The Sabbatical Begins . . .
Grace and Peace to you in the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ! I pray that this finds you well in body, mind and spirit!
While my Professional Development Leave (alias, "sabbatical") officially began after our services on February 1, I wound up (not unexpectedly) tying up loose ends and attending to things "left undone" during all of the ensuing week. It was a reminder to me of how essentially bound (in a good sense) we are to one another and how difficult it is (for me, at least) to be separated from the life and ministry of Trinity. And for me, upon reflection, I find that there are two important parts to this: First is a reminder of the love affair that I have with this community of faith, which, if anything, is much stronger today than it was when Debbie and I first arrived five years ago. The second piece -- and this is always hard -- is to be able to let go of things in the full faith and knowledge that God has a plan for us and has given this community all of the resources necessary to bring that plan closer to fruition.
My first real official day away from Trinity turned out to be last Sunday, when I travelled to St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Springfield, MA. The Rev. Dee Bright, a Liberian priest who has been in this country about 10 years, is the rector there. Dee was the celebrant and discussion leader at our TGIF service honoring the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, and it was a joy to worship with him and his congregation. At St. Peter's, the second Sunday of every month is "Youth Sunday" and the youth provide supplemental music to the hymns and also assist the Rector in the offering of the sermon. On this particular Sunday, as their offering to the observance of Black History Month, the youth had prepared posters bearing the images of famous Americans who were leaders in the American civil rights movement. The congregation was challenged to identify each person, and then one of the youth members read a brief biography of the person. It was a wonderful, uplifting service with both Gospel piano and many traditional hymns from both LEVAS and The Hymnal 1984. And there was much to enjoy -- the service lasted 2 1/4 hours, but it seemed to be over so quickly.
Monday was my Doctor of Ministry Day at Hartford Seminary, where this week we discussed a theory that when push comes to shove, most leaders make decisions using their instinct and guided by past experiences. Two of my classmates (Rev. Matt Calkins from St. Timothy's Episcopal Church in Fairfield and the Rev. Hugh Haffenreffer from an ELCA church in Wethersfield) and I presented case studies which at various times both challenged and affirmed this theory. It was a good class.
Then on Tuesday I began in earnest the first phase of my sabbatical as I left for Florida. At the urging of the folks in cardiac rehab (and Debbie!), I came to my senses and gave up my plan to drive by myself via Kentucky and Alabama, and wound up flying instead. So rather than visiting some different churches in Kentucky, Alabama and North Carolina (on the way home), I will be visiting some additional churches here in Florida to look at how they understand God's mission in their congregations and how they work to carry it out.
I will do my best to update this regularly (is that vague enough?) and particularly to share with you my reflections during this initial time of rest and re-creation. Peace. Your brother in Christ, Don+
While my Professional Development Leave (alias, "sabbatical") officially began after our services on February 1, I wound up (not unexpectedly) tying up loose ends and attending to things "left undone" during all of the ensuing week. It was a reminder to me of how essentially bound (in a good sense) we are to one another and how difficult it is (for me, at least) to be separated from the life and ministry of Trinity. And for me, upon reflection, I find that there are two important parts to this: First is a reminder of the love affair that I have with this community of faith, which, if anything, is much stronger today than it was when Debbie and I first arrived five years ago. The second piece -- and this is always hard -- is to be able to let go of things in the full faith and knowledge that God has a plan for us and has given this community all of the resources necessary to bring that plan closer to fruition.
My first real official day away from Trinity turned out to be last Sunday, when I travelled to St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Springfield, MA. The Rev. Dee Bright, a Liberian priest who has been in this country about 10 years, is the rector there. Dee was the celebrant and discussion leader at our TGIF service honoring the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, and it was a joy to worship with him and his congregation. At St. Peter's, the second Sunday of every month is "Youth Sunday" and the youth provide supplemental music to the hymns and also assist the Rector in the offering of the sermon. On this particular Sunday, as their offering to the observance of Black History Month, the youth had prepared posters bearing the images of famous Americans who were leaders in the American civil rights movement. The congregation was challenged to identify each person, and then one of the youth members read a brief biography of the person. It was a wonderful, uplifting service with both Gospel piano and many traditional hymns from both LEVAS and The Hymnal 1984. And there was much to enjoy -- the service lasted 2 1/4 hours, but it seemed to be over so quickly.
Monday was my Doctor of Ministry Day at Hartford Seminary, where this week we discussed a theory that when push comes to shove, most leaders make decisions using their instinct and guided by past experiences. Two of my classmates (Rev. Matt Calkins from St. Timothy's Episcopal Church in Fairfield and the Rev. Hugh Haffenreffer from an ELCA church in Wethersfield) and I presented case studies which at various times both challenged and affirmed this theory. It was a good class.
Then on Tuesday I began in earnest the first phase of my sabbatical as I left for Florida. At the urging of the folks in cardiac rehab (and Debbie!), I came to my senses and gave up my plan to drive by myself via Kentucky and Alabama, and wound up flying instead. So rather than visiting some different churches in Kentucky, Alabama and North Carolina (on the way home), I will be visiting some additional churches here in Florida to look at how they understand God's mission in their congregations and how they work to carry it out.
I will do my best to update this regularly (is that vague enough?) and particularly to share with you my reflections during this initial time of rest and re-creation. Peace. Your brother in Christ, Don+
posted by Don+ @ 2:13 PM
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