Sabbatical 2022
Today (April 18) I start my 2022 sabbatical. It’s been 8 years since my last sabbatical. It’s suppose to be every 6, but a building project got in the way and I postponed it a couple of years. My time away is 4.5 months. 3 months for sabbatical, 1 month vacation, and 2 weeks to lead a trip to Israel and host a staff retreat. Sabbatical is different from vacation. My vacation time will not be spent on work. My sabbatical time will be spent on work – reading and writing. My studies will be focused on Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German Lutheran Pastor/Theologian who was imprisoned and martyred during WWII as a resister to the Nazis. I’m interested in learning from Bonhoeffer how one shepherds a flock through divisive and turbulent times. Separate from my studies will also be a trip to Tanzania, to our sister dioceses there, to visit and work at a school our congregation has recently supported. I will be there for 1.5 weeks alone, then joined by my wife for another 2 weeks traveling through Tanzania. But that isn’t ‘til the middle of July. Right now I am up at Priest Lake at my brother’s cabin studying for 2 weeks. I then go to Tucson, AZ. for a week to attend the Large Church Conference. Then I return back to Priest Lake, to a parishioner’s cabin, for a couple of weeks for more time in solitude to read and write. Then we have a week for a family vacation. That takes me to the end of May. The first couple of weeks of June I’m home studying, followed by the trip I lead to Israel. I’m then home for about three weeks studying before leaving for Tanzania. After that I have about 4 weeks at home spent writing before returning back to St Luke on September 6. I am so grateful for the time to go deep on focused studies that I normally don’t have the time to do. I’m grateful for the congregation’s support and encouragement. I’m grateful for a grant I received from our synod. I’m grateful my brother’s and a parishioner’s use of their cabins. I’m grateful for my family’s and our staff’s sacrifices to make this possible. I pray that this will not just be beneficial for me, but will bear fruit for the ministry as well. Thank you all!