Thursday, February 18, 2010 | Last Updated Saturday, September 4, 2010 13:52 Pacific/Honolulu
Discernment for ministry
The Commission on Ministry is a diocesan body charged with assisting congregations help their members find the ministry to which God calls them, whether lay or ordained. The COM has published a document, Guidelines for the Discernment of Ministry in the Diocese of Hawai‘i, that describes ministries in the Episcopal Church and considerations for discernment. This document dates from 2005 and is in the process of being updated.
In addition, the COM hosts an occasional "Discernment Day" for interested people in the Diocese, at which ministries and processes for discernment are described.
Discernment Resources
Several resources are available and recommended for help is discernment. Especially recommended are the following:
Listening Hearts: Discerning Call in Community — This book is used frequently by discernment committees, especially those focused on helping an individual discern God's call. It is also a good introduction to discernment in general. It is readily available; the group that wrote it also has a Listening Hearts website.
Ears to Hear: Recognizing and Responding to God's Call, by Bishop Ed Little — This book uses characters in the Hebrew Scriptures to describe the many ways that God calls people to ministry. It is especially useful with a group that is not focused on a single individual but perhaps wants to discuss and discern the experiences and different calls of the various members of the group.