Vocational and Ministry Discernment
The Vocational Discernment Process in
The Episcopal Diocese of Upper South Carolina
The identification of a call to serve is a process that requires time, deep individual discernment, as well as deep discernment within the greater community. The discernment process that has been adopted by The Episcopal Diocese of Upper South Carolina seeks to assist those who feel a general call to ministry to better understand and articulate their sense of call, and to invite the community to discern their call alongside them.
The vocational discernment process in the Episcopal Diocese of Upper South Carolina has two primary stages. In the first stage, the nature of an individual’s call to serve is discerned; specifically, whether the call is to lay ministry or ordained ministry. If the call is to lay ministry, a greater clarity is sought as to which lay ministry the inquirer may be best suited for and the inquirer is referred for education, training, and licensing appropriate to that ministry. If the call is understood to be to ordained ministry, the second stage focuses on whether he or she may be called to the diaconate or the priesthood, and their suitability for that ministry.
The formal discernment process is overseen by the Bishop and the Commission on Ministry, and begins each year with the Diocesan Day of Discernment held at Trinity Cathedral in Columbia each March. Attendance at this meeting is required to begin the formal discernment process.
To review the program from the last Diocesan Day of Discernment, please click below.
If you have specific questions about the diocesan discernment process, please email The Rev. Canon Stephen J. Rhoades, Canon to the Ordinary.
