FINAL WEEK

As a result of all the planning our sabbatical team did over the past year and a half, I have had a great sabbatical. The labor of the sabbatical team was largely unnoticed except when information needed to be shared with the council and congregation long ago. I am grateful for the fine people who have made this time possible for me and for the congregation: Laura Schranz, the Team Leader, Pauline Castiglione, the Team secretary, Stephen Gerlach, John Kelly, Roger Meyer, Carol Mauro, and Steve Swift. 

I am also very grateful for the work done by members of our church staff to keep things moving along during the sabbatical time, especially Joyce Stahl, Barbara Nugent, Laura Laza, and Linda Favale. Our Council members supported the effort and deserve thanks for the encouragement and prayers they gave over these many months as well, and I am especially thankful for Pastor Jeff Kolbo from Trinity, Rocky Point who served as "Coverage Pastor."

Add to that all the people who helped make the sabbatical possible in England, literally over 100 people in London, Saint Albans, Peterborough, Northampton, Norwich, Lincoln, Coventry, Gloucester, Hereford, Chester, Liverpool, and my friends Barrie and Loisann Lawless who opened their hearts and their homes to me, prepared meals for me, drove me around, took me out to lunch or dinner, and brought me to meet people whom they gathered together just so I could meet them.

Add to those the church leaders and members who took time to visit and share with me in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, especially Pastor John Groppe, churches in Council Bluffs and Iowa City, Iowa, especially Bishop Alan Scarfe and people in Sacramento, Placerville, Yuba City, and Auburn, California especially Rev. Kay Rohde who welcomed me on my second journey of discovery.

Then add to that the folks I met on my third journey, who live in Minnesota, especially Sandi and Bruce Holmberg, the members of the 21 Total/Shared Ministry teams who met in Little Falls, Minnesota, and Frank and Lyn Van De Steeg and the Shared Ministry team at St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Hastings, Minnesota.

I am grateful for having had the chance to meet eight bishops and many members of their staffs, and for the support given all along from our Metro New York Synod bishop, Bob Rimbo.

Of course the sabbatical preachers deserve thanks for coming out to Hope: Pastors Jeff Kolbo, Gary Mills, Jonathan Linman, Bob Wollenburg, Kathleen Koran, George Summers, Wayne Leazer, James Smith, Ben McKelahan and Deacon Rich Wolff who also led Thursday night worship services as well as on Memorial Day Weekend. I heard so many positive comments about them that I'm a little worried about coming back to preach next Sunday.

I appreciate the support my wife Linda gave throughout the three months. She always takes the lions' share of the work around our home anyway, but she was especially supportive of my desire to learn and grow on this sabbatical, and I would not have been able to do this without her encouragement.

I will have a lot to share in coming weeks. I am glad that the sabbatical ends in July because I will need some time to re-integrate into parish life and prepare reports etc. about what I experienced. I thank God for this time apart from my regular duties as pastor of Hope, and I'm looking forward eagerly to the years ahead as we move together into the future God is preparing for us in his service.

SUMMING UP AND RE-ENTERING

I have reached the point in my sabbatical journey where I am more and more mindful of the fact that even sabbaticals come to an end, and I am wondering about what the future has in store for me and for all of us together. But as I think back over my journeys, I am grateful for those experiences I had.

I traveled a lot over the past ten weeks. I haven't totaled the actual miles, but I can quickly estimate that my journeys have moved me around at least 12,000 miles, not counting the riding around that I have done in various places. I've met a lot of people from a lot of churches, but I have no estimate available on that yet.

I can add up the places where I have stayed: 5 hotels (7 nights) and a prayer center (3 nights) in England, 3 hotels (7 nights), a dormitory (3 nights) and a conference center (1 night) in the U.S., 9 homes (19 nights) in England and 3 homes (9 nights) in the U.S. I rented 3 cars. I used 3 airlines (11 take offs and landings), 5 railroads (4 in England and LIRR 3 times), and was driven around by 31 different drivers (18 in England and 13 in the U.S.). I also had two subway (tube) rides, one bus ride, one boat ride, and one funicular ride.

I attended 14 worship services in England and 16 in the U.S. and one soccer match. I met and visited with 7 bishops, visited 11 cathedrals, and took over 600 photos of various sorts.

I was fortunate to be taken out for many meals-- 15 in England and 9 in the U.S. On at least five occasions I was hosted at meals of people gathered to meet me. I ate alone at least 17 meals in restaurants and most of the rest were provided by people hosting me. I took others out for at least 4 meals, and I ordered out for two pizzas in hotels.

Looking back is always easier than looking ahead. What will the future hold for us? Some folks have said they are eager to hear about "new ideas" I picked up along the way, and that is something worth sharing. I think what I learned about the most, however, is not about "programs" we can copy or use locally, but about several different ways of being church with one another. Shared Ministry is a powerful force that has taken hold in many places, drawing out from people many gifts and resources that would otherwise have gone unused. It is a way people have learned how to make a deeper and longer lasting commitment to serve God fruitfully in their churches, developing their gifts and offering them to benefit their churches and the communities beyond those places.

I need to find a way to make what I've learned accessible and inviting to everyone who did not make the journey alongside me. Shared Ministry may be just an option for churches that can pay all their bills, but it is way of being faithful to God's call that every follower of Jesus needs to learn.

There's so much I can share. I hope you are willing to listen to, learn about, reflect upon, and then join in the work God's Spirit is leading us all into. If that's what happens, then the time we have spent will bear fruit for many years to come.