☕ Coffee and Conversation: Rev. Dr. Eunil David Cho & Rev. Marisa Sifontes on Calling, Community & Formation

In this episode of Coffee and Conversation, hosted by Candler Career Services, we welcome Rev. Dr. Eunil David Cho and The Rev. Marisa Sifontes, JD for a rich and deeply reflective conversation about calling, second‑career discernment, and theological education as formation.Rev. Sifontes, an Episcopal priest and Associate Rector at St. James Church in Manhattan, reflects on her mid‑career transition from a 20‑year legal career into ministry, navigating seminary with children, and discovering how God uses every skill and season of life. Rev. Dr. Cho, Assistant Professor of Spiritual Care and Counseling at Boston University School of Theology and an ordained Presbyterian minister, shares how his journey as an educator, pastor, scholar, and immigrant shaped his vocational path and his work with refugee and undocumented communities.Recorded live with students, this episode explores seminary as a place to bring your full self—questions, uncertainty, and all—while learning to show up with humility, courage, and care.☕ In this episode, we explore:• Second‑career discernment and mid‑life vocational pivots• Balancing family, formation, and ministry• Con Ed, CPE, and learning to “show up” in unfamiliar spaces• Ministry beyond the church: law, education, refugee support, and advocacy• Integrating lived experience into scholarship and pastoral care• The role of community in sustaining ministry before and after seminary• Seminary as a safe place to struggle, ask questions, and become wholeRev. Dr. Cho also reflects on his book (adapted from his dissertation), which centers the stories of undocumented young people and draws from his theological formation, pastoral practice, and lived experience.Coffee and Conversation, hosted by Candler Career Services, creates space for alumni wisdom, student listening, and honest conversations about faith, vocation, and becoming.Grab your coffee and join the conversation.