Bishop returns from sabbatical
renewed and refreshed
My dear friends in Christ,
I want to share with you my thoughts and a brief reflection on my recent three month sabbatical. I must tell you that today I feel the same excitement and passion for ministry that I did when I was first ordained. Thank you for the opportunity to renew and refresh my spirit.
If you were to ask for the address of the theological institution or spiritual retreat that produced such profound results in 12 short weeks because you think you would like to take advantage of its program yourself, think again. It might not be right for you.
I spent my time at the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship in Rockport, Maine. On the surface there is nothing overtly spiritual about the school I attended, but for me the setting was conducive to creativity and spirituality. Other clerics have experienced similar renewal and growth there –– its alumni include Episcopal priests, Benedictine monks, Buddhists, Jews and most recently a Buddhist woman from China. She manages a furniture manufacturing company that exports its wares around the world, so you could be forgiven for thinking hers was a “coals to Newcastle” kind of experience, but you would be wrong. She found peace and fulfillment in the intimate setting and in her personal and creative woodworking projects. Her plan is to return and set up a shop that would grant opportunity for her to create unique furniture far removed from the monotony and meaninglessness of mass production
If you would rather paint, write, weave, make pottery, climb mountains, cycle, swim, dance or play music, you will need to find another place to engage your passion and creativity, but the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship was exactly the right place for me. I have long loved to work with wood and thank God each day for even my modicum of talent in this area.
I regularly encourage clergy to take sabbatical time, to temporarily step away from their responsibilities for reflection and renewal. I also encourage them to pursue interests outside their clerical lives. Most of us are so committed to our vocations and conscious of the Diocesan and General Synod financial support of sabbaticals through the continuing education program, that we think it only fitting and even fair to spend our time apart improving and enriching our theological knowledge and/or clerical skills. While this motivation is honorable and good, wellness requires balance so that all our gifts and talents might be given an opportunity to glorify the Giver.
It is in moving away from our day-to-day activities that we get to know ourselves better. In the end, that distance gives us a different perspective on our lives and vocations. While in Maine I was blessed to be part of St. Peters church family in Rockland. This congregation exemplifies hospitality and outreach and its members were a wonderful blessing to me and Sharon.
The Centre for Furniture Craftsmanship was everything I needed. And if I hadn’t been certain what I wanted and needed from the beginning, a look at the definition of course I chose would have clinched it for me –– “Our Twelve-week Intensive is especially designed to meet the needs of aspiring professional furniture makers and amateurs on sabbatical from other professions. With two instructors available at all times and only twelve students, each participant is able to individualize the course of study to fit his or her interests and level of experience.”
I don’t plan a third career as a professional furniture maker, but the amateur on sabbatical label fit me to a T.
I thank God to be back among you, not just renewed and refreshed, but much better acquainted with patience and humility than ever before. It is impossible to learn to hand cut dove tails or mortise and tenon joints without intimate acquaintance with both those virtues.
While I was away I put my new woodworking skills to good use in the design and construction of a two-piece curio cabinet –– the top cupboard sits safely on a Queen Anne-legged table that combines solid cherry wood construction and an elegantly grained fine veneer. The longer I look at it, the more convinced I am it belongs in a church vestry with communion vessels in the cupboard and purificators in the drawers.
In a day and age when sabbatical rest must be set aside for the good of the “economy” and at the expense of worship and renewal, I believe we are missing a great deal of God’s intended joy for each one of us by being negligent in our spiritual care.
So again, thank you for your patience during my absence. I am most grateful for the support of Bishop Bill Hockin, the Synod Office staff (especially my assistant, the Ven. Geoffrey Hall), Dean Keith Joyce, and the territorial archdeacons, as well as the diocesan clergy who supported the people above by finding new ways to cope with problems and challenges. As a result I am sure they all gained new confidence.
Renewed, refreshed and with a positive outlook and new confidence of my own, I look forward to what I believe will be an historic Lambeth Conference this summer and the continued pursuit of our own Shared Ministry Plan here in the diocese in the years to come.
With every blessing in Christ,
+Claude
