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Vocational Mentoring
What is "vocational mentoring"?
In this program, students meet with a faculty or staff member on a regular basis in order to work through questions of faith and vocation, present and future, as well as through difficulties with which they struggle.
How does it work?
Once trained, interested faculty and staff who have explored both their own vocational lives and ways to mentor students through their participation in special retreats are invited to develop vocational mentoring relationships with students. Those who agree are placed on a list mailed to each student over the summer. Students express their desire for mentoring and prioritize three possible mentors. The program then seeks to appropriately pair up the participants and to offer support along the journey.
What form does this support take?
Each year begins with a small reception welcoming mentors and mentees back to campus. The program holds occasional lunch gatherings for mentors, provides funds for resources, has a major spiritual retreat (focused in the past on the nature of God or, in another instance, methods of discernment) at the beginning of the Winter Term, and has a final dinner or reception at the end of the year. This provides mentors and mentees alike with a process on which they can count and to which they look forward.
What happens if the student-staff pairing is just not a "good fit"?
It is generally recognized that the success of the mentoring is highly dependent upon the mentor-mentee relationship, and the staff of the CCL is dedicated to helping that relationship develop. The staff is available to help mentees and mentors work through an awkward pairing to see if a relationship will develop. The staff is willing, however, to pair students with a different mentor if other attempts have been made and found unsuccessful.
Why is this program so significant for the Center for Church Leadership?
While recognizing that assessment of the work of the Spirit in the life of students and faculty and staff members is extremely difficult, we nonetheless observe regularly such fruits as deepened relationships between people, new insights into the nature of God and the role God plays in the lives of particular people, recognition of gifts for ministry, recognition of the lack of gifts for ministry, greater determination and courage to pursue a dream faithfully, deepened awareness of shared pain, recognition of the importance of spiritual disciplines, the commitment to attend seminary, compassion for an estranged family member, and partnerships in struggle. The Director of the CCL has been a mentor to 8 students over the last few years and has found this a deeply rewarding experience. She observes that there is something very important in these connections between mentors and mentees and the shape these have taken through conversations, retreats, readings, and other attempts to engage one another in faithful exploration. In summary, students, faculty, staff alike thirst for a person and a safe space where they can discuss deep spiritual, vocational, and life issues, which is exactly what campus-wide mentoring provides.
Journaling Prompts
We invite you to explore the idea of vocation, and your own personal vocation. We offer the following questions as starting points. Use them by yourself or with a small group to think, write, or talk about vocation.
| What is vocation? Is vocation the same as calling? (You might want to do some etymological research.) Does someone have to be doing the calling? Why or why not? If so, who is the caller? What do these answers mean for you as you seek to know your vocation? |
| Would a sense of calling give meaning to your work? Is vocation important only because it gives meaning to what we do, or are there other aspects of vocation that are significant? Does vocation gives meaning to life or do spiritual values give meaning to life? Or, are they connected, perhaps in some inseparable way? |
| How are your desires related to your vocation? Are you necessarily called to that which you most enjoy? Could you be called to something which you do not enjoy? How would you affirm such a calling? How can you affirm any calling? |
Movie Bibliographies
Enjoy reading through these movie highlights, written by Dr. Mike Duffy (HC Theological Studies professor). Then rent one that looks good to you, and see how it connects to your life and ambitions. Use them for your journal ideas - and use the stories and their themes to compare to your own life and struggles.
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