Nestled in the Allegheny Mountains of northwest Pennsylvania is a marvelous retreat center called the Glendorn.  It was there Karla and I spend this past week in a seminar sponsored by the Lilly Endowment and the Council of Independent Colleges.

Presidents of private colleges and their spouses met to reflect on vocation.  It was a helpful time to examine who we are and what continues to motivate presidents to serve their institutions. “Vocation” has its roots in the Latin word “vocare,” meaning “to call.”  The time in Pennsylvania was spent probing what it is that I am called to do.

Many times, I have engaged in considering the question: what am I called to do with my life? Responses have led me to a decision to become a United Methodist clergy, to respond to understandings of the settings where I was to do my ministry, and  — after considerable prodding from others — to  respond to a vocational calling to be president at a United Methodist-related college.

Consideration of vocation and calling is not an activity solely for preachers and presidents. It is for all of us. Frrederck Buechner wrote vocation is “where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.”

Deep gladness or joy is what gives us meaning to our lives. The second part of vocation is employing that gladness to make a difference. One’s greatest joy may be the satisfaction found in repairing automobiles, knowing you are responding to the great need of individuals to have dependable transportation to get to where they need to be.

One’s greatest joy may be taking care of children, knowing our parenting or childcare will respond to the deep human need to be loved. One’s greatest joy may be learning and teaching, know our teaching will respond to the world’s great hunger for understanding of life as well as subject matters.

One’s greatest joy may be creating art-on canvas, in gardens, or in whatever medium, knowing your art responds to the deep human need for beauty. One’s greatest joy may be found in serving a customer, knowing you are responding to the world’s deep need for persons to be treated with respect and dignity.

May we discover our vocation, the avenue to respond to the hungers and need of others, making the world a better place for all.