Alright I'll try to keep things short here. I'm currently a college student (will be a junior this fall) majoring in statistics. In Spring of 2014, I was asked to speak about my faith journey and give a testimony at my church - I really enjoyed it, and after giving that testimony I felt a "nudge" towards ministry. For the longest time I doubted and was afraid of changing my plans - I prayed often for God to give me a sign so that I knew what I was meant to do with my time here on Earth. Now a couple months ago, it felt more solidified - I felt like God clearly made it known that I am called to go into ministry and become a pastor. I met with my pastor and told her this, and she advised me to start the candidacy process (I was raised United Methodist, still attend a United Methodist ministry on campus, and will most likely stay a United Methodist to become a UM pastor) this summer. However, she is the only one I have told - I have yet to talk to my family (parents) about this. My parents are United Methodist, so I'm not afraid of them not understanding/disliking me because of this change. But it's so different from what I've been planning on for the past several years, and the only thing that my parents seem to emphasize when it comes to a career is one that is secure and pays enough to support a family without any issues. I guess I'm mostly afraid of them freaking out and wondering why I want to do this/how I plan to support a family.

Does anyone have any advice for how to start this conversation or how to approach it? I mentioned this fear to my pastor and she did say to expect them to be a bit shocked/upset by it at first, but then be accepting of it. Which is comforting in a way, but I'm still afraid and unsure of how the conversation will go. Any tips/stories/advice about telling family (even better if they're your parents) would be greatly appreciated.

Over two months ago I posted about how I felt drained of any desire to go into ordain ministry. I had been on a fast track to seminary, but had hit a wall in my discernment that made me question God's call. My post received a (relatively) large number of responses, each offering insight and encouragement that I desperately needed. I want to thank everyone who commented on that post because, even though I didn't have the words to respond at the time, what was said genuinely gave me a new perspective of my situation.

It is with joy that I can now say that I have moved out of that place of insecurity and doubt into a place of confidence and peace. Through prayer, study, and continued fellowship with friends and mentors, my call has been rekindled. I feel like I have a clearer sense of direction and a drive to walk the path set before me.

Again, thank you to everyone who responded to my post and prayed for me. God bless.

Traditionally vocations are broken up into the laity, deacons, and priests. How would you compare and contrast these different vocations? How do you know which one you are called to?

Lord, my God and my loving Father

You have made me to know You, to love You, to serve You,

And thereby to find and fulfill myself.

I know that You are in all things,

And that every path can lead me to You

But of them all, there is one especially

By which You want me to come to You.

Since I will do what You want of me,

I pray You, send Your Holy Spirit to me: into my mind,

To show me what You want of me; into my heart,

To give me the determination to do it,

And to do it with all my love, with all my mind,

And with all my strength right to the end. Amen.

more here: http://www.rc.net/santafe/vocations/discernment_prayers.htm

So, I'm a recent graduate and have just started a full time job in tech. I've thought about becoming a priest for a long time but only recently began the discernment process since I graduated college.

With years of thinking about it I've felt pretty confident in my sense of calling. I've worked part time through college and while my interests have waxed and waned I've always come back to feeling called to the priesthood.

However, after having started this new, full time job, on top of helping out in a number of lay ministries at church I'm beginning to feel a lot of doubt about my own abilities and my ability to cope. I think the stress of my first real job combined with the nervousness of abandoning a good career in tech just as I'm getting started is starting to weigh on me.

I'm not really sure what I'm looking for here but I needed to get this off my chest and would appreciate hearing others thoughts.

tl;dr: The stress of grown up life is making me question my vocation

As part of my discernment process my wife and I are leaving for Sewanee's Come & See event tomorrow afternoon. The weather is going to be awful but I'm still excited to get to see the seminary first hand after reading about it so much.

Let me start by owning the fact I'm putting the cart before the horse with this question. However...

Several years ago, I started the discernment process for becoming a priest. But, about a month in, we ended up moving out of state because my wife got a new job. Fast forward, I didn't re-engage the process in our new location, but instead started a Ph.D. program in my field. I'm now over half-way finished with that degree, but I can't help but feel I left something behind in not pursuing discernment. That said, there is no way I can (a) quit my current program or (b) move from this program to a three-year M.Div. program. Financially and emotionally, it's just not something I can do, nor is it something I want to put my family through.

So my question is this... At some point in the future, were I to pursue the discernment process again and move forward, are there seminary options that don't require quitting your job and returning to school full-time for three years? I guess I'm having trouble seeing what a career shift of this sort looks like later down the line when I'm firmly middle-aged (or later).

Thanks in advance for your response(s).

So, uh, what the title says, I guess. I'm not officially a member of the Episcopal Church yet, but have been attending one for a little over a year.

I'm not sure if this is for me; I have no idea. I guess that's what discerning is all about. I'm young-ish, a software engineer. I've got a family and a mortgage.

I can think of a million doubts or reasons why this isn't a great idea, but I still somehow feel drawn to... doing something. I don't know. Let's talk about it?

Where did you get started? What are you drawn toward?

Hello all,

To make a long story short, my rector and I will be meeting with my bishop this afternoon to see if I will continue in our diocesan discernment process. Any prayers are appreciated!

EDIT: I am now a Nominee for Holy Orders. Pretty excited to see where it all goes.

The gist of my situation is this: I am a Postulant for Holy Orders in the Episcopal Church and as such I should be actively looking at seminaries, but I feel as though I've hit a wall. All my motivation is gone and the zeal with which I was pursuing ordained ministry seems to have vanished entirely.

But here's the context: The last six months have been filled with major life changes for me. Most notably, my engagement fell through under bitter circumstances and my fiancée moved back to California to be with her family. Until the end of the relationship I thought things were fine, so it felt very unexpected. I also went on a study abroad trip to France over the summer and, because it was arranged prior to the break up, I went on the trip with my ex-fiancee. As you can probably imagine, it put a bit of a damper on the trip. Anyway, when I got back I moved across town, got a new job, and finished my undergraduate studies.

I feel like I'm in a very different place than I was when I first began my discernment process, which was not very long ago at all. I feel incredibly insecure and am constantly plagued by the thought that if I continue on to seminary and ordination then I will be a terrible priest. I feel like I will either lose my faith or deeply disappoint my congregation. I'm currently in a place where I feel directionless and meaningless. I feel totally apathetic about ministry I even feel reluctant about proceeding in the process. I've been procrastinating on my seminary search and every time I see my priest doing what he does, there is a small voice in the back of my mind that says, "You'll never be able to do this." I guess I'm just really discouraged and am looking for some anonymous internet guidance. Thoughts?

Hello everyone! I figured it might be nice to compile a list of books/articles/videos/whatever for those discerning vocations in the Church.

As for me, anyone interested in the role of bishops, deacons and priests within the Anglican Communion should check out the "Episcopal Services" chapter of the book Liturgy for Living, a book published in 1979 in the wake of the introduction of the new Book of Common Prayer. I haven't finished the chapter yet, but so far it's given helpful information for reflection on the development and historical scope of these offices.

EfM is a 4 year program designed for lay people to be educated and prepared for whatever ministry they are being called to do. I haven't been able to do the program as it requires a 4 year commitment with a small group. I'd be interested to hear if anyone has done the program, is doing it, or plans on doing it.

http://efm.sewanee.edu/

I pulled up some old resources from my diocese on discernment and the document suggested the book Listening Hearts and I'm wondering if anyone has any experience with it. Did you find it useful? There also seems to be a website associated with it: http://www.listeninghearts.org/

I'm interested to hear what kind of ministries you feel drawn towards.

https://haligweorc.wordpress.com/2013/04/25/thinking-on-the-laity/

A post by one of my favorite bloggers on what a lay vocation looks like. The blogger is a seminary-educated layman who thought about whether he was called to ordination for years. He also muses on clericalism in the Episcopal Church - ironic, considering how decentralized our own polity is compared to other episcopal (small-e) churches.

What does it look like for laity to "own their own spirituality"? Do laity get clericalized? What mistakes have we made when we think about the vocation of laity?