As many of you know I am heading out on sabbatical soon. The Lilly Endowment awarded Bemidji Evangelical Covenant Church a $45,000 grant that enables me to participate in the National Clergy Renewal Program. Kathy and I will spend two months in Italy, Austria, Switzerland and Canada, as well as one month in the United States studying the ancient tradition of sacro desco or “sacred table.”
Growing up on a farm from the small town of New Richland, Minnesota, I never imagined I would find myself traveling to Italy and spending Holy Week in Rome and spending two months traveling Italy, Austria and Switzerland. And yet, it was in my small hometown Covenant church that I came to understand community, through potlucks, casseroles and lime Jello salads. It was through sitting at the table with people of so many ages that I came to understand my faith and experience and the unconditional love of Christ. It is a desire to rediscover the importance of hospitality for today’s culture that takes Kathy and me on this sabbatical. Building community and developing soul friends is such a need for today.
While on sabbatical, Kathy and I will dive into scriptures, enjoy foreign cuisine, visit friends, take in breathtaking scenery, and travel the footsteps of St. Benedict, and at this foreign table re-imagine hospitality. This “sacred table” and its ability to unite are not only counter-cultural, but necessary. I am looking forward to exploring how to bring us all to the “sacred table.”
As Kathy and I prepare to be away we ask for your prayers for us and for our kids. As I prepare to leave, I leave you with a few quotes that have been speaking to me about this time away. I hope they help you to better know how to pray for us, understand what a sabbatical is and what the role of Sabbath is in your life.
“A time apart. I do not know a single pastor or pastoral leader whose heart does not in some measure thrill at the possibilities the phrase invokes. Not just to get away from- though Lord knows there is a good bit of that- but to get away for and to. Finally sabbatical, like Sabbath, is not about avoidance and escape but encounter and embrace.” William Brosend.
Time is valued in our culture, but not in itself. Time is often seen as something to be filled up, blank spaces on the daily planner waiting for appointments. Our importance as people is often judged by how full our time is, and how efficiently we schedule it. Rarely do we think of time as a discipline, a way to connect with God. According to Wayne Muller, “Sabbath is a revolutionary invitation to consider that the fruits of our labor may be found in the restful and unhurried harvest of time. In time, we can taste the sweetness of peace, serenity, well being, and delight.”
“Time to reflect. Time. This is what clergy renewal is about. To continue in ‘the heat of work’ our whole career is to rob ourselves and our congregations of the time we and they need to reflect on our lives and our call. Here is where change begins.” Melissa Bane Sevier
