Calling and Vocation ...

This is very possible an act of procrastination in the highest form! However, I feel I should be doing something useful while procrastinating rather than just simply staring into space!

During the previous week I have had some fairly interesting conversations with people. In most of these conversations, I have discussed my discernment journey so far and it got me thinking about what I have overall discerned in the long time I have been "officially" discerning God's call on my life. So in a pre-preparation to my portfolio for presbytery, here are some thoughts that I have scribbled down on a note pad in regards to calling and vocation....


To me a calling to ministry does not equate to a calling to the specified ministries. Each person is called to a different way of serving God, "There are many ways of serving God, but it is the same God who is served".
So calling to ministry is recognising that God has called you to serve Him in a particular way.
Out of my thoughts on calling, come my thoughts on 'vocation', which is related. God has created each person with gifts and talents oriented toward specific purposes and a way of life. Vocation is a life calling so to speak. It is more than occupation or job or work. It is about recognising where your gifts and skills and passions are best used.
Personally I have explored various areas of my life where I could have felt a possible calling to:
-Teaching
-Politics
-Law
-Social Work
-Development and Aid

However my exploration and discernment has always led me back to the same area: the church, serving others, serving God. I have never really felt completely "whole" or "right" in work other than the church, and I feel "right" when I am in a context that involves being part of a christian community and equipping people in their faith. Since being a Mission Worker I have felt a greater sense of this.

My discernment on calling has led me to the point where I believe that God is calling me to the servant ministry of the word within the Uniting Church. What led me to this conclusion is from deep prayer and consideration of what my sense of calling meant. As part of this discernment I reflected on all three specified ministries: Minister of the Word, Deacon, and Pastor. In my exploration of Ministry of Pastor I have discovered that it is not what I am called to as it is a placement and location specific ministry and at the conclusion of a placement, the person would cease to be a Pastor. I feel that God is calling me to a life long ministry, not one that is temporary such as Pastor.
I also discerned and prayed about whether God was calling me to ministry of Deacon. While I share the passions and mission focused mind that Deacons do (and recognise that there is a lot of overlap in the duties of MoW and Deacons), I feel that my calling is to the gathered community of Christ. Hence why I believe God is calling me to the Ministry of the Word.
I first felt God has called me to this Ministry in Easter/Holy Week 2010. Before then I has discerned a call to the specified/ordained ministry but was still praying and discerning as to which it was. I do believe that the Holy Week retreat I went on and my time at the CCA led me to discern God's call on my life to MoW.
Since then I have continued to pray, journal, discern, and reflect my thoughts with others (both from within the church and outside of it).
In my own personal time I have reflected on what I believe I could bring to the Specified Ministry of the Word in the way of gifts and skills:
LITURGICAL
-Variety of Worship styles
-Passion for leading worship and worship experiences
-Holistic approach to worship and liturgy
-enjoys experimenting with different forms of liturgy
-Passionate about preaching the Gospel
-Has received good, constructive feedback on sermons and services
-I am always learning and building on my knowledge

LEADERSHIP
-Developed knowledge of the regulations, manual for meetings, and basis of union
-Pastoral and prayerful approach to meetings
-Developed Admin skills
-Ability to establish rapport in meeting and business settings

SACRAMENTAL
-Understanding of the two sacraments (baptism and Eucharist)
-Passion for the sharing of the sacraments and discussing their meaning

ECUMENICAL
-First hand experience of Ecumenism and the workings of an ecumenical organisation
-On going passion for church unity and energy for the wider ecumenical movement


.... So this has been a taste of my discernment up to now and an idea of what I will be putting into my portfolio to Presbytery.