Vocations discussion at SCM Autumn gathering

Being honest when it comes to identifying our vocations, or callings, in life can be both exhilarating and sobering. As a small group at the SCM’s recent Autumn Gathering learned, determining one’s vocation(s) can be a nuanced affair. About 10 people attended a workshop, led by GC members James Grant and Beth Dodd, which questioned our understandings of vocation and led to a remarkably candid conversation about our own expectations for the years ahead.

The session began with an activity that got everyone talking—each person wrote down a word or phrase they understood as ‘a vocation’ onto a sticker and secretly adhered it to another person’s forehead. The group spent a comical few minutes helping each other realize that they had been branded, temporarily, as a “doctor,” “artist,” or “youth worker” among other titles. James then briefly described his understanding of his own vocation, relaying the story of how he felt called to the priesthood. This opened up a lively discussion about the group’s reading of the term “vocation” as a role towards which an individual is moved, rather than as an occupation for which one is paid. Some participants could clearly articulate how and why they felt called to particular endeavors, others were still searching, while still others had an idea, but were concerned that their passions might not pass as legitimate vocations among certain audiences (such as parenthood). Together we commiserated how difficult it can be to publicly reveal that we are afraid of the mediocrity that might come with being engaged in a task that is not our true calling. We also reflected on the privilege we comparatively have to be able to spend time seeking out our life paths. It was a great help to have the benefit of a participant who had decades of life experience to encourage us to keep our eyes and our hearts open to the unexpected—indeed, an openness to difference and change may be a vocation in and of itself.

John Delap, Irish SCM

You can find more information about the gathering including pictures here.