About the Book
Tending Call addresses the evolving landscape of theological education and ministry by offering a fresh vision for vocational discernment that critically engages with power dynamics, privilege, and marginalization. Inspired by the liberative pedagogy of Paulo Freire, this book asserts that theological education should empower students to reflect on their social locations, discern their unique callings, and act as faithful agents of personal and systemic transformation. It emphasizes the necessity of a holistic approach to vocational discernment that integrates spiritual formation with contextual education, attending to the intersections of identity.
Through a tapestry of personal narratives, spiritual wisdom, theological reflection, and thoughtful prompts, this book creates a space for readers to engage deeply with their own stories and experiences, discerning how their unique gifts and callings intersect with the larger work of liberation and social transformation. Organized around the evocative metaphor of seeds, growth, and abundance, the book mirrors the organic unfolding of the discernment process, inviting readers to cultivate a more authentic and embodied sense of purpose. As the author has been teaching courses on vocational discernment in seminary contextual education for over a decade, the book is organized intentionally for the practice of discernment in personal contexts and small-group contexts. The recommended readings and appended materials at the end further reflect the commitment to practical resourcing.
About the Author :
L. Callid Keefe-Perry is assistant professor of contextual education and public theology, Boston College Clough School of Theology and Ministry. There, he directs the supervised ministry program for the master of arts degree. His areas of research include theologies of imagination, critical pedagogy, moral injury, and ministerial formation. He previously served as assistant director of contextual education, Boston University School of Theology, where he earned his PhD in theological studies, concentrating in practical theology and religious education. He is the author of Way to Water: A Theopoetics Primer (2014) and Sense of the Possible: An Introduction to Theology and Imagination (2023). Callid serves in the public ministry of The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) and is a member of the Religious Education Association, American Academy of Religion, the Association of Practical Theology, and the Association for Theological Field Education.
Review :
"This wonderful book combines vision and spiritual wisdom with common sense and practical advice. It will accompany you as you 'tend your call' and equip you to walk alongside others discerning their vocations. The compassionate companionship it offers is extremely precious in today's complex world." - Heather Walton, Professor of Theology and Creative Practice, University of Glasgow "With a pastoral sensitivity, Keefe-Perry honors the best aspects of multiple traditions, gently eschews a one-size-fits-all approach, and champions the liberating, mutual, dynamic, and ever-evolving work of vocational discernment. Complete with rich and thought-provoking exercises, this book suggests a communal approach that regularly seeks equilibrium over and against mythical notions of balance or integration. It recognizes that our call changes over time and invites readers to celebrate discernment as a co-creative process with God, inexorably bound to the pursuit of human flourishing." -Stephen Cady, President Brite Divinity School
"In his new book, Tending Call: A Liberation Theology of Vocation, Callid Keefe-Perry invites us all to walk with him as we reimagine calling beyond individual survival and success and towards a more communal and collective liberation. Deeply rooted in practical ministry and liberation theology, this necessary work reframes vocation as an act of tending - an ongoing, communal practice of care, justice and discernment in a world with an evolving landscape that is marked by inequity and rapid change. Keefe-Perry brilliantly weaves together lived experience, pedagogical wisdom and theological insight to guide us toward a more liberative understanding of how we are called to live, work, serve and have our being. Grounded in the realities of today, this book serves as a practical and justice-oriented guide to vocation as a dynamic process open to both disruption and renewal. Offering practices to consider, questions for reflection and an appendix that is an educator's dream, this book is an essential resource for educators (especially those in supervised ministry, contextual education, and theology in practice), ministers, those discerning their own call and those wondering how vocation is shaped by the intertwining of faith and freedom." - Lakisha R Lockhart, PhD, Associate Professor of Christian Education, Union Presbyterian Seminary, Acting Director of the Katie Geneva Cannon Center for Womanist Leadership, Author of Doing Theological Double Dutch, Co-Editor of Theopoetics in Color, Co-Editor of Nobody's Perfect, www.lakisharlockhart.com
"Tending Call serves as a compelling 'testimonio' that affirms the process of discovering one's calling in community while simultaneously challenging readers to clarify the many sources of that calling. It is a must-read for ministers tending to the signs of the times today."- Luis Melgar, Director of Campus Ministry, Assumption University
"What Keefe-Perry has gifted us is nothing short of revolutionary. Drawing upon the wisdom of tradition to meet the longings of our present moment, this book breathes life into how we engage identity, vocation, and the spiritual journey. More broadly, these pages invite liberative possibilities across the whole of theological education--and dare I say education in general--to reclaim formation as a deeply embodied, community-rooted, and hope-filled endeavor." - Kristina Lizardy-Hajbi, Associate Professor of Leadership and Formation, Iliff School of Theology
"Callid Keefe-Perry's Tending Call reframes vocation as a liberatory practice, integrating spiritual formation with structural critique. It offers a guide that connects personal direction with collective transformation in ministry and theological education. This powerful book is a vital resource for anyone who yearns to understand how their sense of identity and purpose intersects with God's liberating work in the world." - Rev. Dr. John Senior, Assistant Dean of Vocational Formation and Doctoral Education, Wake Forest University
"At last--a book that refuses to reduce vocation to career counseling or individual self-actualization! L. Callid Keefe-Perry has given progressive Christians a robust liberation theology of vocation that grounds our sense of call in solidarity with the marginalized and the urgent work of collective transformation. Callid doesn't shy away from hard truths: that systems of power deform our calling, that anger at injustice is spiritually appropriate, that discernment demands critical analysis of oppressive structures. Tending Call dismantles the privileged assumptions dominating vocational literature and replaces them with a vision rooted in justice, praxis, and the conviction that our liberation is bound up together. This isn't armchair theology or disembodied activism--it's a holistic approach honoring body, heart, spirit, and mind as equally vital sources of wisdom. For Christians hungry for faith that transforms both self and society, this book is your roadmap." - Tripp Fuller, Host of Homebrewed Christianity & Visiting Professor of Theology and Culture at Luther Seminary
"L. Callid Keefe-Perry's Tending Call offers us liberative perspectives on vocation. Through lived experience and a critical engagement with the world's injustices, Keefe-Perry invites readers to rediscover the true meaning of calling. Unlike traditional treatments of vocation, this book broadens our vision and reorients our hearts, inviting us to rediscover and reimagine the true meaning of our calling. Tending Call is not just a reflection--it's a revelation." - Sung Hee, Chang, Associate Professor of Supervised Ministry, Union Presbyterian Seminary
"The ground beneath our churches and seminaries is shifting quickly, crumbling our institutions and disorienting of our moral compasses--and yet, God still calls us. At this moment of both danger and opportunity for theological education, Keefe-Perry shows us a way to engage vocation that tends lovingly to the rich and varied stories, contexts, and paths of those who embark on theological education today. This not only positions us more effectively for our current moment; it may just point us towards what might be emerging from the rubble." - Elizabeth W. Corrie, PhD, Professor in the Practice of Youth Education and Peacebuilding and Director of the Hybrid MDIV Program, Candler School of Theology, Emory University
"In a world desperately in need of faith-filled and faith-ful people, this book comes along to offer robust theology and theory, alongside practical exercises and compassionate support for digging deeply into what our "call" might be. What can it mean both to lament and yet to hope? And how might we weave that journey throughout our lives? These questions require complex engagement with a range of theological insights and theoretical frames -- and you will find all of that in this magnificent book."- Mary E. Hess, PhD, Professor of Educational Leadership and Chair of the Leadership Division, Luther Seminary
"In Tending Call: A Liberation Theology of Vocation, L. Callid Keefe-Perry gives us a great gift. It is well researched and practical, grounded in wisdom from traditional and nontraditional approaches to vocation and discernment, and full of refreshing honest reflection. Keefe-Perry weaves the personal and communal aspects of call, offering a beautiful, disquieting, and practical view of what it means to wrestle with questions of meaning and purpose in a broken world, and he provides us with practical tools for implementing these ideas in our own lives. This book will become a go-to resource on vocation, discernment and calling." - Christina Repoley, Vice President of Program, Forum for Theological Exploration and Founder, Quaker Voluntary Service
"Faithfully discerning vocational call is often disruptive, discomforting, and disorienting. This book is clear, concise, and compelling, meeting us in the murk where we grovel, second-guess, and grasp for courage, compassion, and creativity. Here is a gift for those of us weary and wandering souls." - Rev. Zachary Moon, PhD, Brite Divinity School
"Keefe Perry's book came like an answer to a prayer when I was personally wrestling with the vocational question of "what is my work to do in the world?" I felt so seen in this text, so validated in the expansive offerings of language, stories, and frameworks that I didn't even know I needed. I also felt profoundly challenged, both practically and theologically, to stretch my vocational responsibility and imagination to meet the urgent call for collective liberation. This book is heartfelt, ambitious, grounded, and divinely inspired: I feel notably more equipped and confident stepping out of its pages and into my own vocational journey than I did prior to reading it." - Madeline Bugeau-Heartt, Harvard Divinity School
"This is the book I've been hoping someone would write! Tending Call fills a missing piece in the literature of spiritual vocational formation, offering a clear, justice-oriented framework to help people discern God's call for their lives in the thick of this complex world. Rooted in Paulo Freire's pedagogy of liberation and enriched by the author's beautifully written stories, this book reframes "calling" as an always-evolving practice of listening, reflection, and transformation, attentive to issues of power and identity. I will be using this book in my own theological education classrooms, knowing that it will support seminarians' growth and development. But I'll also be purchasing it as a gift for any friend trying to discern their next best steps in life or ministry, trusting that Keefe-Perry's vision will offer them deep hope that God's call is always near, alive, and accessible in every one of us."- Rev. Dr. Anastasia Kidd, Director of Contextual Education & Lecturer, Boston University School of Theology
"For educators, clergy, and religious leaders, Keefe-Perry offers liberative practices and frameworks that empower individuals and communities to discern their vocation toward freedom. His emphasis on embodied practice echoes the spiritual depth of Henri Nouwen, while his engagement with systemic Powers evokes the prophetic insight of Walter Wink." - Patrick B. Reyes - Award-winning author of Nobody Cries When We Die and The Purpose Gap
"Tending Call is an invitation to receive the liberating call of God on our lives, communities, and institutions. Combining scholarly and practical insights, Keefe-Perry has written a book that invites readers to imagine a hopeful future for faith, one that is attentive to God's call and is carried by faith communities who nourish vocation within their midst. This book can be a guide to those discerning God's call and a companion to faith communities and educational institutions who nurture God's call through liberative practice." - Dustin D. Benac, author of Adaptive Church: Collaboration and Community in a Changing World and Clinical Assistant Professor at Baylor University
"Keefe-Perry masterfully weaves liberation theology, critical pedagogy, and practical wisdom into a transformative guide that reframes vocation not as individual calling but as communal work toward justice and healing. Brilliant and yet accessible, this wonderful resource challenges traditional approaches to ministry while offering concrete tools for discernment that honor and center voices historically marginalized in and by theological education." - Colin Yuckman, Senior Director of Hybrid Programs, Duke Divinity School, Administrative Faculty
"In the chaos of 21st-century life, we hear a call for meaning and purpose. Our journey through life and work is often like walking a winding garden path through all seasons of life. Tending Call restores the art and skill needed for a truly liberating journey of spiritual well-being and recognition of gifts and calling. Most importantly, it offers the chance to imagine how you might become part of transforming belonging, ensuring equity, and building truly intercultural communities. Through creative expression, intentional and accessible journey mapping, and reflective questions, this book offers a comprehensive Liberation Theology of Vocation. All newcomers to discerning a call to ministry and those seeking vocational renewal will find this very human, approachable, lyrical, and poetic book to be a guide and a source of inspiration. Whether you're faculty, a student, or seeking to deepen your spiritual life, this book offers valuable insights. Callid states, "Vocational discernment is not just about making career choices but about integrating all aspects of one's life (spiritual, emotional, physical, and social) into a cohesive sense of calling...it is a shared journey of discovery that reflects God's incarnational love." - Jeanne Marie Mudd MDiv, MC, PCC, founder, Watershed Ways: Transforming life & careers, enabling discernment while cultivating life on purpose, author, minister, and retreat leader
What if all our lives are marked by an ache for wholeness and integration? What would it be like if educators brought this yearning into relief in a way that liberated call and vocation in their students, and, perhaps, even in themselves? In Tending Call, L. Callid Keefe-Perry guides teachers and students in a way of ministry discernment that shows what theological integration actually looks like. An evocative and image-rich text that moves with ease and interpretation of Catholic and Protestant theological sources, psychology, ecology, and sacred text, Keefe-Perry also supplies practical tools for implementation in the classroom. I wish I had this text to use with the hundreds of undergraduate and graduate students I have had the privilege to accompany!" - Kate Lassiter, Senior Director of Lifelong Learning and the Doctor of Ministry Program, Meadville Lombard Theological School
"L. Callid Keefe-Perry thoughtfully attends to the material conditions and purpose gaps that have prevented historically marginalized peoples from engaging in liberative vocational discernment. Having worked and studied with Callid, Tending Call: A Liberation Theology of Vocation felt deeply familiar to me, and I am excited that readers will have the opportunity to explore, pray with, and perhaps even dance with the world behind the text - one filled with critical hope, deep theological insights, and practices that might make us more human." - Joe Penny, assistant chaplain, College of the Holy Cross, Massachusetts
