Sabbatical
Dear Friends in Christ,
I am currently busy working with members of this congregation to prepare an application for a Lilly Grant for Clergy Renewal to fund my sabbatical next spring. The purpose of these grants is to provide “opportunities for their pastors to step away briefly from the demands of daily parish life and engage in a period of renewal and reflection.”
The word sabbatical comes from the word sabbath and means seventh. Sabbatical leave is defined in the report from the Diocesan Task Force on Sabbatical Leave as, “an intentionally planned time of refreshment and renewal in a season of ministry. It is considered so significant, even fundamental to a model of ministerial wellness that several dioceses around the Episcopal Church have official sabbatical leave policies, including some policies that are canonically mandated.” In the Diocese of California, there is no official diocesan policy regarding sabbaticals. It is something worked out between clergy and their congregations and incorporated into their Letter of Agreement (LOA). My LOA provides for three months every four years which makes me eligible for a sabbatical starting this summer.
Since being ordained over twelve years ago I have never had a sabbatical. I had originally planned to take my sabbatical this summer but the circumstances of my personal life and work at Saint Anna’s have aligned in a way that it makes more sense to postpone it until next spring. Personally, I have several trips planned this year for family functions – graduations, weddings, milestone birthdays, that already have me gone from Saint Anna’s for several weeks this year, and Cindy and I (mostly Cindy!) have (hopefully) temporarily committed to helping with childcare for my grandchildren as my daughter navigates the demands of a new and exciting job opportunity.
At Saint Anna’s we have reached a period of relative stability after the transition of the last few years - a congregational merger and the uncertainty and anxiety of not having a permanent vicar, the pandemic, and a slew of crises related to our facilites including (but not limited to!) deferred maintenance, burst pipes, floods, leaks, vandalism and theft, that has consumed much of our time and attention the past few years. I have just been made full-time at Saint Anna’s and I am excited about the possibilities for new and creative work together and ready to get started. We called Rev. Mees as our curate and he deserves stable and consistent supervision and guidance that I am required to provide. And on top of all that, as a member of Standing Committee, I have responsibilities and obligations related to the transition our diocese is going through as we ordain a new bishop and say goodbye to our current bishop. It’s a lot. And yes, this year does sometimes feel as chaotic as it sounds so I am sure by next spring, I will be ready for some time of rest and renewal!
The Lilly Grant is given not to the individual clergy who are taking a sabbatical, but to the congregation. It is, according to the instructions, “designed for those congregations and pastors who have a strong relationship with one another, a high degree of mutual trust and support, and are eager to see their relationship strengthened and renewed for future ministry together,” which I think applies to Saint Anns’s, and it is intended as “an occasion for joyful discernment and collaboration between the congregation and leave-taking pastor as they consider what will make their collective hearts sing.”
The application is due next week, but there is more than a year before my sabbatical will begin. In that time I hope there will be many opportunities for us all to discern and collaborate together. Stay tuned for more information…
Yours in Christ,
Rev. Jane+