My sabbatical started on Easter Sunday, April 25, in exhaustion. I had been through Lent, Holy Week and preached 4 services on Sunday. I went home, ate a quick lunch (We celebrate Easter evening when I am more relaxed!), took a blessed nap and then went for an 8 mile run. It was only on my walk home from Washington Park after my run that it actually dawned on me that my alarm would not go off on Monday. It was a feeling of extreme freedom and a deep, deep peace in my soul.
Like most in positions of leadership, I think of myself as “ten-feet tall and bullet-proof” but I had to admit that I very much needed a break. I went to seminary only a few months after college and have been steadily at work in the church for 27 years. Plus, our family had experienced a great deal of loss in the recent past. I looked forward to this break for some time.
After a handful of painful experiences with clergy malfeasance, Wellshire has made intentional efforts to care for its clergy, and the gift of a sabbatical rest is a tangible sign of that compassion. Since the mid-1990’s Wellshire’s progressive personnel policy has made allowance for sabbatical leaves under certain conditions. Now, many presbyteries require it. A sabbatical is not an extended vacation but is a time for rest, renewal and rededication. It was exactly that for me.
My time began slowly and awkwardly, as my daughter, Katie, was in a horrible car accident in North Carolina. She fell asleep at the wheel, and the car went off the road, flipped and rolled down an embankment. She is very fortunate to be alive. The air bag did not deploy, and she suffered a very serious concussion, banging her head in three different places. (I am pleased to say she is doing very well.) Katie demanded our nearly full-time attention for a couple of weeks, but this painful situation reminded me how important it is to be surrounded by a caring church family during difficult times. At first we all felt horrible alone until word slowly started leaking out and we started to hear from many in the congregation. The church is at its best when it cares for those in need or crisis.
I could write a (very boring) book about what I did for the past few months, but here let me offer only a summary:
I traveled a great deal. I drove Katie back across the country and tried to learn from her about pop music and hip hop. I now know the difference between Katy Perry and Lady Gaga, Cee Lo Green and Bruno Mars. At the end of the summer, I went on a 2,300 mile adventure to install my older daughter in an apartment in Buffalo, so she can pursue a master’s degree in Arts Management at the University of Buffalo. This involved driving a loaded Penske truck with her furniture from Atlanta to Buffalo. What a thrill! And Margaret and I went on a ten-day trip to Massachusetts that included a three-day weekend at Tanglewood in the Berkshires, three days on Martha’s Vineyard and a general romp around Boston. Additionally, I spend a few days in solitude up in the beautiful mountains of Colorado, took a group of young adults to Israel and went fishing in Manitoba outside Winnipeg on a remote lake with some friends from Denver. Each of those trips were priceless and each provided great joy.
The balance of the time was spent at home in Denver. Some folks go to exotic locations to study during their sabbaticals. When I was considering where to go to study, it dawned on me that I study best at home. I have a nice office at home, a comfortable desk, books and a filing system for my clippings. I do my best thinking at home (or walking around Washington Park!).
My days usually began by thoroughly reading 2 or 3 newspapers – and coffee. Then I studied for about 4-5 hours. My basic aim was learn more about the history and development of music and astronomy. I rambled through a series of lectures on each subject and read a few books and articles. It is important for me to say that I am not an expert on either subject! I would equate my level of learning in both subjects as about what a college freshman would learn in an entry level course! I do expect to continue studying both subjects until I do have some mastery but this will take 3-5 years. By mid-afternoon, I was generally ready for a nap, which was followed by a jog – until I hurt my back in mid-June. By 4:00 pm or so, I turned my attention to dinner! I enjoy cooking, so most days I poured over a cook book, went to the grocery store and cooked dinner with Megan who wanted to hone her cooking skills too.
I visited churches every Sunday when I was not in transit. I could ask spill a lot of ink on my experiences, but I can summarize my experiences quite simply: it was depressing! I did mostly go to main-line, Presbyterian churches on various sizes in various cities. Admittedly, it was summer and most churches slow down dramatically during the summer, but the level of energy out there was abysmal. These experiences made me LOVE (and MISS) my OWN CONGREGATION and will push me harder to reach out to those who do not have a strong, spirited congregation in which to worship and serve God. It is possible that I will be perceived as being more intentional about evangelism post-sabbatical.
I did many things that regular people do that I do not do very often because of the oddity of my schedule. I watched more television, went to more movies, watched more baseball, read more murder mystery novels, and spent more time working on my iPod playlists than I have ever done in my entire life. I had planned on ramping up my running during this time. I did run two half-marathons in the late spring, but I injured my back in mid-June and was unable to continue running. I did not play golf once.
Was this “a life changing” experience? Yes. I have never experienced anything even remotely close to this as an adult. Like many, my sense of self or person-hood is closely tied to my sense of vocation and my occupation, and to not “go to work” caused me to do a lot of soul searching. I believe I have a better sense of who am I, what my gifts for ministry and life are, and what I need to be doing with my time. However, I also feel somewhat affirmed in my ministry with my congregation. We worked hard on a strategic plan a couple of years ago that I believe in even more firmly. We have a great staff and an energetic congregation. I have returned with more energy and passion for what we ARE doing!
There’s a lot more than I can write, but there’s probably not a lot more that you would read!
In closing, I must thank Chuck Sparks and Pattie Kitchen who split my duties while I was absent and by all accounts did a marvelous job. I also wish to thank the congregation for this great gift.
To life … together!
