The 2023 Annual Faith + Work Conference was quite a success! Join us in reliving moments from this thoughtful gathering in the heart of Downtown Los Angeles.
Worship for Workers
I grew up in a nominally Catholic home. My family rarely darkened the doors of the church, save Midnight Mass. This singular experience of church stood out in my young mind. Nowhere else did I find myself in an entirely other-worldly space. The architecture, the art, the strange crowd reciting things I didn’t know—it all struck me as odd. But most striking were the priests dressed in their ornate vestments. Who were these ominous people?
What comes to your mind when you think of a priest? Do you conjure up long beards and clerical collars? And what comes to your mind when you think of the work of a priest? Do you picture someone hearing a confession, performing a Mass, or standing before an altar with a sacrifice? For most of us, a priest is an austere individual, and their work is about as different from our own as we can imagine.
But is it? What if I told you that every Christian is a priest? Read on as we dive into how God’s people can learn to reclaim their priestly callings for Monday through Friday.
Making Peace With Work
I like to read. But I am a slow reader. This has left me with a growing stack of unread must-reads which sometimes feels like a metaphor for other areas of life. Elements in our work lives can feel similar. We often wish much of our labor could be different, better, or more.
I recently slowed down and re-read Kara Martin’s Workship: How to Use Your Work to Worship God. The resources she provides help keep us moving forward in balance with all that God desires, especially in our work lives. Read on as we explore her insights and how they provide a very realistic overview of how to have an integrated life of faith and work.
A Prayer for the Film Industry
Last week at Reimagining Work Vol. 10: Film in LA, our moderator and CFWLA Advisory Board member, Caleb Monroe, artfully walked our panelists through a conversation on how the work of those in film echoes the work of the Creator and how filmmaking itself provides ways for believers in the industry to serve + love their neighbors. Read on as Caleb graces us all again with a prayer of encouragement and blessing.
Longing for Joyful Labor — Advent Week Four
The last three decades have seen an exponential demand for jobs in the creative sector. Indeed, some are so desperate to find “creative” employment that they will take on demanding internships with no pay. But nobody works in the service industry for free. Jobs as a cashier, food server and housekeeper are viewed as less rewarding. Yet a joyful cashier I met at Target was telling a different story. Rather than her work hampering her joy, her joy transformed her job.
How does this kind of joy at work happen? How is it possible to maintain consistent joy in the face of monotonous, discouraging, or difficult work?
In our final week—Week Four of our Advent blog series—we reflect on a Target cashier, Isaiah, and Brother Lawerence to see how to engage work in a different way and experience the fullness of the Lord’s joy in the process.
Longing for Peaceful Labor — Advent Week Three
It is staggering to think of the vast amount of time and effort that goes into resolving workplace conflict. Will it ever end? The prophet Isaiah believes it will.
In Week Three of our Advent blog series, we find hope in Isaiah 2 and reflect on the promise that upon His return, Christ will act as the ultimate adjudicator—bringing peace to workplaces around the world.
Longing for Fruitful Labor — Advent Week Two
There is an incredible variety of kinds of work—from farming, to finance, to the fitness industry. But one thing all work has in common is the fruit we seek to gain from our labor.
In Week Two of our Advent blog series, Robert Covolo explores the story of Sisyphus alongside the words of Isaiah to unpack the longing we all experience—in the immediate sense and in the enduring sense—for meaningful work.
Longing for Leadership — Advent Week One
A Prayer for Soul Replenishment and Blessing
At our recent event, Reimagining Work Vol. 9: Spiritual Disciplines for Our Current Moment, Margaret Lindsey—our own Co-Director here at CFWLA—blessed attendees with thoughtful teaching and guidance on how to infuse our daily lives with more stillness as well as what it looks like to cultivate space to commune with the Lord. Read on as Margaret graces us all again with a prayer of replenishment and blessing.
Help in Our Screen-Saturated Age
A smartphone is a wonderful thing. It provides immediate access to all kinds of information, plays any music you like, keeps you in touch with friends and family from around the world, and has innumerable apps that can help you keep your life organized. It’s little wonder they are so popular. But there is a drawback. Smartphones bring with them a demand for our attention. Read on as Robert Covolo dives into The Common Rule and its recent impact on his life.
I Know I Matter to God, but Does My Work? Part III
So far in Part I & Part II, we’ve reflected on how God values our work since aspects of his nature as a worker get expressed as we work. We also saw that the purpose for our work is rooted in our primary call to glorify God above all else in all we do, including our daily work. Work is much more than simply a means to a better end outside of the workplace such as providing for ourselves or church.
However, we all know an idealized view of work hardly addresses the brokenness of our everyday experience. Read on as we conclude this series and see how God uses broken and unfinished people to accomplish his will and purpose in the world.
