Expanding our understanding of vocation

Writing for the Alban Institute, Craig Satterlee says that many Christians do not grasp the vocational nature of the work that they do every day, and wonders whether our weekly worship has something to do with that:

[A]s part of their worship, congregations rightly recognize all the ways people serve Christ’s church in the congregation. They may install church boards, publicly thank the choir, and pray for Sunday school teachers, but congregations are often less intentional and explicit about publicly recognizing and honoring daily work as service to God.

In fact, worship may deal with questions of life and death, heaven and hell but never explicitly connect people’s daily work to their faith. This reinforces people’s tendency to separate Sunday from the rest of the week, faith from the rest of life, and Christian service from the way we make our living. Christians may come to regard certain occupations, such as pastor, preacher, nurse, and teacher, as more connected to God’s work and even holier than other occupations. They may understand themselves to be serving God solely by volunteering at church. While this understanding of Christian service might be good for congregations, it suggests that serving God is something people do in addition to everything else they have to do, rather than the reason behind or motivation for everything they do.

Do you see this false dichotomy at work in your life? In your parish?

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