Gustavus Adolphus College

It might not be today, next week, or even next year, but at some point it's going to hit you. Life is not just about getting the perfect degree that leads you to that perfect well-paying job, so you can buy that perfect house and park that perfect car in your two, wait, make that three-car garage.

That perfect life will start to feel a little shallow before long unless you learn to sort through the voices that tell you who to be, to listen to your own voice and learn to trust it. You can shape a life that blends your skills with the things you care about and the needs of the people around you. We're here to help.

Welcome to the Center for Vocational Reflection. Our purpose is to encourage you to take a real look at the person you are and the gifts you possess, so you can find that way of life that matters-- a life that's true to who you are, but about more than yourself.

2008-2009 Events in the CVR:

Shane Claiborne

The Center for Vocational Reflection is very excited to host Shane Claiborne. He will be giving a free keynote address, titled "Another World Is Possible" is open to all, on Thursday, April 23, 2009 at 7:30 p.m. in Alumni Hall of the Johnson Student Union at Gustavus (no ticket is required). His presentation is co-sponsored by the Chaplain's Office with support from a Knutson Foundation grant.

With tears and laughter, Shane unveils the tragic messes we've made of our world and the tangible hope that another world is possible.  Shane graduated from Eastern University, and did graduate work at Princeton Seminary. His ministry experience is varied, from a 10-week stint working alongside Mother Teresa in Calcutta, to a year spent serving a wealthy mega-congregation at Willow Creek Community Church outside Chicago.

Shane is a founding partner of The Simple Way, a faith community in inner city Philadelphia that has helped to birth and connect radical faith communities around the world, many of whom have become known as a "new monasticism", which produced the book Schools for Conversion.  These communities seek to follow Jesus, to rediscover the spirit of the early Church, and to incarnate the "Kingdom of God" -- a way of life standing in stark contrast to the world of militarism and materialism.  At the Simple Way, their little revolution is lived out locally, as days are spent feeding hungry folks, doing collaborative arts with children, running a community store, hanging out with neighbors, and reclaiming trash-strewn lots by planting gardens.  Shane and The Simple Way do much work to expose the fundamental structures that create poverty and to imagine alternatives to them.

Shane is featured in the DVD series "Another World Is Possible" and is the author of the several books including The Irresistible Revolution and Jesus for President.

Parker Palmer

Parker Palmer - Living with wholeness in troubled times:  Bill Moyers of PBS sat down recently with Parker J. Palmer, founder and senior partner of the Center for Courage & Renewal, for a conversation about maintaining spiritual wholeness even as the economy and political order seem to come apart. To watch the video, click here.

Applications and recommendations forms for SLP 2009-2010 are now available on our website. Information, Applications and recommendations are due Tuesday, April 14 to the CVR.

24 students were selected for the 2008-2009 Servant Leadership Program who spent their summer working in servant-leadership roles at various sites across the world. Participants then gathered during the 2008-2009 academic year to reflect on their summer experiences and develop servant-leadership skills through a series of workshops and retreats. Check out Chris Bacon's, Lydia Davitt's or Esther Mulder's stories from their SLP experience!

During the January interim experience, Chris Johnson teaches a class called Changing the World: Justice, Action and the Meaning of Life. These classes read, visit, and "think outside the box" on ways of making a difference in our world. Click to learn more about the various Changing the World classes:

• 2009 Changing the World
• 2008 Changing the World

The programs and services of the Center for Vocational Reflection are made possible through the generosity of the Lilly Endowment, Inc.