I am always surprised when the month of June begins. Didn’t we just celebrate Christmas? No doubt, someone reading this article already has a good deal of their Christmas shopping done. Good. Great. Fine.

I, on the other hand, do my best shopping under pressure. Actually, I do a lot of things really well under pressure. As we look to the month of June, I am looking at the next three months with no pressure. Is it possible I may not function at all?

The gift of sabbatical is testament to this congregation’s love and tending for their pastors. Sabbatical comes from the word for Sabbath. A time of rest – not unlike what God did on the seventh day after creation. In 22 years of ministry, I have never taken a full sabbatical. I have had a couple of weeks off with the birth of each child. In Boise, I had three weeks of vacation in a row. Otherwise, the call of serving as pastor has often overwhelmed too much time away. It can cause me a little anxiety to imagine the use of my time over the next three months. No chairs to re-arrange in the sanctuary. How will I go on?

A sabbatical from ministry at Ascension is about rest, renewal of my spirit, and reconnection with my family. They often sacrifice the gift of my presence and time for nights of meetings and Saturday of events and preparations. Although, they may be sick of me by the beginning of September and all too excited to go back to school. During my sabbatical most of the three months away will be time set aside to be with family.

In late June, we will travel to the big island of Hawaii to enjoy ocean breezes and coffee plantations. In late July, a friend from college who has stayed connected will visit for a week. In early August, I will travel with my dad and sister on a bucket list of sorts trip by train from Toronto, Ontario, Canada to Montreal to Quebec to Nova Scotia – something my mother was hesitant to do with her claustrophobia. In late August, I have applied for a ten day stay at a clergy renewal center on Anna Maria Island in Florida. In early September, I will enter into a 5-day silent retreat at a monastery.

And in-between those experiences will be long bike rides with family for coffee; not-as-long runs; long walks with my wife and dog; and a ton of reading and some Netflix to binge watch. And I expect my world to reshape for a time. And I am thankful for your generosity of time and monies set-aside to offset some of the costs of travel.

While I am on sabbatical, Pastor Tony will masterfully hold down the fort and Edwin, with three years of seminary education under his belt, will be right by his side. Summer rhythms are different at Ascension than during the school year and I am grateful for the changing of rhythms to allow a slower pace as we are still navigating the road in and out of covid. We will invite a few guest preachers to offer Pastor Tony and Edwin a break and anything that needs to be done will still get done through the care and dedication of our staff. Please, offer yourselves for assistance should you see something needing to be done. Please also take the time to say thank you to staff members who pick up extra duties while I am away on sabbatical.

As has been tradition at Ascension, when the pastor goes on sabbatical, they do not return phone calls or emails or text messages. I will not attend funerals. And if a light bulb goes out or we run out of toilet paper – the staff will handle it. I will miss you greatly. Being disconnected from our church family is always a difficult experience. We are often so interconnected – tending joys and sorrows. I expect I will be ready to jump back into the mix by the time Sept. 18 rolls around when I am next scheduled to preach after my last Sunday on June 19.

Please know that while I am away, this community of faith will not be far from my thoughts. There will be prayers for rest and refreshment for you over the summer. It is my hope that you will enjoy a deeper relationship with Pastor Tony and Edwin during my absence.

May God’s blessings be yours over these next few months. I will celebrate a homecoming with you on Sept. 18.

Peace be with you.

Pastor Chris