Sabbatical Leave

In the past couple weeks I have had email messages from two former parishioners in response to this blog. It is fun to hear from folks I know! One had a question about sabbatical leave, which I will answer today, and the other had a fine suggestion for a blog topic, which I will tackle in the near future.

Sabbaticals are a relatively new idea in the life of the church. After a period of six years of service by a rostered leader, a congregation is encouraged to grant a paid sabbatical leave of no less than two months. The purpose is two-fold: time for extended continuing education and rest. Note that sabbath and sabbatical have the same root. After a sabbatical, pastors report a sense of renewal and re-commitment.

Granting a sabbatical leave for a pastor takes a lot of advanced planning. It is a special challenge financially for smaller congregations to pay the pastor’s salary and benefits and also provide for appropriate coverage for pastoral leadership and care.

Today I begin my second week of a three month sabbatical leave. Bishop Wollersheim has made sure that all of my areas of responsibility have been covered so I am free to focus my attention elsewhere. I did convince my colleagues that this blog is not really work, so I have been permitted to continue writing.

After 25 years of ministry (seven in service to the synod) one might think that I would be ready for a break. I am finding that it is really difficult to temporarily give up things I love to do. The thought of not preaching for 14 consecutive Sundays is not particularly happy. Daily I have the privilege of working with rostered leaders and laypersons throughout the synod. Today I flipped through the pages of my calendar and I do not have a single appointment scheduled for three months.

I did learn a couple of things last week. It takes a while to decompress and relax. I also learned that it does not take long to get underfoot. My wife and I have our normal routines and suddenly I am the one who is out of synch, prompting this warning, “I don’t think you’d better plan on retiring.”

Lest you think that I am complaining about some time away, I should tell you that I am excited about what I am doing and thankful that the synod has granted me this time. I will tell you more of what I am doing in the coming weeks.

Thanks for reading. Comments are always welcome. More information regarding sabbaticals may be found at www.nisynod.org/resources. --JC

Asking for Help

I was at home with a nasty cold. My wife had gone outside to get the newspaper for me and she fell on the ice in our driveway. She had not hurt herself, but she warned me not go out while she was gone. I thought it could not possibly be as bad as she said it was, so after I heard the car leave, I went out to retrieve my paper.

So as not to embarrass myself any more than necessary, I will simply tell you that I went down very hard. I landed on my rear end with my arms braced behind me. You should know that our ELCA NurseLine was very helpful. X-rays taken the next day confirmed that I had two bruised wrists and a compression fracture in my left elbow. On the doctor’s pain chart I rated myself an 8.5—a really unhappy face.

For the past two weeks I have been coping with limited use of my left arm. I am not wearing a sling. My doctor said it would ease pain but not help with the healing. I have not been able to do many things that I simply take for granted. Sandy had to tie a shoe for me in the office. June had to open a bottle of tea. Buttoning a button was impossible for the first week. (I wore sweatshirts to the office.) It has all been rather humbling.

Perhaps the hardest thing to do was to walk across the street and ask my neighbor if he would plow out my driveway. I do not know why asking for help is so hard. Perhaps it is pride. Maybe it’s embarrassment. It is hard to admit that there is something that I cannot do that I feel I should be able to do. Do you know the feeling? I have not needed help tying my shoes for at least 48 years!

My neighbor was happy to help. He has plowed us out twice and his son shoveled out the walk to the front door. I may need his help again. The doctor said that I should expect the arm to take about eight weeks to heal completely.

Congregations sometimes have a hard time asking for help. The ELCA and the synod have resources to help in many areas of ministry. Great ideas can be found in other congregations as well. Many of those ideas are shared at our annual Congregational Resourcing Event. Individuals and congregations share their passions and expertise in the workshops that are offered. Attending the CRE is a great way to find help without even having to ask for it.

This year’s CRE will be Saturday, March 7 at Kishwaukee College in Malta. More information is available on the synod’s website and in your congregation. My personal opinion is that CRE is the best event the synod offers during the course of the year. Please consider participating. You will not be disappointed.

To comment go to http://niselca.blogspot.com/. Thanks!

Reading List

Each time she sees me, without fail, a certain pastor of our synod asks, “What are you reading?” I know she is an avid reader, interested in many different kinds of books, and she is always looking for a recommendation.

In addition to my Bible, I have bookmarks in two or three books at any given time. I tend to read in spurts. Several days may pass before I can get back to a book that I’ve started. I tend to read practical theology and murder mysteries. I am also part of a book study group at church, so that’s another book I have going.

If I ran into the pastor today I would tell her that I just finished The Shack by William Paul Young. I found this to be a rather remarkable book on many levels and worthy of some deep discussion. I am also reading The Great Emergence: How Christianity is Changing and Why by Phyllis Tickle.

I am currently preparing for my sabbatical, which begins later this month. I have a number of things I would like to do during that time, including some concentrated reading about the Holy Land and worship. Finding books won’t be a problem. I have stacks of them!

As we begin this new year, I am curious. What are you reading? Would you like to share some titles and thoughts?