A WORD FROM OUR PASTOR

My sabbatical will begin in a few weeks.  I will be away from Grace for a couple of months, returning in mid-October.  Then Part 2 of the sabbatical will take place this coming January. 

An ELCA document frames a sabbatical in this way: “Sabbaticals provide pastors and other rostered leaders the opportunity to reflect on their call to ministry and their relationships with God and God’s people. While the concept of a sabbatical in the business and academic world is tied to research and finishing advanced degrees, a sabbatical in the church is provided as time away from the busyness of daily ministry in order to nourish one’s relationship with God for the sake of the ministry to which one has been called.”
During this time, I will be connecting with family and friends with whom the opportunity to gather is not easily available.  My weekend schedule and distance will be less limiting factors for these interactions to happen.  I will be visiting different congregations and experience worship from the pew.  A stack of books regarding church life and theology awaits being opened.  I am looking forward to time away in a retreat setting.  A sabbatical disrupts a person’s schedule to give time and focus on different, and sometimes neglected, aspects of life.  Thank you for affording me this time away.

A sabbatical is also disruptive to the congregation’s life and rhythm.  The ministry of the church goes forward, it will never truly stop.  Some activities will be postponed until my return, like the confirmation classes.  But most activities at Grace will take place.  Sunday school will begin in the Fall.  The Wednesday morning Bible study will get underway.  Committees will meet and do their work.  Worship will happen every weekend.  Pastor Richard Thickpenny, along with Rev. Richard Bergstrom, Rev. Phil Hakkenson and Chaplain Bill Helton will share their gifts in worship.  Pastor Thickpenny is also available for any pastoral needs that arise. 

A special project during this time will be the Community Mural that the Mutual Ministry committee is organizing.  The committee wanted the congregation to engage in an undertaking that would encourage reconnecting and building community (especially after Covid).  After exploring some options, they decided on this mural project as an opportunity for the congregation to gather and create a lasting work of art.  Do join in this congregational project that will be unveiled in December and enjoyed for years to come.
Blessings,
 
 

Pastor John