Discernment Days

This post was contributed by Kelsey Hanf, Micah Intern with Jubilee Ministries. 


One of the unique features of the Micah Project is its commitment to discernment. As the Episcopal Service Corps website proudly proclaims, in a time when most are being asked “what are you going to do next year?,” they ask the bigger question: “who do you want to BE?” Discernment is a core theme in our life together, constantly being highlighted in our Friday training time together. From spiritual practices that allow us to go deeper into our faith and identity and learning communities that nurture our growth through the year to specifically defined “discernment workshops” that let us more deeply explore specific discernment methods, our weekly time together offers many opportunities for growth through discernment.

This Friday the Life Together interns were graced with another such workshop, a self-designed panel featuring individuals from throughout the diocese who offered both their stories and their advice. Much in the spirit of our own diversity of experience, gifts, and desires, the panel included people from a wide variety of backgrounds: a young priest and former filmmaker, a pediatrician who specializes in global health, the diocese’s vocational discernment officer, a former Carter administrator and current diocesan treasurer, and a young mother working in financial industry e-learning. 

While the advice offered by the panelists- including one woman’s advice to “not think about what you want to be, but what you like to do”- was insightful, it was the stories they shared that shaped the character of the conversation. In a world where we are often told we must choose goals and pursue them, these stories reminded us that there is no straight path to our destinations. In many ways they invited us to explore the fact that having too strong a goal can in many cases prevent us from engaging in true discernment, from a real openness to what God truly wants for us in our lives.

I did not leave last Friday’s training with a better idea of what I want to do, or even of who I want to be. But I did leave with a greater respect for the journey and a greater peace regarding the winding paths that life will inevitably take. And if that is the one thing I take away from this year of Life Together, it will be enough.