Here I am, Send me
This part of the discernment process - “Here I am, send me” - focuses on listening and discerning ministry for each and every member of the group. One aspect of this process is learning how to engage in discernment, learning how to listen to God’s voice and the voice of the Holy Spirit speaking through Scripture and through other voices. Therefore it is important that every member of the group fully participate in all the exercises. In these series of sessions all members of the group are considered seekers.
For those who are discerning a call to ordination, this first part of the discernment process - “Here I am, send me” - must be completed before moving on to the subsequent sections, even if the parish has a discernment group in place who have worked with others. Since a group changes even with the change of one person, the process should never be short-circuited.
This section - “here I am, send me” is for all baptized ministries, not only those who are trying to discern a call to ordained ministry. It is appropriate for vestries and commissions and other groups in the congregation as well as for members of the congregation who wish to seek in a more organized way God’s will for their lives.