(1) spirituality in the workplace
(2) ethical decisions when work and Christian morals conflict
(3) I love my work, but I hate my job
(4) The struggle apparent in searching for one’s calling and methods for doing so
(5) Weaving marrying your calling into multiple career changes
(6) How mismatches in our work and calling nudge us to a realization that this work is not our calling
(7) How weaknesses can reveal our true purpose by indicating what our gifts are NOT
Many participants shared a story about their journey on the way to a calling or how that journey was one of frustration for various reasons including conflict with “administration” over their jobs, conflict between true and apparent intentions on the job, loving your work, but hating the context in which it is forced to be served by a culture or an organization. The stories were heartfelt and very personal. And, as might be expected, there were varying degrees to which we , the disciples of Mt. Zion, have felt that we either have found our calling and have been happy in service to the Lord, or are still searching for our purpose. There was enough overlap and commonality among the stories to prompt a good and meaningful discussion about why the search for one’s calling is truly helped by searching in a supportive community. We touched on a theme from one of Pastor Johnson’s previous sermons where he reminded us that Jesus sent his disciples out “in pairs” because they would need one another’s support; that without such it would be too easy to “give up”. Some exchanges occurred about whose counsel we have sought, as Christians, along the journey to calling, or when our moral compass is at odds with “the bottom line” and what is expected of us in the normal day-to-day playing out of our occupations.
At the end of these notes are references for several books with direct impact on these topics, with stories of other Christians struggling along their similar and parallel path to what service it is they were SHAPED to perform, how they have shared their stories in a common discourse on the search for meaningful vocation and spirituality in the workplace.
Vocation and Your Calling: Is it your work?
Spirituality @ Work
At “what” are you truly gifted?
What is THE thing you feel called to do on this Earth? In your Life? For your service? What is your “native way of being in the world”?
Your calling is “the thing you can’t not do”!
(for reasons you may be unable to explain to anyone else
and don’t fully understand yourself! BUT they are compelling!)
Parker Palmer
The place (God calls you is the place) where your
deep Gladness meets the world’s deep Hunger”
Fredrick Buechner
Is this your work?
For pastors, these are often one-in-the-same.
For many teachers, their occupation is remarkably felt as a calling to vocation.
It does not have to be and may not be! Can there be a danger in letting work, i.e. ‘WHAT we do’, define WHO we are?
· Creative work that “doesn’t pay the bills”
“I could have gone to law school or business school and I would probably be richer financially now. But I chose to get a degree in education and to teach writing because it fit my talents better.”
Sharon Strand, college instructor, mother, grandmother
· Did Jesus do this? Or was his calling “apart” from his occupation?
If so (again), what do we do when these two come in conflict with one another?
· Do you seek out counsel of a colleague? Spouse? Mentor? Friend? Pastor?
· How do you resolve the “apparent tension”?
How do you “find it”?
“The Call comes in many ways, both subtle and explicit. It is the call to become what we were meant to become, the call to achieve our vital design …. If we have truly committed to follow our dream, we will find that a powerful force exists beyond ourselves and our conscious will, a force that helps us along our way, nurturing our quest and transformation.”
Joseph Jaworski
The Quakers have an expression: “Have faith, and ‘way will open' ".
The corollary: “In 60+ years of living, ‘way’ has never opened in front of me …… but a lot of ‘way’ has closed behind me “.
· Performing poorly at a task we force-fit ourselves into when we are not ‘meant for it’
· We are often led to truth by our weaknesses as well as our strengths
· You may have to close one door before another opens
· “There is as much guidance in what can not and does not happen in my life as there is from what can and does happen”
Has ‘way ever opened’ in front of you?
Have you felt or shared the frustration when it hasn’t?
Has ‘way’ ever closed behind you?
How do find the coexistence of your spirituality and your work?
What happens when the two butt heads?
“(Murdoch) was more than just successful ….. What a talent! This guy had ‘The Gift’!! You know … like … you know when you’re watching some athletes do what they’re doin’ ? …. ‘n it’s like they’re remembering something they’ve always known, instead of something they had to learn.”
From the movie “The Big Kahuna”
This is a movie based on the play Hospitality Suite in which a character faces himself at three different stages of his own life, and struggles with the role of spirituality and the changing role it has played in his life. At poignant moments, there are palpable, real struggles between “doing it right”, i.e. winning the business account, and “what’s the right thing to do”, perhaps not let business steer the conversation or “say what you need to land the account”. Are you your own person or are you “an arm of The Company”.
What do you do when these two come in (obvious) conflict with one another?
Whose counsel do we seek in these moments of conflict? Who, if anyone, do you call when you find yourself saying “I don’t know what to do”?
“The workplace is a sacred space filled with holy people, all held in context by a power much greater than ourselves …. Attempt to gather with others who are on a similar path”
Mary Jo Hazard, corporate trainer, wife, mother
Jesus ‘sent them out in pairs’ for a reason[1]. It can often times be too difficult to ‘go the spiritual journey alone’. Sometime your message is clear or vague, veiled conflict with that of The Company. Does your counsel help keep you ‘on spiritual message’? As PDL says, even if The Company won’t fold, at least you had the spiritual struggle, like Jacob did at the side of the river, after which they are a different person, after struggling with the birth pains of spiritual growth.
WWJD: What would Jesus do? Can we be expected to act as Jesus would?
“There is a price to being a Christian, and part of that price is that you will not be as successful in the ways of the world as those who appear to be moral but who are in fact uninhibited by any scruples ….. we should behave well in the workplace and trust that God will not give us more than we can endure.”
Joseph Moore, software consultant
… and when you “go it alone”?
· use of sacred objects
· religious art
o Crucifix made of scrap metal by a Haitian artist
o Bronze Celtic cross
o Jar of mustard seeds
o Sketch of the Laughing Jesus!
o Angels all around us
· family photos
· framed proverbs & wise sayings
· remembrances of former colleagues and students
· Symbolic art
o Butterflies as signs of transformation
o Abstract art that speaks differently to everyone and differently to each of us at different times
· New art above the fireplace mantle at MZLC
“I try to make the desk in my office an altar on which I celebrate the liturgy of my work.”
Bill Farley, Real estate developer, husband, father, grandfather
“In the construction of artist work, often artisans will introduce an imperfection[2] to remind them that ONLY God is perfect.”
“On a bulletin board over my desk, I have a tiny note with two simple images drawn on it: a cross and a fish – as a reminder of how Christians identified themselves to one another. This reminds me, in my work, my spirituality is identified by making an effort to recognize the individuality of people, listening to them, putting them at ease, and treating them with respect.”
Cathlin Poronsky, family nurse, wife and mother
Vocation and Your Calling: Is it your work?
Spirituality @ Work
References
Let Your Life Speak, Parker J. Palmer (2000) Jossey-Bass Books
Spirituality @ Work, Gregory F. A. Pierce (2001) Loyola Press
The Spirit at Work Phenomenon, Sue Howard and David Welbourn (2004) Azure Publishers
The Purpose Driven Life, Rick Warren (2002) Zondervan
The Lenten theme at Mt. Zion this year will be
“The Road Less Traveled”
· How does “taking it” change your life?
· Jesus did not take “the path of least resistance”
· Discipleship is, in the end and along the way, a series of choices
[1] http://www.purposedrivenlife.com/devarchive.aspx and see February 1, 2007 “Two by two”
[2] In the Downtown Milwaukee Public Library, a single baluster in the marble staircase leading to the 2nd floor was intentionally placed upside down before completion of the stairs. In Indian basket weaving, often a part of the weave will be done purposefully incorrectly. Other artists have found unique ways to introduce subtle, but remindful imperfections in their creative work.
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