This desire to serve took on various forms. Sometimes it was simply a desire to help out in a behind the scenes capacity, like when I started altar serving at Mass (highlight of third grade). Other times, the service was more driven towards solidarity and understanding, such as the 30 Hour Famine I participated in every year in high school.
When it came time to look for colleges, availability of service opportunities was one of my criteria. I don’t think I ever thought about it in concrete terms, but in all the mailings and campus tours, any mentions of a service-friendly environment stood out to me. In the back of my mind, I’d begun to realize that a major part of my Christian ministry was to serve.
During my senior year of college, in the midst of looking for a job, I was concerned about how I was going to be able to fulfill my desire for service "in the real world." Sometimes I felt self-conscious about my major and its lack of immediately obvious benefits to the world. A bunch of my friends were going into various service programs after they graduated to do things like teach at understaffed schools or volunteer at medical clinics.
When it came time to look for colleges, availability of service opportunities was one of my criteria. I don’t think I ever thought about it in concrete terms, but in all the mailings and campus tours, any mentions of a service-friendly environment stood out to me. In the back of my mind, I’d begun to realize that a major part of my Christian ministry was to serve.
During my senior year of college, in the midst of looking for a job, I was concerned about how I was going to be able to fulfill my desire for service "in the real world." Sometimes I felt self-conscious about my major and its lack of immediately obvious benefits to the world. A bunch of my friends were going into various service programs after they graduated to do things like teach at understaffed schools or volunteer at medical clinics.
Compared to those options, my eight-to-five office job made me feel like I was turning my back on my calling to serve. I felt that I was settling for the comfort of a regular paycheck instead of pursuing options more directly aligned with service. Despite my reservations, I accepted a job with a software consulting firm in Chicago.
After moving to Chicago, I had an easy time finding service opportunities outside of work. There are plenty of problems in big cities, which meant plenty of challenges and opportunities to address them. I joined a parish with an active young adult community, full of opportunities to serve both internally and externally. I got involved with a local domestic violence shelter, helping plan fundraising events.
After moving to Chicago, I had an easy time finding service opportunities outside of work. There are plenty of problems in big cities, which meant plenty of challenges and opportunities to address them. I joined a parish with an active young adult community, full of opportunities to serve both internally and externally. I got involved with a local domestic violence shelter, helping plan fundraising events.
For a while, I thought that maybe this was just how it was going to be. Work was work, and I could find opportunities to be a good Christian and live out my ministry in my non-work time. It wasn’t until Dan asked me to write this blog post that I really did much reflection on those conflicting feelings I had during senior year, but looking back, I think my concern was based mostly on the idea that my job was my ministry.
I was feeling a struggle between doing what I had spent four years getting good at (programming) and what I felt called to do (serve others). What I have discovered since then is that not only can my ministry exist outside of my job, but that I can also incorporate my desire to serve as a part of my job as well.
Not only could I bring my ministry into my job, but it was something I’d been doing already without realizing it. When I empty all the mugs in the dishwasher (not just the one I need) or take the time to help a new hire get familiar with how certain aspects of our office life works, those are opportunities for me to help out and serve. They may not be big items – I’m not about to solve world hunger with some sweet HTML – but they are still ways that I can further live out my ministry. Ways that I can incorporate my ministry into all parts of my life.
Not only could I bring my ministry into my job, but it was something I’d been doing already without realizing it. When I empty all the mugs in the dishwasher (not just the one I need) or take the time to help a new hire get familiar with how certain aspects of our office life works, those are opportunities for me to help out and serve. They may not be big items – I’m not about to solve world hunger with some sweet HTML – but they are still ways that I can further live out my ministry. Ways that I can incorporate my ministry into all parts of my life.
Jerome Hall graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 2012 with a BS in Computer Science. While at Notre Dame, Jerome was a Resident Assistant in Duncan Hall, a Mentor-in-Faith with Notre Dame Vision, a sports photographer for Scholastic Magazine, and belonged to the Disc Golf and Juggling Clubs. Originally from Fort Branch, IN, Jerome now lives in Chicago, IL, where he works as an associate at Pariveda Solutions doing software consulting. Jerome can be contacted at jeromephall@gmail.com.
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