Date: January 13, 2026
For the month of January the Dean’s commentary will feature text by VTS & GTS faculty members writing about what they are currently teaching, reading, or writing about.
In this seminary environment, many of us spend much time reflecting on, and talking about, “my” vocation. That is, in a certain way, as it should be. Part of formation for ministry is developing a habit of ongoing discernment about what God calls each of us to do.
We each do well to remember, though, when we are listening for God in discernment for “my” vocation, that we are listening for a call that will be at once singular and shared; and we will exercise our vocations in tandem with others because the baptized Body of Christ, not the individual member, does Christian ministry. “My” vocation certainly calls on my individual strengths and capacities, but it is never mine alone; my particular vocation binds me to others who will share a larger vocation that we do, ultimately, together.
I spent the first part of January in Atlanta convening the annual meeting of the North American Academy (NAAL) as its President, and then, the day after, convening the NAAL’s Anglican Colloquium. I came home tired but I also came home strengthened and renewed in the reminder that I share my vocation with teachers, liturgical leaders, and scholars around the country and across the churches who experience the same challenges and delights as I do; and it is good to remember that what we do is joined to many and various others who do different work, also in the name of Christ, and that always together, never alone, we bear witness to the mission of God in the world.
The Rev. James W. Farwell, Ph.D.
Professor of Theology and Liturgy
Director of Anglican Studies
Virginia Theological Seminary