Tending Call: A Liberation Theology of Vocation author L. Callid Keef-Perry Review Sung Hee Chang

Abstract

The pioneering womanist theologian and ethicist Katie Geneva Cannon often reminded
her students that the deeper meaning of liberation theology lies in the liberation of
theology itself. In her view, liberation theology, properly understood, requires, above all,
freeing theology from the limitations and distortions imposed by social systems of
oppression that have historically shaped theological discourse. This insight provides a
guiding lens for engaging with Tending Call: A Liberation Theology of Vocation by L. Callid
Keefe-Perry. In this work, Keefe-Perry invites readers to reconsider the meaning of
vocation through the perspective of liberation theology, presenting calling not as a static,
fixed endpoint but as a dynamic, evolving journey of discernment that unfolds within
particular social, cultural, and communal contexts. Through its process-oriented
approach—which fosters critical reflection on personal identity, social location, and
structures of power—the book enacts the very work Cannon described: the ongoing
liberation of theological reflection on vocation itself.