Clergy Renewal Programs (Part I): Taking Time to Renew Ministerial Vocations By Tracy Schier Part 1. This is the first of two articles illuminating programs that provide grants to religious leaders, allowing them to take time away from their demanding lives in order to renew themselves spiritually, physically, emotionally, intellectually, and in their personal relationships. The Lilly Endowment s Clergy Renewal Programs (one for leaders of Indiana congregations and the other for pastors nationwide) and the Louisville Institute s Sabbatical Grant for Pastoral Leaders program both grew out of the Endowment Religion Division s long-standing effort to support programs and activities that strengthen congregations and increase the capacity for leaders of congregations and religious organizations. While the Endowment programs are specifically for pastors of congregations, the Louisville Institute program also can assist leaders, clergy or lay, who hold non-pastoral positions in congregational or denominational leadership. All programs are open to Protestant and Roman Catholic ministerial leaders. This article (Part 1) focuses on what the sabbaticals and clergy renewal programs are designed to accomplish, what promise they hold for persons who receive grants in the programs, how congregations are affected when a pastor takes a sabbatical, what pitfalls might be avoided, and what should be the expectations surrounding these experiences. Part 2, Clergy Renewal Programs (Part II): Renewal is Key to Pastors' Sabbaticals, focuses on some individual experiences of grant recipients. Back in the autumn of 1998 Lilly Endowment made its first announcements about a new Clergy Renewal Program for Indiana Congregations. At the time of the announcement, Craig Dykstra, Vice President for Religion, wrote in Initiatives in Religion about the high value this foundation places on pastoral ministry in congregations, and on the pastor him- or herself. In calling attention to the new grants program, Dykstra noted that the words in the announcement brochure hint at something we think pastors may need these days, namely, an extra measure of support from their congregations for the renewal of their spirits, their souls, their minds, and even their bodies. Now, with over six years experience in not just one but two programs funded directly by the Religion Division and another funded through the Louisville Institute, the wisdom behind these efforts is evident in the hundreds of men and women (not to mention the Page 1 of 5
congregation members who have indirectly benefited) who have taken time away from their ministerial duties to experience renewal. What has been clear from the beginnings of the programs is that sabbatical experiences are not vacations. The 2005 application form says this: Renewal periods are not vacations, but times for intentional exploration and reflection, for drinking again from God s life giving waters, for regaining enthusiasm and creativity for ministry. That the lives of pastors and other ministers are demanding and exhausting is never in doubt. Dykstra stated at the start of the Endowment programs that, pastors perform their duties among a dizzying array of requests and demands. Congregations are not always easy places, and the responsibilities can sometimes wear down the best pastors. It is not a job for the faint-hearted, but requires a balance of intelligence, love, humility, compassion and endurance. Most importantly, it demands that pastors remain in touch with the source of their life and strength. Like all people of faith, good pastors need moments to renew and refresh their energies. Dykstra noted also that, As important as vacations are, something more is needed than just temporary escape (vacate-tion) from the daily grind. What is needed is renewed connection with the taproots of ministry: the resource of God s plenitude. Further, he said, The very idea of a renewal program is an oxymoron, if by that we mean there is some ready-made technique or spiritual regime one can just sign up for and do. There is no one-shot fix for spiritual hungers. But time away, appropriately employed, can be invaluable, even essential. The recipients of pastoral renewal grants from the Endowment or sabbatical grants from Louisville Institute are not taking time off to rest and relax. Nor are they necessarily taking time off in the same way that college and university professors take sabbaticals to further their academic interests. William F. Brosend II, director of the Louisville Institute program explains: The difference is that an academic sabbatical is about the product and a pastoral one is about the person. In other words, when a pastor or religious leader applies for a sabbatical grant in one of the programs, he or she is expected to step back from the pressures of everyday work, to expend time, in Brosend s words, on the balcony of one s own vocation and see it in perspective. The intended result is that clergy and congregations grow in health and pastoral efficacy and efficiency as well as develop spiritual gifts. Renewal periods average about three months. During that time grantees take time away from day to day work schedules and meetings, leading liturgies, writing homilies, visiting the sick, leading youth groups, and all the other sundry responsibilities that define the work of a pastoral minister. The renewal period is a time to engage in significant reflection, through reading, writing, and prayer, in order that the minister can understand his or her own vocation through renewed eyes. Within their individually designed programs of study, prayer and travel many of the grantees may also include writing, but a written product such as an article or book is not a stipulation for receiving a grant as is very often the case with academic sabbaticals. Brosend notes that the Page 2 of 5
pastoral ministers who take a sabbatical report that they experience profound transformations of themselves as religious leaders, come to greater understanding of their role as public figures, and they find time to deepen and strengthen commitments to family and friends. Further, he says that These people find time to rest, their blood pressures go down, they exercise more. And while the sabbatical provides time for rest, it does not mean shutting down. A lot of engagement takes place during the sabbatical time, and new habits and practices are developed. It is a formative opportunity well into a person s ministry, not a time to crash somewhere. Both the Endowment and Louisville Institute grants programs are competitive, and there are many more applications than can be accepted. Nevertheless, staff in both Indianapolis and Louisville try to be as helpful as possible as applicants put together their proposals. There are no cookie-cutter applications; all who apply are encouraged to craft their potential sabbatical according to their own needs and interests. Melissa Bane Sevier was a recipient of one of the Lilly Endowment Clergy Renewal grants and has written a book that is meant to shepherd pastors through the many questions, hesitations, and practical issues that ministers might have as they consider or take a sabbatical leave. Sevier was pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Aurora, Indiana from 1992 to 2004 and is currently pastor of Versailles Presbyterian Church in Versailles, Kentucky. She received a grant for a sabbatical in the ninth year of her pastorate in Indiana. Her book is Journeying Toward Renewal: A Spiritual Companion for Pastoral Sabbaticals (Bethesda, MD: Alban Institute, 2002). Before and during her sabbatical Sevier kept a journal, and she confesses in the book s introduction that In the course of my own musings, I grew curious about the experiences of others who had taken sabbaticals, and began to seek them out. I learned that though we all approached sabbatical differently and had varied results, to a person we found the experience spiritually renewing. In conversation, Sevier looks back at her time away as truly a time not so much about doing as about being. She stresses that thought again and again in the book: This is what sabbatical is about: health, wholeness, and renewal. Sevier emphasizes that pastoral leaders who are experiencing stress or burnout are not candidates for a sabbatical; rather, they should get help. Things like regular checkups, relaxation techniques such as yoga, healthy exercise and eating are important on an ongoing basis. Recognizing the need for renewal should come out of healthy selfunderstanding and realization that creativity and spirituality can be refreshed and that experiences in travel and continuing education on the part of a minister will ultimately benefit congregation members and others that are ministered to. Sevier begins her book with journal entries written while she was contemplating applying for the sabbatical. Readers learn from these passages her need for renewal, her reservations about how a sabbatical would affect her congregation, her hesitations about her own ability to use the time as wisely as possible, and the expectations that Page 3 of 5
she, her husband, and her congregation, had about the whole process. Once she determined that she would apply for a sabbatical grant, Sevier worked openly with members of her congregation from the pulpit, in committee meetings, and in the parish newsletter. The fact that pastor and congregation collaborated on a specific plan for what would happen during her absence was helpful in allaying any fears on the part of parishioners. Looking back, she says that her substitute minister spent the 15 weeks working with the congregation on their spiritual gifts. It was renewing for them, Sevier says, adding that her substitute had gifts that were different from mine and it was very renewing for the congregation. Sevier says that it is very important that members of the congregation know they will not just mark time during a pastor s absence. She stresses that it should be a time of mutual learning, reflection, increased creativity, and renewal. In the book she says that for everyone it is a time for learning to listen together for God s new call to us. Where would we go next? What will our dreams be? How will we realize them? Who will help us move ahead? How can we be both truthful and hopeful about the future? Her advice to pastors is honest and perhaps a bit humbling. Don t take it personally, she says, but your congregation needs you to leave. Not forever, but for a few weeks or months. She goes on to explain that during this time they will learn about themselves, and even relearn things like how to work the thermostats! They will benefit from planning worship, deciding when to organize the fall stewardship campaign, and remembering to visit the sick and welcome visitors without pastoral prompting. In other words, the pastor s time away lessens the dangers of unhealthy dependence and provides time for self-differentiation. Sevier writes, It became abundantly clear to me that I am not indispensable. I see this as a good thing. Elsewhere she says, Our culture may idolize the workaholic leaders, but that leadership style does not best serve the congregation. Congregations typically have three of what Sevier calls hot button issues or common concerns among members: will the pastor return, where will the money come from, and how will the congregation manage. To deal with these issues is where openness in presabbatical planning comes in. Work with the church board and the congregation, she advises, to get them fired up about what will be their sabbatical experience as well. She also says it can help to have a judicatory official visit the congregation to relate how other parishes have handled pastoral sabbatical leaves. Inviting a pastor who has had a sabbatical to visit and share with the congregation can also be helpful. Regarding the fear that the pastor won t return, Sevier suggests that s/he give written assurance of returning for at least a year after the sabbatical. Such a document can also outline policies such as salary and benefits maintenance, and a plan for the governing board during the pastoral absence. It is common, she says, that post-sabbatical pastors are so changed by the experience of rest and renewal that, upon returning, they are much more capable of reacting to and working through congregational problems. Page 4 of 5
Craig Dykstra, at the very beginnings of these sabbatical programs, reminded all that the root of the word sabbatical comes from the biblical concept of Sabbath. Weekly Sabbath, he wrote to his Initiatives readers, and the seasons of the liturgical year are perhaps the most fundamental structures a faith community provides for its mutual, ongoing spiritual refreshment. Sevier, in turn, quotes a talk by Marjorie Thompson at the 2002 triennial meeting of the National Association of Presbyterian clergywomen in which she reminded listeners that the biblical concept of Sabbath is not just rest for rest s sake, but rest in order to experience and enjoy more fully both God and the things God has made. Thompson reminded her audience that the early church fathers understood the concept of holy leisure which defined work as non-leisure rather than leisure as non-work as our culture is so prone to do. Sevier also quotes Marva Dawn as pointing out that a day especially set aside for worship teaches us to carry the spirit of worship into our work. Furthermore, to give ourselves a day s break from emotional and intellectual problems enables us to come back to them with fresh perspectives, creative insights, and renewed spirits. Both the Lilly Endowment and Louisville Institute programs allow grant recipients much more than a day away. If a day s break is good, the reasoning goes, think of what weeks or months away can do. While focusing on individuals, each program has the good of the church as the ultimate beneficiary. The Endowment programs with their focus on pastors have the health of congregations in mind. And the Louisville Institute program, with its eligibility broadened beyond pastors, can reach into a variety of church institutions. While these programs cannot possible reach all religious leaders, nobody can doubt that they are cutting a broad swath across the religious landscape and ultimately helping many religious leaders, their congregations, institutions, and programs. Brosend says that the ideas of sabbatical and renewal are no longer the hard sell they once were and that these programs have been at the forefront in bringing change in conversation nationwide about the need for renewal. Sabbaticals and renewal programs are built into the language of dioceses and synods, he says. When Lilly Endowment initiated its first program for pastoral renewal in 1998 part of Dykstra s rationale was worded this way, Connecting daily life up with the great mercy and grace of God. That, indeed, is the whole point of pastoral work. It is what every good pastor tries to do. From the individual stories that follow in part 2 it becomes clear that pastors across the country who have benefited from sabbatical experiences have truly grasped the whole point of pastoral work and they themselves, their families, and their congregations are better able to make connection with the taproots of ministry: the resource of God s plenitude. Page 5 of 5