Sermon given at UUFSCC
Sunday February 23, 2020
Pre-Sabbatical Service: Rest/Refresh/Refocus
Worship Leader: Rev Russ Menk
Worship Associate: Pamela Cote

This is the sermon I gave to share what a sabbatical is, why, why now, and what I plan to do for the Months of March and April (and October and November) 2020……Rev Russ
===============================================
“Sabbatical,” like “sabbath,” comes from the Hebrew for “rest”—“shabbath.”
The ancient Hebrews not only rested every seventh day
but they also let the land rest every seven years to ensure its productivity.
According to the Book of Leviticus, every 7th year would be a Jubilee year—when Hebrew slaves and prisoners would be freed, debts would be forgiven, and the mercies of God would be particularly manifest.
Over the centuries—the Jubilee year was abandoned,
and the sabbath has eroded to a few people who treat Sunday as a day of rest.
In Colonial America—all colonies had strict laws as to what could and could not happen on Sunday (the 7th day and the day of rest)…………this was because of the 4th of the 10 Biblical commandments is “Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day.”

My history of growing up in Texas with Blue Laws
1961 Texas passed Blue Laws —Among the 42 banned items were items like cars and liquor, but also items like knives, pots, pans and even washing machines. …
It was all about breaking your routine and taking a day off for rest.
The first American blue law was in 1617 and mandated church attendance of Virginian colonists and authorized the militia to enforce attendance.
Those were pretty good days for ministers.

Sabbaticals have long been common in academia and are increasingly so in ministry, especially in Unitarian Universalism; 75% of UU ministers have agreements that include sabbaticals.

My agreement with you says:
“The Minister shall use sabbatical leave for study, education, writing, meditation, and other forms of professional and religious growth.
Sabbatical leave accrues at the rate of one month per year of service,
with leave to be taken after four but before seven years of service.”

This is my 7th year of being with you.
The first 4 were as a contract minister, the rest as your called minister.
The math of calculating my sabbatical is that I have 4 months accrued.
I have chosen to take this time in two chunks—March & April AND October & November.

Typically a UU minister will take 4 to 7 months of sabbatical at one time, but we’re not typical—and I am not interested in that much time away from our ministry together—so it’ll be two 2-month sabbaticals.

Why a Sabbatical?
The ultimate purpose of a sabbatical is for the minister to come back refreshed and recharged in mind, body, and spirit by the break from normal responsibilities and
the chance to engage in something different.
In a ministerial sabbatical, the emphasis is often on spiritual renewal and exploration.
Congregational Ministers are essentially on-call 24/7, 365 days a year.
And if we’re not with someone or in a meeting, we are thinking about the ministry we fill.
A sabbatical is an opportunity to breathe and to put down the mantle of ministry for a time.

But UUFSCC is in a state of amazing vibrance and resilience.
At our State of UU last Sunday, I and lay leaders shared how “well” things are going here.
We are in a state of being extraordinary.
So, if things are going well, why a sabbatical now?

I’ll answer that with an excerpt from a book “The Artist’s Way” by Julia Cameron
“In order to create, we draw from our inner well.
This inner well, an artistic reservoir, is ideally like a well-stocked trout pond.
We’ve got big fish, little fish, fat fish, skinny fish—
an abundance of artistic fish to fry.
As artists, we must realize that we have to maintain this artistic ecosystem.

If we don’t give some attention to upkeep,
our well is apt to become depleted, stagnant, or blocked.
Any extended period of work draws heavily on our artistic well.
As artists we must learn to be self-nourishing.
We must become alert enough to consciously replenish our
creative resources as we draw on them– to restock the trout pond, so to speak.
To fill the well.”

Then she says this:
“Any extended period or piece of work draws heavily on our artistic well. Overtapping the well, like overfishing the pond, leaves us with diminished resources. We fish in vain for the images we require. Our work dries up and we wonder why, “just when it was going so well.” The truth is that work can dry up because it is going so well.”
=================
When things are going great—that is because the well has been drawn down.
When things are going great is not the time to continue drawing from the well—but a time to fill it.

But this stepping away when things are going so well creates a dilemma for me.
My colleague Rev Sharon Wyle said it this way before her sabbatical and captures my feelings precisely:

“I didn’t become a minister in order to leave my congregation,
and to be apart from you for months at a time.
Don’t get me wrong, I am grateful to be going on sabbatical and
am looking forward to it.
I haven’t had time off like this—
substantial time off without stress or worry—since childhood.
But I consider the taking of sabbatical to be one of the disciplines of being a minister.”

She goes on to cite a reference well circulated in minister circles—as a sobering observation:
“In 2010, the New York Times reported that
“Members of the clergy…suffer from obesity, hypertension and
depression at rates higher than most Americans.
In the last decade, their use of antidepressants had risen,
while their life expectancy had fallen.”

I did not become a minister to die sooner.
I did not become a minister in order to leave you.

But, over my ministry I’ve seen the importance of being disciplined and being a role model.
Many of you have become my role model of responding to life’s events with grace, patience, and wonder………..and maybe I will show the value in spending time away with my sabbatical.
And I hope this time apart will become “our” sabbatical—
When I will rest/refresh/refocus—and so will you.

I do not use the words “time off” in thinking about my sabbatical because since I was called to become a minister—I am not in states of “on” and “off.”
When I was working in industry—the dichotomy of “on” and “off” were part of my existence.
Many of you understand this two-sided life.
But since my entry into ministry,
One Foot in the Secular—One Foot in the Sacred—I’m not “on” nor “off”—I just am.
It is a balancing act…………and a sabbatical allows for some self-perspective on readjusting

But a sabbatical—even if it is for 2 months—can create anxiety for a congregation.
Who will do what I’ve been doing?

Well—your Board, Sabbatical Team, and I have been planning for this for a year.

The Worship Team has planned out the 9 Sundays when I’ll be gone.
Rev Ryan will continue to be here as youth minister/COA helper for the first Sunday in March & April.
He will also preach as main speaker for 3 other Sundays in a sermon series of
“Learning from the Margins.”
Other Sunday speakers will be
Our Minister-In-Formation: Sangye H
Our Community Minister: Rev Terra C-Y (here on Easter)
Earth Day will be a Mostly Musical Service
Which leaves 1 Sunday for a guest speaker—and we’re choosing from 2 candidates.
So—our 9 Sundays have been planned out………

Besides Sunday mornings, we’ve identified people to contact regarding areas like
Office and Campus Administration, Finance, Pastoral Care, Facilities, Children’s Religious Exploration, Justice Team, Membership
Our Sabbatical Team has built a chart titled “Who to Contact” for all the areas we could think of during our sabbatical. That chart will be distributed.

Our time apart will be different—and probably a bit uncomfortable—but it will be a great experience for both of us.

Another question is “what happens if an emergency occurs?”
The answer is that we’ve identified people who are authorized to contact me during the sabbatical.
They are Board President (Sarah M),
Sabbatical Team (Ann McC), and
Office Administrator (Pamela S.)
Of course, they will work with the Board to determine if contact is warranted.

But for most of the sabbatical I’ll be around.
So you will probably see me around town now and then,
on the beach, at the grocery store, or eating out.
Please don’t go out of your way and avoid me.
I certainly will not avoid you!
I am really going to miss being with you all.
I am certain it is going to feel strange staying away.
You all are, each of you is, very important to me.
And a sabbatical is not a quarantine.

Now for my disclosure
What Do I Plan to Do on our sabbatical?
I categorize my plan in just a few areas:
• Reading
• Reconnecting with people I care about
• Travel
• Unstructured Time

READING
My ministry has made reading books an elusive luxury for several years.
I just haven’t had the time to delve deeply into some of the great books and thoughts.
When I was in seminary, I was advised to seek out books that take 15 minutes a page to read and absorb.

So—I have queued up several such books and will spend much time reading a few pages each hour.

RECONNECTING WITH PEOPLE I CARE ABOUT
Isaac Newton in 1675 said:
“If I have seen further
it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants.”
My ministry stands on the shoulders of Giants who greatly influenced me on my journey.
I have been blessed by the people I’ve met along my journey—
some of whom gave me gifts that they likely don’t
remember just how greatly I was changed by them.

I have not maintained contact with most of these great folks
and I regret not telling them what grace they gave me—
or how they allowed me to see things differently.
There are many praises and thanks I want to extend to those who are my Giants.
I plan to reconnect with people I care about—
and tell them how important they are to me.

TRAVEL
Of the 61 days of this sabbatical, I’ll be on travel for 19.

We are going to Morocco in a very small group to experience this ancient culture directly.
I have never been on travel for this long of a stretch of time before—never.
This trip generates excitement and provokes anxiety for
someone like me who over plans everything.

My last category of planning is perhaps the most challenging and most rewarding:
UNSTRUCTURED TIME

I’m a product of my upbringing and culture.
Time not spent doing something has always meant time wasted.
I spent the majority of my life living with the mantra: Don’t waste time.
I had created a race with myself to “DO” as much as possible before I died,
and I was running as fast as I could—but I was NEVER in first place.
And it felt like I had to run as fast as I could just to stay in place. (The Red Queen’s Dilemma)
I was comfortable being as busy as I could be—
and never paused to think about what it all meant.

BUT
When I was called into ministry, I began a journey that had no plan, no route, no map, and no destination.
I was taught that you must leave your comfort zone to enter your learning zone.
That’s where learning and new perspectives lie for us: outside of our comfort zone.
The trick is to leave your comfort zone without entering your panic zone.
For in panic—all learning stops.
In panic—our reptilian brain takes over to fight, fly, or freeze.
And when I started my ministerial journey—my comfort zone was mighty close to my panic zone.
And my leaning zone was as thin as a razor blade.

But with time and a lot of practice
often spent recovering from almost drowning in my panic zone—
my learning zone became a place where it was easier to dwell.
I was able to see the magic and grace all around us when I was open to the experiences.
I was able to pay attention to all the clues of insight around me.
But when I was preoccupied being busy and doing chores and immersed in the daily routines—
I only got glimpses of the mystery.

True to my upbringing—since seminary–I have gravitated to my comfort zone of being busy.

And planning in Unstructured Time on sabbatical is pushing me right out of my comfort zone.
I don’t know how much time I’ll be able to be there.
I’m hoping with perseverance and practice—I’ll get better.

We can’t schedule spiritual insight.
We can’t plan in glimpses of the sacred.
We can’t program in a better understanding of the world.
We can’t slate a time slot to be speechlessly awed.

We can, however, make space for opportunities.
We can be spiritually postured for feeling God nudges.
We can be open to feel and see the beauty always around us.

This is the crux of sabbatical for me:
Making space for the presence of something that arises
when we consecrate a period of time to listen to what is most deeply beautiful,
nourishing, or true.
It is time consecrated with our attention, our mindfulness,
honoring those quiet forces of grace or spirit that sustain and heal us.
Unstructured time can be a chance to connect with the mystery that surrounds and sustains us.

It seems ironic that I’m at a point in my life
when I have to plan in unplanned time.
Unstructured time for me doesn’t mean doing nothing—
it means thinking about what is most important to become Rested/Refreshed/and Refocused.

I don’t have a bodhi tree in my little backyard,
But I do have a hammock.

I will miss you all.
I will miss doing everything I do in my daily ministry.
I look forward to what sabbatical will reveal.
I look forward to returning to you on Sunday May 3rd when
our Coming of Age Service will have our 7 youths giving their credo statements.

May our time apart be “OUR” sabbatical
where we are both pushed into our learning zone
so that we can all learn more about ourselves and each other……
……………..May it be so…………..Amen & Blessed be………