(3/7) On March 30-April 1, Mount St. Mary’s University will host the second annual Callings Conference, bringing together professionals, scholars, students and the public in a national conversation exploring issues related to Christian vocation. This year, conference attendees and presenters will explore the question, "How do faith and vocation shape the field of communication?"

Conference registration is now being accepted online at www.msmary.edu/callings and by phone at 301-447-5368.

Conference organizer Dennis Cali, Ph.D., professor of communication, explained, "Through keynote presentations and panels with plentiful opportunities for discussion, we plan to look at several questions from a variety of angles: How do the media portray faith? How does faith shape the way professional communicators do their job? How do faith organizations use the media? How should faith shape the study of communications?"

Keynote presentations include:

"Communicating the Truth: Living the First Command of Jesus in Modern Media" – Archbishop John Foley will speak on how and why he became involved in communications, the work of the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Social Communications, the purpose of its policy documents, his experiences during the papal transition of April 2005 and the experiences of the Roman Catholic church in communications around the world. Archbishop Foley is president of the Council for Social Communications.

"It Takes a Community: Supporting Vocations to the Arts and Media" – Barbara Nicolosi will explore how to identify, develop and sustain artistic genius in a community of faith. Using Act One, the successful Hollywood mentoring program, as a test case, Nicolosi will examine the nature of a truly creative community and explore how such communities might be multiplied in the Roman Catholic church. Nicolosi is a screenwriter and the founder and executive director of Act One, Inc.

In addition to keynote presentations and a film screening, panels will be held on the following topics:

• "How do the media portray faith?" Religious faith and morals in the mainstream media
• "How does your faith shape the way you do your job?" How professional communicators reconcile their faith convictions with demands of secular media
• "How do faith organizations use the media?" The challenges of communicating an explicitly religious perspective to a secularized world
• "How should faith shape the study of communications?" The role of faith in communication scholarship at public and religious institutions of higher learning

Mount St. Mary’s University, founded in 1808, is the oldest independent Catholic university in the nation. Together, its main campus in Emmitsburg, Md., and its Continuing Studies Center in Frederick, Md., provide undergraduate and graduate degree programs to more than 1,800 students. It is consistently ranked among the "Best Master’s Universities" in U.S. News & World Report’s college rankings.

The conference is sponsored by Mount St. Mary’s University and Callings, a Mount program of theological exploration funded by the Lilly Endowment, Inc. For the full conference schedule and to register, visit www.msmary.edu/callings or call 301-447-5368.