About my Sabbatical

A time to rest, renew and recharge.

In 2007 the Vestry of St. Paul’s voted to grant Bob a three-month sabbatical. It is customary in the Episcopal Church and in other denominations for clergy and lay ministers to take this time for rest and reflection every 7-10 years. This will be Bob’s first sabbatical in his 30-year career.

The Cowperthwaites already had a general idea of what they wanted to accomplish during this time which included taking classes through St. George’s College in Jerusalem, traveling as pilgrims in Great Britain, exploring family roots in Scotland and Italy, mission work, and relaxing with family.

1. St. George’s College Jerusalem is a continuing education center of the Anglican Communion. Since 1962 clergy and laity from 92 countries and 96 faith traditions have attended for either short-term or long-term courses. Bob will take two courses here: "Paul and the Early Church" and "The Palestine of Jesus." Susan will join him for the second course.
   
2. Traveling as pilgrims will include time spent with the Iona Community in Scotland and/or the Northumbria Community in northern England.
   
3. Exploring family roots will also be part of the journey in Great Britain (Bob’s family) and in Italy (Susan’s family).
   
4. Mission work is dear to both Bob and Susan. Options for this endeavor are still being explored.
   
5. Time for family is planned at both the beginning and end of the sabbatical.

So when does all this happen? In July 2009 Susan will retire from University School of Nashville. The sabbatical will start shortly thereafter. Bob will be gone September through November. His will officially return to St Paul’s on Sunday, December 6th. At this time, the only firm dates are those of the two courses in Jerusalem. Susan will join Bob in late September. As things are finalized, Bob’s itinerary will be posted on the sabbatical website.

This sounds expensive.

It is. A preliminary budget put the cost at just over $40,000. We submitted a grant proposal to the Lilly Endowment’s National Clergy Renewal Program and received $40,922. This money has already been transferred to St. Paul’s. Money had also been budgeted in 2008, some of which was used to register for the St. George’s courses.

Here’s what you really need to know.

Once Bob leaves at the end of August 2009, he won’t be back until after Thanksgiving. The Sabbatical Committee was firm on this. Even a short visit home would disrupt this time away. He will not be here for funerals, marriages or baptisms. That means no phone calls or emails either. But rest assured that our congregation will be well taken care of by Ann, Monna, Sally, Donna, and Claire. We are blessed to have such great resources.

Those three months are a sabbatical of sorts for the members of St. Paul’s as well. We’ll get to know the other staff better. We’ll probably get to know one another better too. And as Bob and

Susan’s journey takes them from place to place, we’ll follow along. Our formation classes will compliment their travels. Bob will carry a laptop and blog about his experiences so that we may all share in his time away.

The Sabbatical Committee:

The Rev. Bob Abstein
Dewees Berry
Sally Chambers
Francee Preston
Tom Stearns
Josh Sutherland
Cindy Thomsen

What is a Sabbatical?

 

 

The word sabbatical shares the same roots as the Biblical word Sabbath, meaning to rest; to cease.  Sabbath is holy time set aside for physical, emotional, spiritual and mental renewal. The practice of Sabbath is our answer to God’s command once a week to take a break from the daily grind.

 

Likewise a sabbatical is simply an extended Sabbath, providing an opportunity to step off the treadmill for renewal of vision and hope, nourishing the soul and rebuilding the body.  A  Sabbatical is time to disengage from our everyday lives in order to rest, travel, study, reflect, pray, worship and renew relationships. It is far more than a vacation, it is a season of spiritual growth for everyone involved.    

 

 

“I have come to think that the recovery of the Sabbath is the most crucial and most demanding covenant command now to be faced in the technological society.”

-Walter Brueggemann

 

Sabbath: A Sanctuary in Time

"Six days a week we live under the tyranny of space, on the Sabbath we try to become attuned to the holiness in time... On the Sabbath we turn from the world of creation to the creation of the world; we turn from the results of creation to the mystery of creation... The world was bought into being in 6 days of creation – its survival depends on the holiness of the 7th day...On the Sabbath we cease from work to remember the world has already been created and will survive without our help.

Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, Sabbath 

 

So Sabbatical is

1. Time from life and work for spiritual, physical, emotional, relational and intellectual renewal.
   
2. set aside from life and work for spiritual, physical, emotional, relational and intellectual renewal.
   
3. Sabbatical is a little like the practice of farmers who "set‐aside" certain parts of their acreage, planting nothing for a season, so that the earth can be renewed and provide a richer harvest in the future.
   
4. Time includes travel, rest, study, prayer, worship, pilgrimage, family, play, outreach.
   
5. The opportunity to get off the treadmill so to find a new perspective and renewed vision
   
6. A sabbatical is not an extended vacation nor is it solely a study leave.
   
7. A sabbatical is also not about "burnout"
   
8. Sabbatical means not being available to the parish. No emails, no phone calls, no weddings, no funerals. Bob is gone for three months.
   
9. Time for renewal of the whole person (physically, emotionally, spiritually)

Sabbatical is a pilgrimage. A pilgrimage for the entire parish. A season of refreshment and renewal; a season of spiritual growth for both the minister and the parish.

Both Sabbath keeping and Sabbatical leave are part of a rhythm of life intended to refresh and renew all of creation so that all of creation will continue to reflect the face and will of God. Hence Sabbath should be a way of living.
(Clergy Renewal, p.3)

 

Thanks for checking in

Thanks for checking in.  We set up this site so i could start practicing.  I just got my notebook computer today, and will start learning how to do all these things as soon as i can.  Do come back again.