Dear Ones of St. Columba's,

On Monday morning I begin my sabbatical - a time of break and sabbath from the routine and work of being your Vicar that will last for over three months.  We have talked a lot about what I will do on my sabbatical (travel, be with Andrew and the girls, write, read, reflect, rest) and we have talked about the themes of this sabbatical time, themes that both you and I will engage. 

I am not sure we have talked together yet about what sabbatical is. 

First, Sabbatical is about both resting and working. Sabbatical is for a particular kind of rest, and a particular kind of work. Sabbatical, for me, will be the rest of letting go of the work of being your vicar - work I love. This will involve resting in the trust I have in God's hands holding this community of faith while I am gone, and in the capable leadership of Mother Meghan, your Bishop's Committee, and all the lay leaders who are the true heart of St. C's. 

For you sabbatical is rest from, well, from me. This is also a particular kind of rest and a particular kind of work. You will have rest from the particular ways I lead, and you will have the work of discovering the gifts of leadership that will emerge in my absence. You will have the work of discovering who St. C's is in my absence - and of trusting that with or without me this community is and has enough to do and be who God is calling you to be. 

Second, Sabbatical is about learning. I will have space to read, learn, and experience the world and myself in ways that are not possible in normal work and life. I hope to learn new things about my ancestry, my family's ancestry, and the complex web of connections between my ancestors and my children's ancestors. I also hope to learn more about my kids, who are changing every day, and take time to invest in my husband, whose work as a Respiratory Therapist in this pandemic has given him one of the roughest years of his vocational life.

You will also be engaged in learning during this time - learning and sharing about each other's ancestral roots, the history of St. Columba's, and the theological ancestries of our Christian tradition. I hope that you take the time to learn about each other, to notice our community of faith in new ways as St. Columba's re-gathers and continues to grow and stretch out it's bounds to new people and all the gifts and cultures they will bring.

And finally, Sabbatical is about return. We will return to each other, that is part of this experience. When Andrew and I were first married we were both touring musicians (he much more intensely than I) and would often go weeks without seeing each other. We learned that there was special joy in returning to each other after time apart, and that there were ways to do that return well, and ways to do it poorly. 

Church, I am really looking forward to this time away. I am deeply, deeply grateful for the gift that you (and the Lilly Foundation) are giving to me and to my family, a gift of time, togetherness, space, and experience that we do deeply need, especially after all we have been through the past 16 months. Thank you for supporting this, for being part of giving us this incredible gift.

And as much as I am looking forward to this coming Monday morning, I am that much looking forward to our return to each other on October 17th. I plan to savor each moment of space and sabbatical time. And then I plan to savor each sweet moment of return - a return where we can share what we've learned, the discoveries we have made while apart, and the new gifts God has given us to build the next part of St. Columba's future, together.

With care and gratitude,

Alissa