What Kind of Priest Do You Want?

A couple weeks ago StoryTel received an email from a seminarian saying:

Please send me the "Where Heaven Meets Earth, Restoring the Sacred at St. Peter's Church" DVD. 

I am excited to see the "Where Heaven Meets Earth" documentary as I have two years left in seminary formation and hope that this will aid me in my formation as a future parish priest and pastor.

-Chris

So we not only sent Chris his DVD, we were inspired to take this a step further and gifted 50 "Where Heaven Meets Earth" DVDs to seminarians who attended the Institute for Priestly Formation this summer.

The Institute for Priestly Formation (IPF), a non-profit Public Association of the Faithful, serves bishops by working directly with priests, seminarians, and seminaries so that spiritual formation is the center around which all other aspects of priestly formation are integrated. They have served close to 2,000 priests and seminarians from over 154 dioceses in the United States, 38 international dioceses, and eight religious orders.

The Institute for Priestly Formation states,

Every priest is ordained with a passion for Christ, a deep love for the Church, and a zeal for the priesthood. However, attention to the spiritual life can easily be lost in the midst of the many demands on a priest’s time. This results in a weakened priesthood, leaving the laity hungry for spiritual leadership.

None of us question the beauty of the priesthood. However, considering the contemporary challenges facing the priesthood, as well as Blessed John Paul II’s exhortation that a renewed priesthood is essential for the “future evangelization of humanity,” the question facing the laity is not, “Do you want the priesthood?” but rather, “What kind of priest do you want?”

What kind of priest do you want hearing your confession? What kind of priest do you want anointing your aging parents? What kind of priest do you want forming the souls of your grandchildren?

We want the story of Restoring the Sacred at St. Peter Church on "Where Heaven Meets Earth" to aid Chris in his formation and the formation of more future priests... inspiring them to restore the sacred all across America.

If you'd like to help defray the cost of this strategic DVD giveaway and other strategic outreach programs like it, designed to reach the influencers who will help bring about the restoration the sacred, you can give today on our donate page. If you can't give but would still like to support us, please pray for our work.

And finally, if you are a seminarian who attended IPF this summer and did not receive a DVD but you would like one please contact us at storytel.org/contact.

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Seraphic Sisters Video Excerpt

Serving a Motherly Role at Saint Peter Parish

Next week on EWTN’s encore presentation of “Where Heaven Meets Earth,” see how the Seraphic Sisters of the Eucharist inspire young girls at Saint Peter Parish, at 3AM & 6:30PM eastern / 2 & 5:30 central, Wednesday, July 31 -- only on EWTN.

On April 30th 2013, Sister Clara Maria and the Seraphic Sisters of the Eucharist made their EWTN debut in StoryTel's latest documentary, "Where Heaven Meets Earth." Audiences fell in love with her big smile and motherly warmth, commenting how appreciative they are that the Sisters work with the youth at Saint Peter Parish.

Saint Peter’s Pastor, Father Cook, relates the Sisters role at the parish to the role of a mother, and Associate Pastor, Father Weidner, calls them, “the lynch pin of the whole thing.” Even in this short clip, Sister Clara’s kindness and charity shines through and it's easy to see how these Sisters, and this "joyful cherub", might inspire young girls to consider the cloistered life.

If you'd like to reach out to the Seraphic Sisters, you can contact them through the Seraphic Sisters website, write a letter, or even pay them a visit if you're in the area.

St. Peter Convent
705 S. 28th St.
Omaha, NE 68105

Tune in to watch the Seraphic Sisters of the Eucharist at 3AM & 6:30PM eastern, Wednesday, July 31 -- only on EWTN.

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Calls for Encore Heard at EWTN!

Thanks to your tremendously positive feedback, EWTN will encore "Where Heaven Meets Earth" on Wednesday, July 31 at 3am & 6:30pm Eastern / 2am & 5:30pm Central.

“Where Heaven Meets Earth” has earned an abundance of praise and many noteworthy accolades from the general public, priests, sisters, other religious and of course wonderful people like yourself.

EWTN viewers have been emailing and calling-in to compliment our documentary and ask when it will air again. Normally, EWTN waits a year before re-broadcasting a production, but by popular demand, they've decided to encore “Where Heaven Meets Earth” only three months after its premiere!(check EWTN's channel finder for the station in your area)

DVDs, trailers, and millions of viewers!

StoryTel and Saint Peter Church have been receiving hundreds of DVD requests for this production from all over the US, Canada, Australia, and even from the United Kingdom; over 20 thousand unique visitors have seen the "Where Heaven Meets Earth" trailer online, and -- of course -- millions of people watched the EWTN premiere on April 30, 2013. 

We've always encouraged On Assignment viewers to request DVDs from the organization highlighted in the film after the credits roll because we believe these organizations deserve support from viewers. Now, EWTN also wants to offer "Where Heaven Meets Earth" on DVD in the EWTN Religious Catalogue because the program received so much praise, and so many requests for DVDs after airing the program for only one day.

Building Anticipation

Requests for DVDs and anticipation for the program began to build in the days leading up the EWTN broadcast largely due to the success of our first-ever marketing initiative for an On Assignment film.

We made tremendous efforts to foster healthy relationships with the Catholic (and non-Catholic) press, bloggers and other influentials to spread the word about this film, which proved to be a fantastic success as we've received great coverage from many sources in the Catholic media world. Notably, Dan Burke the Executive Director of National Catholic Register, remarked over Register Radio airwaves that "Where Heaven Meets Earth" is,

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Standing Room Only at BIG SCREEN Showing!

They laughed, we cried. It was so wonderful to see our hard work connecting with the audience. Very excited for the World-wide Television Premiere on EWTN, Tuesday April 30th at 3am & 6:30pm Eastern.

Visit our Facebook Page to see more pictures of the BIG SCREEN showing at St. Peters Gymnasium on April 14, 2013.

Pre-Order "Where Heaven Meets Earth"

We're now taking pre-orders for "Where Heaven Meets Earth, Restoring the Sacred at St. Peter Church."

But, we're already down to 457 DVDs from 500 to pre-order -- and they are going fast.

Visit www.storytel.org/order to reserve your copy today.

Not Boring at the NC Register & Don on Register Radio

Dan Burke, Executive Director of the National Catholic Register, reached out to StoryTel and wrote a great piece on Restoring the Sacred and "Where Heaven Meets Earth." Thanks Dan!

"Something that our listeners don't want to miss. It is one of the more inspiring documentaries I've ever watched." -Dan Burke

"Where Heaven Meets Earth" Producer, Don Carney, was on Register Radio for a 12 minute interview about the work StoryTel has been doing to inspire people to restore the sacred. Have a listen...