My sense of my vocation is shifting from something for which I am completely responsible to a more expansive view that it is work I will co-create with my community. It is communal. Vocation is also looking less like a set goal and more of a way of being. I loved how townes reflected this expanding view by encouraging us to “[p]lot, scheme, and realize ways to craft that tight circle into a spiral of possibilities for this generation...and beyond.” (townes) It also has been shifting from a focus on career/work/church and to vocation encompassing everything I do. Another Way explains, “[w]hat we do with our days, how we focus our intellectual, social, and spiritual gifts, how we go about creating a rhythm of life- all of this has a ripple effect in our families, our communities, and the world.” (Lewis et al., p. 89) Vincent Harding captured so much of these new feelings with his wise words: “I’m not simply talking about a singular, spectacular, exceptional, special, or extraordinary spiritual experience...I am talking rather about the quiet gathering up of the substance of one’s life...birthed within the summoning community...and it’s hopes and dreams culminate in our capacity to hear and respond.” (Lewis et al., p. 90) In this framework, no matter where I find myself at the end of the seminary and ordination processes, the goal remains the same as “the formation of a divine/human community based on love and hope and pointed towards justice.” (townes) In this sense, it is as “primal” as suggested by the interwoven, recurring themes suggested by the Another Way authors, but while it may start in just scrabbling to stay alive, it leads us to a collective creation of life in which we can all thrive. (Lewis et al., p. 103) In this way, the work includes the heartbreak of a life of disruption and change, but also resilience to “maintain our core purpose and integrity in the face of dramatically changed circumstances. (Lewis et al., p. 104)
"Shattered Glass Ceiling" necklace
(gift from HF)
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