On June 17, 2020, the Network for Vocation in Undergraduate Education (NetVUE) hosted a webinar on “Theological Responses to the Pandemic.” The goal of this event was to offer a range of theologically-grounded responses to the current public health crisis and to the deep social inequalities that it has laid bare. Four NetVUE scholars took … Continue reading Theological responses to the pandemic
If we succumb to dwelling on the past or living for the future without remaining attentive to the present, we become disconnected from reality.
It is incumbent upon those of us who care about helping students in their vocational discernment to understand the nuances of familismo and ganas, how they come together in forming Latinx students’ reasons for being in college, foundation for resiliency, and orientation toward the future.
Readers of this blog may be interested in a new book about vocation called Living Vocationally: The Journey of the Called Life (Cascade Books, 2021). A labor of love and friendship, the book was co-written by Charlie Pinches, who teaches at the University of Scranton, and Paul Wadell, professor emeritus at St. Norbert College. Weaving … Continue reading The Journey of the Called Life
A Christian theology of vocation has to be illumined by Easter because Easter is much more than a feast that Christians nostalgically commemorate once a year; rather, Easter is a truth to live into, a truth to embrace in order to share.
What about students who don’t believe in God at all? Could the concept of “vocation” still be useful then? An excerpt from a talk delivered at a recent NetVUE regional gathering hosted by Huntingdon College.
This current moment of crisis challenges us to stop and re-consider our old assumptions and practices. By thinking in terms of holistic mentoring that emphasizes students’ larger sense of meaning and purpose, NetVUE institutions have already moved into a new paradigm. This is a good time to review what we already know to be true about vocation-centered mentoring, and to ask how we can continue to support students using online formats.
Vocation… is a type of redress. It offers an alternative, “countervailing gesture” to superficial, consumeristic, self-absorbed, and unjust visions of the good.
Humanism’s approach of emphasizing relationship, strengths, and human potential make it a particularly useful framework for undergraduate mentoring relationships that foster vocational discernment.
At NetVUE’s Faculty Development Workshop on Teaching Vocational Exploration in June, Paul Wadell presented a paper entitled “Mentoring for Vocation – Befriending Those Entrusted to Us.” The paper was well-received because it spoke to mentorship as an essential part of vocation. The article is published in the Journal of Catholic Higher Education, yet is relevant to those who … Continue reading Mentoring for Vocation: A Form of Friendship
