Sabbatical Reflections

At our after worship "work day" a couple of Sunday's ago, someone asked, "Now will you be giving a report to the congregation about your time?" I hadn't thought about that, but decided it would be a good idea. So below is a portion of my Pastor's Report from the September Governing Board Meeting. In it I shared some of the learnings and experiences of my sabbatical time. I hope it gives you a sense of how I spent my time. I know that you will continue to hear bits and pieces of the learning and experiences as they unfold in my life, but for now, this is what my summer looked like:

V  I began my time away by traveling to Boston for a workshop at Andover-Newton Seminary titled The Arts and the Sensual in Renewing Worship. Each presentation focused on the importance of involving all of our senses -sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch- along with graphic and performance arts to enrich our experience of worship. Such multi-sensory experiences feed our whole selves -body, mind, and spirit- and help us open more completely to the message God desires to give us at any particular moment in time. The workshop itself was filled with many wonderful worship experiences.

V  While in Boston I attended several wonderful worship experiences at Old South Church -a Congregational UCC congregation in downtown Boston. One was more traditional with a fantastic bell choir. But not all that traditional in the sense that it included the wedding ceremony for a Lesbian couple who are members of that congregation. It was a powerful service. The second service (on Thursday evening) was their Jazz Worship Celebration. It was amazing!

V  While in Boston, I was able to stay with my son and daughter-in-law and spend some quality, non-holiday time with them. I was also able to attend an Interplay retreat, which provided much renewal to my spirit.

V  In early July I visited a clergy sister, Rev. Bev Zell at her lake home in Holland, MI. In addition to the refreshment of rest and reading and great conversation, I was able to talk with Bev, gleaning some insight about how she had introduced a powerful small groups program in some churches where she had been a member. In Holland I was able to participate in a fairly progressive Reformed Church in America congregation's worship.

V  Near the end of July I did spend a week at Confirmation Camp.

V  Following camp I traveled to Indianapolis for the Disciples of Christ General Assembly. In addition to wonderful worship experiences with 10,000 of my closest friends, I participated in a workshop on Creating a Labyrinth and another one on Sacred Writing with Singer-song writer Carrie Newcomer. Both workshops were wonderful. My friend Yolanda was able to be at the Assembly as well and rooming together was of course a wonderful experience. I was also able to reconnect with two of the women who had been members of congregations I served who went on to become ordained pastors. That was fantastic.

V  I was at home less than 24 hours following the Assembly and Tom and I flew to out west. He was able to take two weeks vacation and we spent that time in Nevada and California. While there I worshipped at my friend Yolanda's very small congregation and I was recruited to serve with her at the table, since she was missing an elder. It was fun to reverse roles. When I was her pastor, she was one of the elders in our congregation! I also attended a UCC congregation while there. Each of those worship experiences fed me in various ways.

V  After Tom left I stayed on at Yolanda's and was able to attend several interplay classes, have a private and very wonderful session with Cynthia Winton-Henry, one of the Interplay founders.

V  From California I flew to Arizona to participate in a worship experience at the United Church of Christ congregation in Scottsdale Arizona. I went there specifically because they have a multi-sensory worship celebration they call The Studio. While there I also attended their traditional worship service. Both were wonderful. I attended an evening program they were having the Sunday I was there. They participated in a pre-release screening of a documentary film titled God in a Box that will be released sometime in the next few months. It was a great film and an enriching discussion following the film.

V  I stayed in Scottsdale through Wednesday so I could observe the planning process involved in creating their Studio worship. It was a wonderful experience to see 8-10 congregational members and the two pastors study and share together and envision and then create a wonderful multi-sensory, interactive worship celebration. The music style of the Studio worship is Jazz and they have a music minister who composes pieces for them sometimes.

V  Back home I was able to visit an emergent worship celebration at a Methodist congregation in Geneva. The name of their service is i-witness. It was a good service, but I was a little disappointed since I happened to hit one of the times when then did what they called i-witness in the spirit of Taize. It was interesting to see how they did Taize.

V  One learning in all my various worship experiences was that for me, moving to the music of worship is an absolute necessity. So you are likely to see more of it, not necessarily as a dance meant for anyone else, but just as what Interplay calls a "hand dance" done for the feeding of my own spirit.

V  In between all of the above travels I slept a lot! I forgot what 7-8 and sometimes even 9 hours of sleep felt like!

V  I also read a number of books that I am now in the process of pulling the highlights from so they remain easily accessible to my memory. In addition to some novels for pleasure, I read the following:

oWith All Thy Mind: Worship that Honors the Way God Made Us by Robert P. Glick

oHealing Worship: Purpose and Practice by Bruce G Epperly

oThe Honest to God Church: A Pathway to God's Grace by Doug Bixby

oWorship for Vital Congregations by Talitha Arnold

oEmerging Worship: Creating Worship Gatherings for New Generations by Dan Kimball

oUnbinding the Gospel by Martha Grace Reese

oUnbinding Your Church by Martha Grace Reese

oChasing the Dance of Life: a Faith Journey by Cynthia Winton Henry

oThe Thin Book on Appreciative Inquiry by Sue Annis Hammond

I was fairly faithful about journaling my experiences and musings each day and as part of that time I prayed the beautiful prayer that Nancy Rossmiller wrote for my send off way back in June. I prayed for renewal and growth for me as your pastor and I asked God to guide and bless your growing as well. I felt surrounded by your love each time I offered this prayer. I look forward to hearing from each of you about your experiences this summer and I look forward to sharing in more detail some of my experiences and the ideas that were birthed by those experiences. I know God has used those time for our mutual growth and I am grateful!

                                                                                    Namaste

                                                                                                Pastor Nancy