I searched the internet for the word ‘vocation’. The first result was Vocation Brewery (other breweries are available!) It’s a business that I had never heard of but it immediately piqued my interest as I have been known to sample a few real ales in my time: in particular, the company’s tag line - Craftsmanship, Innovation & Patience Combine to Create Masterpieces. Further intrigued, I then discovered that the brewery came into being when its founder ‘left his job to follow his calling – to brew the big, flavourful beers he loves’.
Vocation is a word used often to describe a call for those who work in what we might describe as the caring professions – medicine and teaching amongst them, and in the church we use it often for those who follow a call to ordination. At its heart though, vocation is doing the thing that God wants us to do, which brings us joy and means that we might have something of life in all its fullness (John 10:10). In my work in supporting lay and ordained vocations I often describe it as the divine niggle, the thing that you just can’t let go of, however much you might try.
I don’t know if the founder of Vocation Brewery has a faith, but it seems he understands vocation. In the Christian tradition the Craftsmanship that we have is given to us by God as a gift and honed and shaped by learning and practice as we develop. Being open to the ways that God might be working in our lives and the lives of others brings about new ways of seeing the world and new ways of being (innovation), and patience means that we work at God’s pace rather than our own, which can at times be hugely frustrating! These things combined mean that we might become or create ‘masterpieces’ within our own spheres of work, whether within the church or beyond. Each of us has a vocation, and our vocations are used in God’s service and for the good of our communities. Again, perhaps the website sums it up well: in the ‘About us’ section there is a tale of overcoming obstacles to create the business, and the final sentence reads ‘we pride ourselves on working together with shared purpose, on shared triumphs over adversities, born out of a love of what we do’.
There is real joy in doing what we love and so often people think that God is going to ask us to do the thing that we really dread or feel totally unqualified to do. It can take a huge leap of faith to follow a call and fulfil our vocation. One of the great joys of my role is seeing people grow and flourish in their vocations so if you or someone you know has a divine niggle then be encouraged and encourage one another – who knows where it might lead!
Revd Preb Jeanette Hatwell leads Lichfield Diocese’s Vocations & Training Team.
Contact her at jeanette.hartwell@lichfield.anglican.org or visit her team’s website at lichfield.anglican.org/vocations-and-training.