Vocation and Disability Examining how disability is constructed and represented in society is of utmost importance for people called together to bear witness to the kingdom. —Ben Conner, Disabling Mission, Enabling Witness: Exploring Missiology Through the Lens of Disability Studies How does the experience of disability open up new understandings of God’s callings? How might a theology of vocation articulate both the general Christian calling and the callings that are unique to each person, especially as they are shaped by the particularities of embodiment? And how can a theology of vocation and disability be integrated into the ministry and practice of a faith community? The Seminar on Vocation and Disability brings together theologians, scholars, persons with disabilities, and experts on disability and ministry to engage the concept of vocation through perspectives of disability theology and the lived experience of disability and calling. Our hope is to develop theological resources that can be used in both congregations and theological schools, resources that will engage and deepen our understanding of vocation in order that it become a meaningful way of framing the Christian life in its contemporary complexity and challenges. Seminar Members Sarah Barton Assistant Professor of Occupational Therapy and Theological Ethics Duke Divinity School Jessie Bazan Program Associate, Communities of Calling Initiative and Seminars Collegeville Institute Ben Conner (Seminar Co-Leader) Professor of Practical Theology and Director of the Graduate Certificate in Disability and Ministry Western Theological Seminary Megan Kidulas Friendship House Fellow Western Theological Seminary Jane Patterson (Seminar Co-Leader) Project Director, Communities of Calling Initiative Collegeville Institute Erin Raffety Associate Research Scholar Princeton Theological Seminary Sue Rozeboom Associate Professor of Liturgical Theology Western Theological Seminary L.S. Carlos Thompson Assistant Professor of Church and Community Theology, Director of the Friendship House, And Student Accessibility Coordinator Western Theological Seminary What We Are Studying In 2022, the Seminar on Vocation and Disability began meeting twice yearly to explore the intersections of vocation and disability. Disability: How can insights from the field of disability studies both critique assumptions about religious calling and open new constructive insights? What experiences and understandings do persons with disabilities have of God’s calling? Their families and caregivers? How might this inform a theology of vocation and disability? Concepts of Calling: A theology of calling touches on every major Christian doctrine, yet how does the particular experience of disability reframe what a calling or vocation is? How can ecumenical collaboration inform a theology of disability and vocation that serves unique religious contexts?
