Dear alumni/ae and friends,
I often have occasion to reflect on these words from Presbyterian minister and theologian, Frederick Buechner: “vocation is the place where our deep gladness meets the world's deep need.” Words like “vocation” and “calling” may seem old-fashioned, but they are terms which exist at the very heart of the work we do at the Divinity School. To pursue training for a vocation or to accept a calling is to affirm that you have been distinctly created for a purpose, with unique strengths and gifts. To speak of “vocation” or “calling” is to believe that your life is a response to something beyond yourself. It may be a calling to serve others, or to create beauty, and to simply do good in a world that is fractured and broken. Perhaps the most important component of training for a vocation or pursuing a calling is the time spent in discernment.
Both in community and in the beauty of solitude, discernment is the process where we wait, listen, and wait again in anticipation of a still, small voice. The quiet wisdom from a process of discernment helps to order our steps and direct our paths. As Buechner reminds us, there is great need and also great gladness in finding the work our souls must do.
Best,
Yolanda Pierce
Dean
Cornelius Vanderbilt Chair
Professor of Religion & Literature
