wfn.org | "Still, Small Voice" calls young adults

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2000-191

"Still, Small Voice" calls young adults

by Mike Kinman

     (ENS) Is God calling me? And if so, to what? And if I know to what, then 
how?

     These are some of the questions 27 Episcopalians between the ages of 19 
and 31 wrestled with at "Hearing the Still, Small Voice," a gathering for 
young adults discerning a call to ordained ministry, professional lay 
ministry, or monastic life in the church, held October 20-22 in Champaign, 
Illinois. 

     The gathering was a joint effort of people and funding from five 
Midwestern dioceses. It aimed to gather young adults, who often feel isolated 
by their age in discernment and ordination processes, to build a peer 
community to support each other in those processes and to learn more about 
the options for exercising ordained or professional lay ministry in the 
Episcopal Church. 

     What happened was that and a whole lot more.

     "It gave me the opportunity to voice my questions and fears," said 
Melinda Hill, 22, of the Diocese of Southern Ohio. "I got to meet and talk 
with other young people living with the same questions and realized that no 
matter what happens, I have a ministry as a baptized Christian and a 
responsibility to live that out."

     Hope Tinsley, 19, a student at Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri, 
added, "This weekend gave me a chance to speak openly about my call. It 
helped me to start taking my call seriously. For the first time in my life, I 
feel like I can start pursuing the call rather than simply waiting." 

Common ordination of all

     The gathering began Friday night with a Eucharist and renewal of 
baptismal vows-recognizing the common ordination all Christians have to 
ministry. Afterwards, participants met in small groups to share their own 
stories of call, and the questions began to surface: How do I know if this 
call is real? What is the difference between being called to something and 
just wanting to do it? How do I know if what I am called to is ordained or 
monastic ministry or simply a deeper living out of my baptismal vows? 

     To address these questions, the participants spent all day Saturday 
interacting with the gathering's planning team. In one panel discussion four 
members of the planning team--one lay person, one priest, one deacon, and one 
monastic--talked about the ministries God had called them to, using their 
vows as the basis for comparison. Participants then had opportunities to meet 
in small groups with individual team members for deeper conversation about a 
particular ministry. 

     In a later discussion, two members of the planning team who are in 
discernment processes shared their stories and suggested helpful strategies 
for discerning and being faithful to the call to ministry. 

Answers and questions

     "The point of the gathering wasn't recruiting. We wanted to give 
realistic, useful information about the different orders of ministry so that 
their discernment can be an informed process," said the Rev. Mike Kinman, 31, 
a member of the planning team. "Yes, we need to seek out people who have the 
gifts the church needs for its ordained ministers. But we need to be just as 
proactive about discerning the ministry most of us are called to by our 
baptism."

     "Participating in this conference was a joy," said the Rev. Rodger 
Patience, 32, a deacon from the Diocese of Milwaukee, "because it showed many 
of the participants a vocational option they had never considered before. " 
And while Daniel Simons, 36, a monk from the Society of St. John the 
Evangelist in Boston, did have to answer some questions about what monks eat 
and wear, he said "most of the questions participants asked quickly got to 
the heart of living a spiritual life."

     A sign that this gathering was a vehicle for the movement of the Holy 
Spirit was that while some left with greater clarity of vocational vision, 
many left with more questions than they had arrived with. All left with more 
information, more to think and pray about, and a community with which to 
continue the conversation. All who attended the conference are being 
connected through an email listserv so that they can keep supporting and 
challenging each other to hear and follow God's call. 

     "I walked away from the weekend with a passion to strive toward living 
out the Baptismal Covenant," said Lisa Marie Keller, 24, of the Diocese of 
Michigan. "My sense is that I will one day live it in a way that will lead me 
to pursue another order. The time is not now, but I have clear direction that 
will help me prepare for the next step, whenever God lets me know God is 
ready."

--The Rev. Mike Kinman is Episcopal Chaplain at Washington University in St. 
Louis.