Dear First Pres,

   Sabbatical is coming! If you haven’t heard, the Session (our leadership board of elders) has approved a 3-month sabbatical for me this summer. I’ll be gone June 1 - August 31.  

   This is, of course, an incredible gift for me. A sabbatical is a time set aside for rest, rejuvenation, reflection, recreation, and renewal. There is no expectation for me to accomplish a set of tasks except to lean into the work that the Holy Spirit wants to do in me. Still, it’s different from a vacation. On a vacation I do my best to unplug from work, I read novels and magazines that have nothing to do with pastoral ministry, and I lean into special time with family. Certainly, there will be some of that happening this summer, but I will also be very intentional about extended times of listening to the Lord, reflecting on the nearly ten years of ministry with FPC, and devouring some ministry books that have been on my wishlist for a while now. (If any of you want to be on the same page with my reading, I’ll be posting the list of summer reading possibilities before I leave.) I’m confident this season of sabbath will be a tremendous blessing to me physically, relationally, emotionally and spiritually.

    And, I believe a pastor’s sabbatical can be a wonderful gift for the whole congregation. No, you can’t all come with me (sorry), and I know that most of you can’t take the summer off from work. But, you can join with me in a special season of prayer. First, you can make a daily discipline of praying for me. Pray that the Lord has His way in my life. Pray that the Lord fills me with energy, creativity and love to do the work He has called me to do. Pray the Lord gives me new insights and wisdom about how to lead well this wonderful congregation. And remember, if the Lord answers your prayers for me, it will bear fruit among us. The congregation always wins when the pastor gets healthier and wiser and more deeply connected with Jesus. Second, you can make a daily discipline of praying for our congregation. Pray for the leaders who are stepping up and in to fill the gaps during my absence (more on this below). Pray the Lord enriches the congregation through the variety of voices that will be preaching this summer. Pray the various sermons and studies and events shape the congregation in significant ways. I believe my sabbatical can be a huge blessing to the congregation. (I’ve seen it happen in other churches.) Please join me in praying for that.

With all of that in mind, here are a few updates about the summer:

  • We have hired Gerre Brenneman (one of our non-Session elders) to serve as the Interim Staff Director for the summer. She’ll be meeting with all the staff I normally supervise and helping to support and facilitate their work this summer. She is not the interim pastor, so her duties will mostly be happening during the work week and not on Sundays.
  • Pastor Meagan won’t be on point for all pastoral needs this summer as she has a very full summer schedule already. So, the Session elders are ready to step in to their call as shepherd leaders of the congregation, and we’re putting some structures in place to facilitate that. Also, we have two retired pastors (Roger Minassian & Gary VanBrocklin) as well as two pastors-at-large in our congregation (H. Spees & Randy White) who are ready to help this summer as needed. If there is some kind of pastoral need that comes up in your life this summer, please contact the church office for help. They will be happy to connect you with the appropriate person.
  • Mark your calendars for a few important upcoming summer Sunday night events: June 12 & July 24. June 12th will be our All-Church Summer Picnic at Woodward park. And July 24th will be a special event we’re calling Neighborhood Night. There will be more information coming, but for now, please mark your calendars for the days. You’re not going to want to miss ‘em.

   It’s going to be a wonderful summer, not just for me, but for our congregation. May the Lord have His way in our lives.

Blessings,

Pastor Jeremy