Prior to the Annual Meeting of the congregation where the motion was presented to grant the three month long sabbatical leave, the main task of the Sabbatical Team was to complete the 29-page grant application for the National Clergy Renewal Program of the Lilly Endowment. That was a major task because of the nature of the plans I was developing, with an ongoing itinerary of travel from place to place and all the expenses related to such a venture.
Now the task has shifted to thinking more deeply about what we need to attend to and develop in the congregation to make the sabbatical time flow well for the members of Hope. Now we are thinking not just about the Sundays during the sabbatical period, but also about the types of arrangements we need to make so there is appropriate pastoral care, special events, and other logistical aspects of what goes on in a church in the everyday sense of church life.
So we will be rolling up our sleeves to identify the work that is needed and then inviting members of the staff, the council, and the congregation to share in the planning process. It will be hard work, but it is necessary work, and it will bring about some healthy changes in our life together.
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