Brotherly advice: Enjoy your vocation! by Heidi Schlumpf
PAUL FRANCIS PHOTOGRAPHY
Heidi Schlumpf is an associate professor of communication at Aurora University and has written for Catholic publications for more than 20 years. She is the author of the book Elizabeth Johnson: Questing for God.
Parker Jordan wrestled a while with “vocation anxiety syndrome.” But his willingness to turn to God for direction slowly led him to brotherhood and a life of deep gladness.
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NE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT decisions of Parker Jordan’s life was choosing between the University of Florida and Florida State University for college—and it had nothing to do with the Seminole/Gator football rivalry. Jordan was torn. When the FSU acceptance letter came, complete with a generous scholarship, Jordan checked the “maybe” box on the return postcard, only to later change it to “yes” before mailing it in. “Ultimately it was a decision for God,” Jordan, now 29, recalls. “The Lord was leading me there.” Jordan didn’t know it at the time, but his college decision would provide the answer to a prayer he’d had for years: “Lord, what do you want me to do with my life?” He would find his vocation with the Brotherhood of Hope, an order of Catholic priests and brothers that were Jordan’s FSU campus ministry connection. Founded in 1980 by New Jersey priest Father Philip Merdinger, the brothers
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