Sabbaticalling!

Dear Friends,

Hopefully by now you’ve heard some talk about the Sabbatical that Tim and I will be taking this year. Back in 2020, pre-COVID, we had begun the process of applying for a grant from the Lily Foundation, to support a Sabbatical we were then planning for the summer of 2021. We were indeed awarded that grant, but postponed the Sabbatical for a year because of limitations COVID imposed on travel. Although we are still braced to have to change things again, we’ve begun planning (and making reservations!) for activities to take place between May 2, 2022 and September 9, 2022.

Why a Sabbatical, you may ask? The word, is, of course, related to the word, “Sabbath,” a day of rest, or, as theologian Walter Brueggeman once coined: “Covenantal work stoppage.” The recommended practice is for Pastors to take a Sabbatical every 7 years; very few actually do, and we are no exception. Tim took one for 3 months in 2001, when he studied ways of using digital media and storytelling in Worship; I took 2 mini- Sabbaticals in 2003 and 2004, following my Master of Social Work studies, where I studied ways of combining spirituality and counseling, and particularly in relation to Domestic Violence. Over the past 20 years, we periodically discussed “sabbaticalling” again—either together or separately —but the time never seemed right. Then, we became aware of the Lily grant opportunity, and decided to begin the process. The idea is for Pastors to get the opportunity to engage in spiritual activities where we don’t have the responsibility of leading others in those activities as well.

Lily encourages truly restful Sabbaticals—so, not studious experiences so much as times for rest and spiritual rejuvenation. The theme of ours is “Thin Places”—where the veil between Heaven and Earth, the physical and the spiritual, is thin, and so we will be travelling to a number of places known to be “thin,” sometimes engaging in programs offered by those locations (ie, in Iona and Taize) and sometimes simply taking in the spiritual essence of the location. The last month of the Sabbatical will be spent hiking part of the Camino del Santiago in Spain (we’ll hike the one known as the Camino Primitivo, and in preparation we will engage in some other hikes in various places.

The grant is providing generous funds for our trip, and also provides funds for the congregation to secure pastoral leadership in our absence, and to do some activities that pair well with what we are doing. While we are gone, a friend and colleague of ours, Rev. Jonathan Vanderbeck, will be leading Worship and otherwise providing some pastoral presence as needed. We feel good about leaving you “in good hands,”—Jonathan will provide a compassionate pastoral presence, and, we hope will also challenge you a bit, sharing a worldview that is perhaps a bit different from what Tim and I bring, demographically and generationally.

The Sabbatical Planning Committee—those who originally worked on the grant with us have been joined by others to make actual plans—are busy planning a variety of experiences and learning opportunities, along with fellowship times. Lily requires a celebrational “send off,” which we’ll be doing the evening of May 1, and some kind of “re-entry” event, which will be an all church retreat at Camp Fowler the weekend of September 10-11. Lily also provides funds to subsidize these activities, so, cost to individuals or families will be minimal.

So far, Tim and I have made our reservations for Iona in May (https://iona.org.uk/island-centres/iona-abbey-programme/), and Taize (https://www.taize.fr/en_rubrique9.html) in July, booked our flight to Ireland, and made our first hotel reservation in West Galway (Ireland, not New York!). We are currently looking into a short “camino” type walk a bit south of there, called the Kerry Way (https://kerrycamino.com/about/), which includes part of the Ring of Kerry and part of the Dingle peninsula. After that, we’ll go to Solas Bridhe (https://solasbhride.ie/) , a shrine to St. Brigid, where we visited on our 2018 family trip, and I’ve wanted to go back to. We’ll stay in a hermitage hut and walk in the footsteps of Brigid, whom I was once told was either a Celtic Goddess, or a female Catholic Bishop—or both! From then on I knew I had to get to know her better.

Each month from now till May, we’ll provide some information about what’s being planned—what Tim and I will be doing, and what the committee has in store. And please, as ever—if you have questions—ask!!!!