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Hoosier United Methodist News Archives
| Hoosier United Methodists together |
January 2004 |
Sabbaticals recharge United Methodist pastors
"The clergy renewal program" gives pastors time to take an extended leave and renew neglected spiritual disciplines."
By Linda Green
INDIANAPOLIS (UMNS) -- The Rev. Jonathan R. Almond has not had a sabbatical in the 36 years he has been in ministry in the United Methodist Church. Next fall, he will take four months to relax, reflect and "recharge my batteries."
The sabbatical is made possible by a national program that enables pastors to leave their pulpits for an average of three months for spiritual renewal.
Almond, pastor of Mathewson Street United Methodist Church in Providence, R.I., is one of eight United Methodist pastors participating in the 2003 National Clergy Renewal Program, funded by Indianapolis-based Lilly Endowment. The United Methodist churches are among 117 congregations that will collectively receive $4.5 million in grants to provide their pastors with opportunities to get re-energized for ministry.
Almond and the other pastors will tour religious and spiritual sites, as well as visit theological centers and churches similar to theirs. Times of travel, study, rest and prayer are designed to help the pastors enhance their spiritual lives.
The program also aims to give congregations a new sense of mission and purpose as they assume additional responsibilities in their pastors' absences.
The four-year-old National Clergy Renewal Program awards diverse congregations grants of up to $45,000 each to plan a "well-thought-out, intentional program of renewal for their pastor and themselves," says Gretchen Wolfram, communications director for the Lilly Endowment.
Congregations from 33 states and 16 Christian denominations and other faith traditions may use up to $15,000 of their grant money to pay for pastoral services in their pastor's absence and for congregational renewal expenses, she said.
The endowment's goal is to reinforce and build on the work of both clergy and lay people, she said. Most participating pastors will begin their renewal sabbaticals in 2004 and will have until Dec. 31, 2005, to complete their spiritual journeys.
"People do not realize how intense a pastor's life can be," says Craig Dykstra, the endowment's vice president for religion. "The clergy renewal program" gives pastors -- many of whom have never had a sabbatical -- time to take an extended leave and renew neglected spiritual disciplines," he says.
In addition to the Mathewson church, United Methodist congregations and pastors participating in the 2003 National Clergy Renewal Program and the grants received are: First UMC, Grand Rapids, Mich., Gary Thomas Haller; First UMC, Kalamazoo, Mich., Douglas Wendell Vernon; Scotia (N.Y.) UMC, Janice McClary Rowell; Calvary UMC, Durham, N.C., Laurie Hays Coffman; York Street UMC, Cincinnati, Vanessa K. Allen-Brown; Dallas (Ore.) UMC, Gwendolyn Muriel Drake; and First UMC, McAllen, Texas, Robert Schnase.
Last updated on 02/09/2004