The Centre for Christian Studies, as part of the larger Reimagining Theological Education project, has been given the task of nurturing a culture of discernment in the United Church of Canada. Discernment is the process of figuring out God’s calling, for individuals and communities. Frederick Buechner describes it as “the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.”

Toward that end, CCS hosted a consultation on October 1-2, 2026, to explore discernment, and to figure out what CCS and members of the United Church diaconal community can do to encourage and support discernment. Sixteen people from various parts of Canada, most of them graduates of the Centre for Christian Studies, gathered in Winnipeg for two days of conversation, brainstorming, and dreaming.

One thing that became clear to us is that this project is not (just) about discernment to Diaconal ministry, or even to professional ministry. Discernment is about being a Christian disciple, following the way, identifying one’s unique gifts and passions, and responding to the needs of the community. Yes, that might look like what is sometimes called “paid accountable” ministry, but it might also look like service in the community. We speculated about what it means to be a Christian lawyer, or a Christian daycare worker, or a Christian beautician. How do such people live out their calling? What does their ministry look like? Following in the direction of the United Church’s Vocations of the Whole People of God document, we wanted to lift up and celebrate the ministry, leadership, and contribution of everyone in the church, clergy and lay.

(That said, if you get enough people thinking about their calling, some of them are going to feel a calling to formal ministry. Some will recognize that theological education could improve their lives and the deepen the effectiveness of their lay work. Some will feel the Diaconal call to ministry at the edges. Which, as a theological school, would be great for us. But our purpose in this is not to recruit, but to help people find their true authentic selves in the context of faithful reflection.)

The United Church General Council also has a task group focused on vocational discernment, and we were lucky to have Office of Vocation minister Laura Fouhse (who is also a CCS grad) at the consultation to fill us in on that task group’s work. We were clear that we want the CCS-led project to complement and support the General Council group’s work rather than compete or replicate. It’s clear that this is important work for the church.

At times the conversation of the consultation was overwhelming – so many ideas, so much enthusiasm. Sometimes we struggled to find the next steps. One fun activity encouraged us to think about what it might mean to guide someone through discernment; two blindfolded volunteers tried to navigate their way through an obstacle course (hymnbooks on the floor, representing the various internal and external blocks one might encounter in discerning one’s call) while two other volunteers tried to guide them across the room with instructions. Guides quickly decided they needed to get close to the “discerners” to see things from their angle. One guide realized she could just move an obstacle out of the way. Discernment is hard, so if we can make it easier, why wouldn’t we?

By the end of two days we had some clearer vision and possible next steps. Some participants indicated their willingness to keep working on this project going forward while others, doing their own discernment, recognized they had wisdom to offer but their work was elsewhere. We are very grateful to everyone who attending the October 2026 consultation and offered their ideas and experiences.