About the Undergraduate Discernment Process for Ordained Ministry

 

This program, coordinated through the University Chaplain’s office at Sewanee, provides a context in which undergraduates may discern whether they have a vocation to the ordained ministry in some branch of the Church. Those students interested in exploring their calling to the ministry will meet weekly and discuss such questions as:

• What does it mean to be called by God?
• How does one know whether one is called or not?
• What is involved in seminary education?
• What do priests do – in various settings: clinical, parish, school?
• What gifts and skills are necessary for a vocation to the ordained ministry?

The Episcopal tradition bears in mind two differing, but related, aspects of a call to the ordained ministry:

• Individual conviction: one thinks, feels, or believes that he or she is called to the work of the Church;
• The institution ascertains that it needs certain kinds of individuals with certain backgrounds and skills.

Recognizing the need for cultivating such vocations among its younger members, the Church, through the University Chaplain’s office, seeks to support aspirants of college age in a quality discernment process. The vocational discernment group of the University Chapel provides aspiring students with on-going structure educating them about the nature of ordained ministry, seminary life, and, especially for Episcopal students, the ordination process at the diocesan level.

Should participants desire to enter a deeper level of discernment, the Chapel will form a group of six to eight trained people (drawn from the University Chapel, local parishes, and seminary spouses) to help that person discern his or her intention. Meeting for approximately six sessions, these groups will enable the person to ascertain whether they are ready to approach their dioceses about further preparation for ordained ministry. For Episcopal students taking first steps in the process, this group can function as a parish discernment committee.

In some ways, participation in the process is an end in itself. Those undertaking this program will have their own questions about ordination facilitated by other voices – which will aid the clarity of their search. And clarity is the intended aim, both for those who wish continue this process and for those who discern this is not their path. The goal is a deepened sense of vocation, of being called to bring oneself to the service of God in the world, whether to the ministry or to some other work.

For the individual who takes the next level of discernment, a direct move from college to seminary might become a practical reality. In this case, the Chapel of the University would be serving in the role of parish in a given diocese’s ordination process. This kind of process is a benefit, not only to Sewanee students, but also to the broader Episcopal community and other branches of the Church. The hope is for this program to become something to be disseminated to the wider Episcopate and other interested denominations.

Sewanee students interested in exploring a call to the ministry, whatever their denomination, should contact Robin Hille Michaels , Coordinator of Discernment Programs at rhille@sewanee.edu or call ext. 1869. Those interested in an extended internship should consider the Lilly Summer Discernment Institute.

Lilly Home | University of the South

Photograph by Kate Sullivan, copyright 2006