the 'Sunday-Monday disconnect'
Current research suggests that only small numbers of Americans see links between their religious faith and work life, but an event being held at the Divinity School Friday-Sunday, April 1-3, is aimed at attacking this "Sunday-Monday disconnect."
The gathering, titled "Called to Purposive Life and Work: New Perspectives on Vocation and Occupation," aims to bring together the insights and experiences of clergy, academics and lay people from various professions and workplace settings.
Recent research at Princeton University revealed that only 22% of people who attend religious services weekly report that their faith has any influence on their choice of work; 13% of church members say they would talk to their pastor about ethical problems at work; and 4% of church members would talk to their pastor about the stress they encounter at work.
"Increasingly, people engaged in the work world want to live an integrated life, where their personal values are aligned with their workplace values. They want all aspects of life, including work, to have meaning and purpose," says David Miller, co-chair of the event planning team and executive director of the Yale Center for Faith & Culture, which is hosting the event.
"This conference will help Christians draw on new conceptions of vocation as a means to think about being called to a 'purposive life and work,'" adds Miller, who teaches business ethics at both the Divinity School and the School of Management and spent 16 years in senior executive positions in international business and finance prior to studying theology and ethics.
The Divinity School event has three goals, notes Miller: to explore fresh ways of tackling the Sunday-Monday disconnect among Christians; to consider creative breakthroughs being made to discover God's call to, and gifts for, purposive life and work; and to develop strategies for a more complete embrace of this dimension of the Gospel by the whole Christian community.
The event begins with a reception, dinner and keynote address the night of April 1 and concludes at noon on April 3. All sessions will be held in the Divinity School, 409 Prospect St. The program will alternate between plenary presentations and small group discussions, with opportunity for one-on-one conversations with people of like occupations and interests. Miroslav Volf, the Henry B. Wright Professor of Systematic Theology at Divinity School and director of the Center for Faith & Culture, will deliver the keynote address. The event is open to the Yale community free of charge, although a small fee may be charged for events that include a meal; the fee for those outside Yale is $149, which includes meals. Registration information is available at www.yale.edu/faith/initiatives/esw_cmdl.html.
This gathering will serve as the 13th annual consultation of the Coalition for Ministry in Daily Life.
Information about the Yale Center for Faith & Culture can be found at www.yale.edu/faith and through the center's free eNewsletter, which can be ordered on the web.
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