First Days

Perhaps you were wondering - I know I certainly was - how I would spend the first few days of this blessed four month sabbatical.  It was a funny feeling returning home after the wonderful send-off picnic on Sunday and realizing that I did not have to really do anything - especially anything church-related.  I could read the newspaper if I wanted.  I could sit on the porch.  For once, I had nothing on my proverbial "To Do List." 

It was a nice feeling, but I can handle that "do nothing" feeling for about a day!  I actually did return to the church office on Monday morning to finish up some last minute things, and in the afternoon, Joe and Paddy and I put up the patio shelter.  Actually, Joe and Paddy put up the shelter while I puttered around one of the Sunday School classrooms! 

Though that is my last trip to the church until October, it will be a while before I don't instinctively think of my congregation.  I realized that as I drove by Springbrook Rehab the other day, and my first thought was to stop by and visit Diane.  And then I realized that to do so would be to drastically overstep the parameters of this renewal time - something that would be beneficial to no one, including myself.  I share that anecdote with you, so that you can realize the shift in perspective that I am making.  It is a good shift, of course, but I think it will be awhile before conversations about church and church-related "stuff" are not interjected in our meal conversations!

One thing I really want to work on during my renewal time is learning to take one day at a time, living more in the moment than I am used to.  I want to savor each morning, afternoon, and evening rather than always looking ahead to the next trip, the next bit of preparation for the labyrinth, etc.  I am really glad I did so much planning and arranging before this sabbatical began. I know that if I am constantly looking ahead the weeks will fly by, and before I know it, these four months will be over, I will be ordering bulletins for Thanksgiving and Advent, and I won't know where the time has gone.

In general, I have spent these first couple of days relaxing in the best way that I know how.  I have been walking most every day.  I even began wearing my hiking boots in preparation for our Peru trip.  Good thing as they had been accumulating dust in my closet for quite some time now, and they are a bit heavier than I remembered them to be!  I had a long lunch with a friend, spent time with my parents, and read more of a wonderful book entitled Reunion: How We Heal Our Broken Connection To The Earth by Ellen Gunter and Ted Carter. 

I have worked alot around the yard and farm - transplanting day lilies, digging more of my flower garden, weeding the vegetable garden, and enjoying this place that Joe and I call home in a way I have not really been able to before.

Life is good!  Blessings to all of you!

Rev. Nancy

My Sabbatical Send-off Sermon

For those who were not in church last Sunday (June 26th), here's the sabbatical send-off sermon I preached.  The text is Matthew 10:40-42:

QUOTE:  “A sabbatical is a gift from the Church….and it is intended that during a sabbatical (pastors) will do something different which will inform and perhaps re-enthuse them in their ministry.”

           Well, here we are.  It is June 26^th, a date that seemed so contrived and arbitrary when I mapped out my sabbatical plans a year ago as part of our proposal to the Lilly Endowment National Clergy Renewal Grant Program. 

June 26^th – a date that we as a church family have been planning for and talking about for well over a year now. 

June 26^th – a date that, for me and I suspect for you, has always seemed somehow in the future, out there, a tad bit unreal and unreachable. 

And now it is here.  It is today.  And I, for one, can not yet really fathom it – or what its significance might be for the life of our church.

QUOTE:  “. . . a sabbatical year can more properly be viewed as the professional equivalent to crop rotation. Both provide unique opportunities for generating more vigorous growth in the next cycle. And in many instances the post-sabbatical "crop" represents quite a striking departure from what was there before."

            As a church family, we have come a long way since I first proposed to the Council that we apply for this $49, 206.00 grant (a hair less than $15,000 which you, this congregation, will use for your own renewal).  First, we worked through the expected “But we’re just a small church competing against all the big churches that have done so much more than we have” complex.

Then we formed a Renewal Committee, whose members worked long and hard to solicit input from all of you about experiences and programs you believed a small congregation could pull off during these 16 weeks that I will be away. 

Then there was the budget piece.  While I was figuring out the cost of taxi cabs in Edinburgh, Scotland, you were pricing everything from a pound of hamburger for the Send-Off Picnic to the cost of a bus to get all of you to Peru, Maine.  We even had talked about the need for a Plan B in case the Lilly Endowment chose not to award us a grant. 

Yes – we have come a long way.  Most of us, at least, now understand the difference between a sabbatical and a vacation. 

We understand that the purpose of this time away for me is hardly to veg out in some warm and sunny place with the only intention being to lounge around a pool all day, work for the perfect tan, and sip drinks with little plastic umbrellas.

QUOTE:  “(Sabbatical) is a time to immerse yourself in a different environment, try new things, reassess your priorities, and look at your life from a different perspective. You can fulfill your dream of living in Paris…., go on an archaeological dig in Malta, write your novel, check items off your bucket list…, or simply reconnect with yourself.  In addition, in order to create the life of your dreams it's necessary to slow down and listen to what your heart and soul are trying to tell you.”

We have come to intuitively realize that the word “vacation” comes from a Latin root meaning “to be empty”, which is not what sabbatical time is about at all.  Though I will certainly be emptying myself of my responsibilities and obligations as your pastor, I will in turn be filling those places with a sustained meditation on the relationship between sacred space and worship.

And I will be doing so with the intent of returning to you in October, not empty but full, full of the spirit of God, full of positive energy, full of my sense of call to you and to this church, full of enthusiasm to share my adventures with you and eager to hear in turn of your experiences. 

That is why the Committee chose to call these weeks our joint renewal time because in the end, that is what they are all about – an opportunity for both you and me to become renewed.

Early on in this planning process, I realized that we were approaching this renewal time very differently than most pastors and churches.  Fran has said several times that she remembers sabbaticals in other churches as times when she would be mildly irritated at the pastor for leaving and months when the church simply waited in limbo until it was all over and they could pick up and move forward again.

QUOTE:  “More and more I have come to believe a sabbatical may give all of us a chance to step back from each other, reevaluate our work in this place, and renew our sense of call to each other and to our particular place.  I hope our absence from each other will renew not just me as the pastor, but the work of the church as a whole.”

For me, these next four months are not my renewal time.  They are your renewal time as well.  This journey is not to be my experience, but rather ours. 

These weeks are your chance for you to reflect on who you are as a faith community and what your call to ministry is – which is what I will also be doing. They are weeks to strengthen your bonds as a church family even as I will be strengthening mine with Joe, Heather, Paddy, and Tim.  They are weeks to explore the notion of sacred space and to worship in new and exciting venues and ways – just as I will be doing in Peru and Scotland and Canada and in my own back yard.  In many ways, I am as excited for your adventures as I am for mine.  And that, in an odd sort of way, makes me feel really good about leaving.

As you might expect, I have been thinking about this June 26^th sermon for quite some time.  And I will admit that I did wonder what I would do if today’s Scripture lesson had absolutely nothing to do with my leave-taking or with our joint and complementary renewal journey. 

Lucky for me that the morning reading is all about welcoming – because I believe that it is ever so important for you to approach this renewal time with a welcoming spirit. That includes, of course, the sabbatical pastorate of Rev. Anita as well as all the upcoming renewal events – from Val Tutsen reflecting on sacred space through engaging you in some amazing worshipful things right here in our sanctuary to Chan our master gardener sharing the creative process behind the sacred space he fashioned in his own back yard to having a chance to walk a labyrinth to outdoor worship opportunities to being a part of a visioning and dreaming discussion about our own sacred space with Terry DeWan, a landscape architect experienced in working with churches.

How we choose (and it is a choice) to define our approach to this renewal time is critical.  If these weeks are to be truly enriching for you as individuals and for us as a church and if these months are to be ones that we will look back on fondly and positively years from now, then we need to approach this sabbatical in a spirit of welcome.

QUOTE:  “Welcome to Walmart!  Welcome to Sydney’s – table for two? Welcome to Maine – the way life should be – and open for business!

No – I do not mean welcome in that traditionally American consumerist sense.  I mean welcome in the sense of being truly open to gift we have received, to the blessing that the Lilly Endowment grant affords to us.  To welcome and to be open are two sides of the same coin.

QUOTE:  “Embrace all life has to offer, for one spends a long time dead.”

I challenge each one of you to consciously choose to welcome the Lilly grant and to be open to this renewal time. You see, and this is the point of this sermon, today is a milestone, but whether or not it is a significant one in the life of our church depends on all of you. 

So – as your departing pastor, here is what I ask of you – and these caveats all touch on things, by the way, that some of you have told me are sabbatical landmines:

1.                            “You better get a good sabbatical pastor, or you won’t have a congregation when you get back.”  Rev. Anita is your pastor.  Your Sabbatical Pastor Search Committee chose her carefully, and I believe that she is an excellent fit here.  She and I visited with Diane yesterday, which confirmed my hunch.  I have the upmost trust in her ability to nurture, pastor, and lead you.  Treat her as you would treat me – with courtesy, respect, openness, and that special warmth that defines us as a congregation.

2.                            “You will lose half your congregation if you go on a sabbatical.”  Please refrain from using this sabbatical time as an opportunity to try out other churches or to take a breather from going to church at all.  You know, it is the “when the cat’s away the mice will play” syndrome.  We are embarking on an exciting journey, and it will not be the same without each one of you.

3.                            “People won’t participate in the events because we have never done those sorts of things before.”  I pray that none of you will sit through the next four months with your arms crossed, shaking your head no.  Dabble a bit in the unknown.  You will survive – trust me.

4.                            “Why should I be involved?  I mean, what’s in it for me?”  I can not tell you precisely what is in it for you.  However, I can tell you that there will be nothing in it for you unless you choose to be truly a part of the journey.  That choice, however, is yours alone.

5.                            “Nothing good ever comes out of a sabbatical.”  Please - no whining and no negative energy!  That is so destructive.  However, if something does disgruntle you, rather than discuss it in the parking lot, take it to your pastor, moderator, or a deacon.

In conclusion, it is so important for me as we begin our renewal journey that you know that you will continue to be in my thoughts and in my prayers - and I hope that Joe and I will be in yours as well.  Even though we will be out of sight, you will not be out of my mind or my heart.  Because we are one in Christ Jesus, we are one church family connected to each other by the Gospel message by which we strive to live our lives. 

God’s promises bind us together, no matter where we are.  When I worship these next four months, be it through a ceremony at Machu Picchu or communion at the Iona Community, you will be with me in my heart.  You will be a part of me.  We will still be praying and singing to the same God, one body – you and I - united together through Jesus Christ.

QUOTE:  “Let your mind start a journey…Let your soul take you where you long to be...Close your eyes, let your spirit start to soar, and you'll live as you've never lived before.”

            Let the journey – let our journey begin!