The Call of God

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I; send me!” Isaiah 6:8

Dear Friends in Christ,

We sometimes talk about a job or career as our “vocation.” In that word you can hear the root of the word “vocal.” A vocation is a calling. For Christians, we know something about the one who is doing the calling. Sometimes, Christian vocation is most commonly associated with a call to ordained ministry. In the Roman Catholic church, the number of people entering the ordination process is cited as the number of “vocations,” and people are encouraged to pray for “vocations,” by which they mean more people to seek ordination. This is a good practice—I would encourage the same of you. But I would emphasize that all people—lay and ordained—are called by God.

How is God calling you in your life? That calling may be a career or employment opportunity. That calling might be to a particular relationship as a husband or wife or parent or friend. That calling might be to a time of prayer or a path of ministry as part of the wider calling God has for you. God might be calling you to share in the discovery of God by little children in Sunday School, the Christian mentoring of youth or young adults, or sharing God’s grace with people struggling through life’s hardships. How is God calling you?

Fr. Brandon Dasigner was called to St. Peter & St. Paul three and a half years ago, and he has since been called to the Diaconate and the priesthood. Now he is called to serve God as Priest-in-charge at St. Andrew’s, Hartwell, and we will send him off with our blessing this Sunday. We have been delighted to share this part of his journey, and we have been blessed as he has shared parts of ours as well. As Brandon and his family have followed God’s calls to them—how are you listening for and answering God’s calls to you?

God bless you as you listen and take action to hear and follow God’s calls to you.

Yours in Christ,

-Tom