DESCRIPTION
A uniquely comprehensive discussion of vocation from infancy to old ageDo infants have a vocation? Do Alzheimer's patients? In popular culture, vocation is often reduced to adult work or church ministry. Rarely do we consider childhood or old age as crucial times for commencing or culminating a life of faith in response to God's calling.
This book addresses that gap by showing how vocation emerges and evolves over the course of an entire lifetime. The authors cover six of life's distinct seasons, weaving together personal narrative, developmental theory, case studies, and spiritual practices.
Calling All Years Good grounds the discussion of vocation in concrete realities and builds a cohesive framework for understanding calling throughout all of life.
CHAPTERS & AUTHORSCallings over a Lifetime
Kathleen A. CahalanChildhood : The (Often Hidden Yet Lively) Vocational Life of Children
Bonnie J. Miller- McLemoreAdoles cence: Vocation in Performance, Passion, and Possibility
Katheri ne TurpinYounger Adulthood: Exploring Callings in the Midst of Uncertainty
Kathe rine TurpinMiddle Adulthood: The Joys and Paradoxes of Vocation
Matt BloomLate Adulthood: Seeking Vocation Once Again
Kathleen A. CahalanOlder Adulthood: Vocation at Life's End
Joyce Ann Mercerwith biblical interludes by Jane Patterson
REVIEWS
Dorothy C. Bass
coeditor of Leading Lives That Matter: What We Should Do and Who We Should Be
— Valparaiso Project on the Education and Formation of People in Faith
“Calling All Years Good brings a genuinely new and remarkably helpful set of perspectives to today's lively conversation about vocation. By focusing on the distinctive character of vocation in different seasons of life, the authors help us to understand and appreciate the gifts and challenges of each. Their work will inform and inspire those who minister with a specific age group, such as children, youth, or the elderly. Further, it will encourage intergenerational communities of faith—especially congregations—to cultivate relationships across age-group lines, strengthening the capacity of all to respond to God's call.”
Edward P. Hahnenberg
author of Awakening Vocation: A Theology of Christian Call
— John Carroll University
“Another great book from the Collegeville Institute! Kathleen A. Cahalan and Bonnie J. Miller-McLemore have drawn together a circle of wise and reflective conversation partners who have much to share. These chapters widen our vocational vision beyond that crucial time of young adulthood in order to contemplate the many ways God calls each of us at every moment of our lives. I know of no other book that takes such a serious and sustained look at the life stages of vocation. It has offered insight into the life of my children, my parents, and myself.”
Douglas J. Schuurman
author of Vocation: Discerning Our Callings in Life
— St. Olaf College
“Calling All Years Good develops an insightful and theologically rich understanding of vocation, a nuanced and textured interpretation of the stages of the life cycle, and a brilliant fusion of the two. Cahalan, Miller-McLemore, and other leading scholars combine the best social-science research on the stages of life with cutting-edge practical theology focusing on vocation to create a volume that is must reading for pastors, church leaders, and thoughtful Christians. There is no other book that treats this subject with such excellence, clarity, and insight.”