Students Explored 'God's Calling'
03/23/2022
Kathy Dickson
Bluffton students explored āGodās Callingā during Spiritual Life Week
āGodās Callingā was explored during Ā鶹ŮĄÉās spring 2022 Spiritual Life Week, held March 14-18, 2022. Students delved into discerning their vocations within a context of Christian vocation with Kathy Dickson ā03, Spiritual Life Week guest speaker and director of vocational discernment and community engagement at Methodist Theological School of Ohio. To guide them, students reflected on the scripture 1 Samuel 3:10b āSpeak Lord, for your servant is listening,ā which was chosen by a student planning committee.
Dicksonās goal for the week was to help students see the unique talents and the patterns in their lives which connect to the idea of vocation and to consider the ways that call is not usually answered in isolation.
āVocation and call from God arenāt just whittled down to certain roles and titles or projects. Weāre called to more than that, and we are called also as community,ā said Dickson. āMeaning and purpose align with a lot of different sectors of society, and itās good for them to understand, as liberal arts students, that these ideas have Biblical roots.ā
During her Forum presentation, āThat Phone is Always Ringing (And Other Ways to Imagine God's Call),ā Dickson presented thoughts on vocation from a wide range of voices including:
Martin Luther: āVocation is the specific call to love oneās neighborā from āThe Fabric of the Worldā by Lee Hardy.
Frederick Buechner, writer, theologian and Presbyterian minister: āVocation: The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and worldās deep hunger meet.ā
Howard Thurman, author, Baptist minister and civil rights leader: āDonāt ask what the world needs, ask what makes you come alive, and go do itā¦because what the world needs are people who have come alive.ā
A 16th-century Anabaptist: āI am a follower of Jesus Christ. That is my vocation. I make my living as a cobbler.ā
Like the Anabaptist cobbler, Dickson stressed that Christian vocation is much more than a job description, not just āwhatā you do but how you do it.
āOur vocation is how we live out our faith in whatever place we find ourselves, in whatever occupation that may be,ā said Dickson. āIt doesnāt need to be something you are paid to do. Your vocation can come through in volunteer commitments, service or family roles.ā
She also provided tools for students ready to engage in the discernment process, such as spiritual practices like scripture reading, reflection journaling, conversation in community, and caring for self. Dickson also shared sample questions to listen for in discernment, like:
What dreams are within you (even the quiet ones)?
What values are deal breakers for you?
What comes naturally to you? Gifts? Strengths?
When have you wanted to say āyesā to an opportunity or āno?ā
What courses leave you curious or wanting to learn more?
Her sermon during Chapel focused on call in community and the idea that we often do not discover call or live it out in isolation.
With fall 2021 course registration beginning at the end of March, the discussions were timely for students. Elizabeth Rockwell, a member of the Spiritual Life Week planning committee, said she took the messages from the week into her pre-registration advising meeting.
āI really thought some things out before that meeting,ā said Rockwell. āA lot of us are in a weird in-between stage in college, and weāre trying to figure out, is this what Iām meant to do? This week helped me listen and recognize the strengths I have. I know what I want to do in the future, but Spiritual Life Week affirmed where I am going.ā
Spiritual Life Week at Ā鶹ŮĄÉ is held twice a year. Students play a major role in planning activities which strengthen growth and faithfulness in their relationship with God. The week includes guest speakers and special times of worship.
Previous Spiritual Life Week themes have explored the power of storytelling and getting into good trouble.