Some 850 fifth-grade boys and girls were invited to consider becoming a priest, sister, deacon or brother at the sixth annual Fifth-Grade Vocations Day, hosted by St. Joseph Catholic School and Church in Marietta. The Offices of Vocations and Catholic Schools organized the day.

After Mass, Father Hepburn shared his vocation story. He told students the many ways you can hear God’s calling. In what has become a tradition, Father Hepburn broke out his guitar to show that his first calling was to be a rock star. He then studied architecture, and it wasn’t until he was a young man that he pursued a vocation to the priesthood.

Father Hepburn said the young people should follow their passions, but listen carefully to God’s whisper in their life.

Later, students met in groups to hear other stories of God’s calling. The boys listened to Deacon Leo Gahafer and seminarian Brian Baker about their journeys.

The girls heard from Dominican Sister Mary Patrick, principal of St. Catherine of Siena School, Kennesaw. She shared with the girls how she chose her path and why she wears what looks like a “13th-century outfit” every day.