Just two weeks to go! On June 1st I start my three-month sabbatical (renewal) leave. I am working on tying up all the loose ends around the church so that everything necessary can be done while I'm gone. It is exciting!
My plan is to begin the sabbatical by spending four days at St. Andrew's Abbey in Valyermo, engaging in the rhythm of the community and practicing silence and solitude. I plan to do some reading and a lot of praying, attending to the daily offices (times of community worship), but not much else. Perhaps I will speak with one of the monks to be my spiritual director at least through the sabbatical. Walking the grounds, sitting, thinking, listening, drinking in the beauty… Sounds like heaven to me!
Each day (or, at least as often as I can) I intend to write about my reading, thinking, listening, praying in this blog. I can't guarantee that it will be profound, or even interesting! But I did promise to blog and there are some people who are expressing interest in following me through this time.
I'm grateful that Pastor Alice is a part of the Chino UMC family and will be stepping in to preach and offer pastoral care in my absence. The church secretary, Glenda, is also stepping up her work to cover some things that I do. Others will be adding to their work load so that I can step away for a season. This is truly a blessing to me.
