Called: A Conference on Vocation and Discernment
Explore the art of spiritual discernment in community and in everyday life, listening for God calling each of us to Christian vocation.
This three-part virtual conference provides a starting place for your own vocational discernment. Each week we are joined by an expert presenter who helps us to dive deeply into this work together.
What do we mean by vocation and discernment?
January 31, 2021
Entering the conversation through the lens of her research in 2010 with congregations on the subject of call and vocation, Kathleen leads us towards a deeper understanding of what it means to be called by God to a vocation. She expands on the development of the eight prepositions as a way of talking about vocation: how each of us is called by God, to follow, as we are, from grief, for service, in suffering, through others, within God.
About Dr. Kathleen A. Cahalan
Kathleen A. Cahalan is professor of practical theology at Saint John’s University School of Theology and Seminary and director of the Collegeville Institute Seminars, a collaborative, interdisciplinary, and ecumenical research project that includes seminars on vocation across the lifespan, vocation and faith in the professions, and interfaith perspectives on vocation. Her book The Stories We Live: Finding God's Calling All Around Us invites readers to a renewed vision of who they are and what they do by connecting our stories with God's story. You can learn more about her work here.
What role does community play in discernment?
February 7, 2021
Expanding on our understanding of vocation and discernment, Chelsey contextualizes the role and importance of community in the process of vocational discernment. She introduces us to the Circles of Trust model, developed by the Parker Palmer Center for Courage and Renewal, and invites us to the practice of asking open and honest questions.
About Rev. Chelsey D. Hillyer
Chelsey D. Hillyer is a writer, activist, Ordained Elder in the United Methodist Church, and unapologetic apologist for the soul. She believes deeply in the revolutionary power of loving interpersonal relationships. As a coach and facilitator, Chelsey helps individuals and organizations to identify their core values and beliefs so that they can bring these gifts to bear in the world through life-giving practices and processes. An activist for LGBTQ+ rights and anti-racism, she practices dialogical existence and non-violence. Her writing is centered in spiritual ecology. You can learn more about her and her work here.
What are some tools for everyday discernment?
February 14, 2021
Connecting our understanding of vocation, discernment, and the importance of community with how we can walk through everyday life with a discerning mindset, Frances helps to ground our approach to vocational discernment in listening for God’s movement in our lives. She orients us to the exercises and practices that we can engage to help us respond to God’s calling in our lives.
About Frances Sullinger
Frances Sullinger is an Executive Program Associate with Listening Hearts Ministries, an organization that teaches people the practice of spiritual discernment through prayerful listening in supportive communities. She was trained in Listening Hearts discernment in 1990, then as a trainer in 2001. Frances took a lead in developing the “Community Discernment of Calls to Ministry” program and is active in the church at both the parish and diocesan levels. Her background includes teaching at the university level as well as facilitating professional seminars as a Foreign Service Officer with the State Department. She resides in Centreville, VA. You can learn more about Listening Hearts Ministries here.