Called to Life is a 6-week program for small groups in parishes and congregations to explore questions of vocation and calling—how God works in our everyday lives.
All materials are available for free online for participants and facilitators.
Called to Life is a program of the Collegeville Institute Seminars, a research project of the Collegeville Institute at Saint John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota. Generously funded by a grant from the Lilly Endowment, Inc., the Seminars seek to develop resources for congregations around lived realities of Christian faith in the world today.
How does the program work?
Called to Life gathers small groups for conversation about God’s call in our lives. The program includes sessions on different aspects of vocation:
- How God Calls
- Our Plans & God’s Plan
- Many Callings, One Life
- Struggles & Challenges
- Changes Over Time
Short videos on vocation from our Lives Explored video project are paired with each Called to Life session, to view as a group or for personal reflection.
Before each meeting, participants reflect with readings, prayers and Scripture in the Participant Guide. The small group gathers to share stories and learn from others about what God’s call means in everyday life.
Meetings are designed to last approximately 2 hours a week for 6 weeks, with small groups of 6-8 participants.
Who can use the program?
Called to Life has been offered in churches across the country to explore vocation with their members. Our ecumenical materials have been used by hundreds of participants in diverse congregations, including Catholic, Episcopal, Lutheran, Methodist, Presbyterian, and congregational faith communities.
Small groups can be led by pastors, staff, or lay leaders. No prior facilitator training is required.
To register your Called to Life group, please fill out the registration form below to receive the password for the facilitator resources.
Why offer Called to Life?
Check out our top 10 list of reasons to use Called to Life.
To learn more about leading a Called to Life group, read an interview with Jane.
See what past participants had to say:
- I grew in seeing where God lead me in the past and how God is always guiding if I can just listen.
- I came to understand that vocation is a journey, not a single destination point, and that it is about all aspects of one’s life—personal, family, and career.
- It gave me perspective and understanding about my journey, peace around a subject that had previously made me anxious.
- I’m very grateful to have had this opportunity to explore these questions at this time in my life. I had always thought when I got to a certain age, all the questions would be answered, or that there wouldn’t be any more questions, but all of us in the group were in a transition of one sort or another.
Register your group
To register your group for Called to Life and receive the password for the facilitator resources, please complete the following form. (Participants do not need to register individually.)
Please contact Jessie Bazan at jlbazan@collegevilleinstitute.org for more information about Called to Life.
