Gustavus Adolphus College

• What is vocation, anyway?
• Why does the Center for Vocational Reflection exist?
• What exactly does the Center for Vocational Reflection do?
• What is the Lilly Endowment?

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What is vocation, anyway?

First, it might be helpful to know that vocation means "calling." Thinking about vocation as a "calling" causes one to think about the source of the call, which can be different things for different people. For some it is God or the Divine; for others it is the community, other people and their needs, nature, or one's deepest self. It also implies an ongoing dynamic of listening and response, seeking and discovery, and questions and "answers."

It is who you most truly are, in and for the world. It is all the places in life where "your heart's deep gladness meets the world's deep hunger." It is our summons to utilize our gifts and passions in order to address the world's deep needs. It is the expression of one's truest identity by living life in a way that benefits others.

It is the shape your entire life takes as a certain kind of answer to the "Big Questions": Who am I, and why am I here? What's my place in the world, and how can my life make a difference? What does my life really stand for? Is my life today contributing to peace and justice? What will be my legacy?

It is more than your job, occupation, or career. These can and likely will change. It's great if your vocation can be lived out, at least in part, in and through your work, but there is much more to it.

It doesn't have to be something particularly "religious." One's vocation may grow out of and express one's faith, but does not depend on identifying with a particular religious tradition or holding a particular set of beliefs or practices.

It is something that grows out of our life experiences. It is not something that you "have", "buy", "find", or "get", as in "Get a life!" Instead, it emerges within and around us--and takes on various shapes and meanings--in and through our experiences, relationships, and discoveries.

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Why does the Center for Vocational Reflection exist?

The CVR exists to live out Gustavus' mission; the CVR's programs and questions are at the heart of who we are and aspire to be as a college that prepares students for lifelong learning, leadership, and service in society.

The "Big Questions" (e.g. What is the meaning of my life? Who does the world need me to be?) are what college and life are all about. It is important to have an atmosphere that challenges students to ponder these questions and supports them throughout the process.

Attention to vocation helps us to see such questions as the choice of major, occupation, and career in a different light. It's not "What can I do with major X?" but "Who am I called to be, what kind of world do I want to live in, and how might major X fit into that larger picture?"

We hope that people who encounter our programs will move from awareness of the concept of vocation, through a more purposeful consideration of vocation in terms of a calling to serve others, to a lifelong commitment to lives of service and leadership.

Funding for the creation of the CVR was provided by the Lilly Endowment's Programs for the Theological Exploration of Vocation (see question below).

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What exactly does the Center for Vocational Reflection do?

The CVR helps to educate the whole person for a lifelong exploration of their calling and a lifetime of service and leadership in their community through several programs:

• course offerings
• retreats
• workshops
• conferences
• discussion groups
• a resource center
• funding for special projects
• small-group conversation and discernment

The CVR's programs and services are meant to be invitations that reach into every aspect of campus life--intellectual, physical, emotional, social, and spiritual. We work with many other programs and offices across campus (including academic departments, the Career Center, the Chaplains' Office, the Community Service Center, International Education, the Diversity Center, and student organizations) to support and coordinate existing programs and to develop new initiatives.

The Center works with many other programs and offices across campus to support and coordinate existing programs and to develop new initiatives in three main areas:

1. One set of programs encourages students to think of their lives in terms of vocation, challenges them to lead full lives of commitment and service, and helps them to consider life-paths in which they can develop and utilize skills and capacities of servant-leadership, including lay and ordained church leadership.
2. A second set of programs equips faculty and staff to explore their own sense of calling and nourishes their ability to challenge, guide, and support the faith, career, and life journeys of students.
3. A third set of programs builds on Gustavus' commitments to lifelong learning, community engagement, and ties with the Church by offering a variety of opportunities and resources for alumni, congregations, and other friends of the College to reflect on and more intentionally live out their vocations in and for the world.

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What is the Lilly Endowment?

The Lilly Endowment was created in 1937 by three members of the Lilly family through gifts of stock in their pharmaceutical business, Eli Lilly and Company. The Endowment exists to support the causes of religion, education, and community development and emphasizes programs that benefit young people.

In 1999, the Endowment launched its Programs for the Theological Exploration of Vocation initiative, which supports church-related liberal arts colleges and universities in establishing or enhancing programs that help students to explore the relationship between their faith and their vocation, to explore vocations in the ministry, and to prepare teachers to support and mentor students throughout the process.

During three rounds of this program, over 400 schools responded to the Endowment's invitations for funding requests. Gustavus was one of only 20 schools in the country to receive funding from the Endowment in the first round in November 2000; 29 more were announced near the end of 2001, and 39 more were added to the list in 2002. In the upper Midwest, we are joined by St. John's, St. Ben's, Macalester, Luther, Augsburg, Concordia, St. Thomas, Grinnell, Dordt, Northwestern, Marquette, Hamline, St. Olaf, Augustana-Rock Island, Simpson, and Wartburg.