What is Sabbatical?
Jesus took himself apart often in his ministry, to pray, to be with God and to be renewed. A time of sabbatical seeks to ensure that clergy have an opportunity for a time of sabbath, a renewal of spirit, and a reaffirmation of life with God, as well as opportunities for creativity and discovery for both the clergyperson and the community of ministry with which they serve.
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Sabbatical leaves vary somewhat between denominations in the church, and among other fields that offer them. In general, however, they are defined by stopping – resting from – the primary work of the profession for a period of time, and usually by using that time for some form of renewal or growth, which can be formal or informal study, work on a different project or interest, travel, or any other form of renewing activity.
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The Episcopal Church and our diocese, The Episcopal Church in Western Oregon, encourage clergy to take a three-month sabbatical every five years of their ministry. This sabbatical time was built into the formal Covenant of Ministry between St. Luke’s and Rev. Sara, and it did not go unnoticed by our leadership that she is actually in her sixth year of ministry at St. Luke’s. So it’s past time.
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What will Rev. Sara be doing during her sabbatical?
Rev. Sara will be resting into the theme of "Moving from Should to Joy" during her sabbatical. This will be a time for her to discern the ways she approaches life through the lens of obligation ("I should do this") and reframing them through a lens of joy ("It would be life-giving for me to do this").
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One of the ways she'll be exploring this theme is through the idea of "home." For some of us, home can be a place of comfort and joy, and for others of us it can be a place of living into other people's sometimes restrictive shoulds about how to be family or what a home looks like. Rev. Sara will be spending time in London, Wyoming, and Connecticut—all places that hold different ideas of home for her. She'll also spend a significant amount of time in her actual home where she's already done a lot of discernment about moving from should into joy.
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She hopes to do lots of reading, eating good food, soccer-watching (including Arsenal women at Emirates Stadium!), and spontaneously driving to beautiful places.
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Who’s in charge at St. Luke's while Rev. Sara is gone?
St. Luke's has a long history of strong lay leadership and has continued to thrive both when the rector is away on sabbatical and in moments when the parish was without a rector.
Worship
Kathy Douglass, our fabulous Music Minister, has been working with Rev. Sara for the past few months to plan worship while she's away. Kathy and the worship team will be presiding over three lay-led services during the three months. The Rev. James Joiner will be the guest priest for the majority of the other Sundays, and The Revs Linda Potter and Mark Stanger will preside over the remaining services.
Pastoral Care
Our Care Team has long been the first line of emotional and logistical support in our community when someone is going through something difficult. Judy Bevilacqua will continue to steward that ministry and make sure that our community's emerging needs are met. We have several trained chaplains and spiritual directors on the Care Team, including Deacon Laurel who has volunteered to make special clergy visits when needed. The Rev. James Joiner will be on call for emergencies.
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Why do priests get a sabbatical?
The work of a priest requires resilience, creativity, and patience, as well as deep spiritual roots, and those need to be renewed outside the workplace on a regular basis. A priest’s work also cannot be contained to a regular five-day work week, so it is difficult to maintain regular patterns of work and rest, and it has become a recommended best practice for priests to take fully disconnected sabbatical time every five years to recharge.
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How will Rev. Sara stay in touch during sabbatical?
In accordance with sabbatical guidelines, Rev. Sara will not be checking in or receiving emails during her leave time, and the congregation will be asked not to text or call her. All pastoral matters will be directed to the Care Team, and business matters of the congregation will be directed to the our Senior Warden. Ali Kahn, our amazing Office Administrator, will be handling administrative matters. She'll reach out to the Vestry when she needs more support.
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