Extending the Season of Discernment

The Rev. Martin Copenhaver and Chris Braudaway-Bauman from Wellesley Congregational Church, in Wellesley, Massachusetts came by the Alban offices today. (Watch for our upcoming podcast). As part of a larger conversation on pastoral formation, the question arose of how congregations might foster the vocational call to pastoral ministry in young people.  For the past six years Wellesley has hosted a pastoral residency program that has brought two recent seminary graduates to serve among the congregation full time for a two-year period. One of the many benefits of this program has been a marked increase in the number of high school and college students expressing an interest in pastoral ministry. They’ve seen first-hand young pastors very much engaged in their pastoral vocation.

How often do congregations raise up a highly motivated young person as a promising candidate for ministry–someone who has perhaps  led the youth group, volunteered for ministries, shined in worship or other aspects of the congregation’s life and mission, someone who has expressed an interest in ministry as a career while questioning its economic viability–only to see that young person enter the work force within a few weeks of graduation, because their “season of discernment” was all too brief? We bid them farewell and wish them luck, and off they go out into the wider world.

And while yes, discernment continues, there’s no guarantee that the young person will heed the call to pastoral ministry, especially if they find satisfaction pursuing their new career, and especially if that career feels like God’s work–teaching, environmental science, fill in the blank.

What if the season of discernment could be extended? How might it be extended? Through some sort of internship? Volunteer scheme? Trial year in seminary? Intentionl community (online or living arrangement) with fellow travellers? And what role might a congregation play in fostering the discernment process?