Vocation and Mission

I’ve been on a bit of a hiatus from making entries to this blog. During the break, I have been engaged in three reflection opportunities that I want to share with you.

The first opportunity came when Suzanne and I had the privilege of attending a retreat on presidential vocation and institutional mission sponsored by the Council for Independent Colleges (CIC) and the Lily Foundation. The second time came as part of a course on individual and organizational morality taught by the Aquinas Institute where I had the opportunity to reflect on transformation leadership and ministry. Finally, I attended the Province Assembly of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet as an associate of the sisters. All three events were powerful opportunities to reflect on my personal vocation/ministry, its translation into the leadership of this institution, and the call of each of us to connect our own vision, vocation, and ministry to the work in which we are most passionately engaged and the mission of the organizations we serve.

Through all three opportunities, I gained some insight about my own sense of vocation as well as its connection with institutional mission, and a hope for our future. None of this is particularly earth shattering, in fact, it’s pretty simple. Perhaps that’s where its elegance lies.

First, my own sense of vocation has really grown out of a set of past experiences and personal passions that have prepared me for who I am today and what I am doing to find personal meaning. That was driven home through the readings in the CIC workshop, our conversations together, and the transformational ministry reflection. By reflecting back through my life on a few simple questions, I could see patterns, connections, and the emergence of this sense of vocation in which I am currently engaged. The questions:

What brought me to my current ministry (job, position, etc.)?
What does “transformational leadership” mean and require of me?
What particular gifts enable me to do this ministry?

These questions gave way to three more questions that apply this thinking to my current role, but that’s another topic. I had the opportunity to see others whose vocations are deep, long standing, and carefully considered through participation in the CSJ Province assembly. The point is that there is a power in prayerfully reflecting on these questions, considering their application to one’s work, and one’s organization.

Over the fall and spring semesters, I plan to invite small groups of people from the Avila community to gather to reflect with me on their own sense of vocation and its alignment with the mission of the school. We will read a short article, reflect on a few questions like those above, and then gather for a fireside chat.

I hope this experience is as powerful and productive as my summer reflection. Sometimes a brief hiatus is good way to clarify and bring focus.