Thanks to Lilly Endowment Inc and CTS

As you know, I’m very excited about my sabbatical next summer. But when I began to list the places I would like to visit and the people I would like to see, one question surfaced early on. How would I fund the dream?

 Well, my sabbatical team went to work on this question earlier this year.  The team submitted a clergy renewal proposal which, if granted, would fund my sabbatical and the congregational events associated with it.  This week we received great news.  Here it is.

Holy Trinity Lutheran Church has received a grant of $42, 625 to enable its minister, Leroy Rehrer, to participate in the 2013 National Clergy Renewal Program funded by the Indianapolis-based Lilly Endowment Inc. and administered by Christian Theological Seminary.  Holy Trinity Lutheran is one of 87 congregations across the country selected to participate in this competitive grant program.  Established by the Endowment in 2000, the program’s grants allow Christian congregations to support their pastors with the gift of extended time away from their ministerial duties and responsibilities.

I have to pinch myself every time I read the announcement.  As one colleague mused, “Maybe you didn’t win the Powerball but you did sort of win the lottery this week.”

I am deeply indebted to the members of my sabbatical team.  They worked through most of February and March putting words to paper as they probed my dreams and desires in answer to these questions:  What will make your heart sing?  Where do you want to travel?  What do you want to see and do?  What theme and word of scripture could provide the thread that will pull the adventure together? What will deepen your relationship with Christ and, at the same time, provide opportunities for friends and members of the congregation to grow spiritually?

These are answers to some of the questions so far.  I will travel in Europe to visit cathedrals in Italy and France, monasteries in Spain, and sacred places in England.  I’ll visit with family and long-time friends along the way and here in the States.  I will immerse myself in “The Rule” of St. Benedict paying special attention to themes of justice, kindness and humility.  There will be time for golf and fishing as well.  These are the things that will make my heart sing!

Thanks also to the leaders and members of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church.  Granting sabbatical leave is but one example of your tenacious generosity.  It also provides an additional opportunity for us to grow deeper into the way of justice, kindness and humility.
  
I’ll be posting again soon.  I would be honored to have you accompany me on the journey through this blog.   I hope you will “follow.”

Excited

This is the first entry in my new blog, “Walking the Way,” and I am ecstatic!  This blog is a significant first step in preparation for my three-month sabbatical beginning in late April 2014.  Here I will share stories about the people I meet and the places I visit.  And I invite you to join me in the journey.

The sabbatical, sometimes called “Clergy Renewal,” is a wonderful gift and grants me time away from the regular duties of congregational life.  Leading worship, visiting the sick, teaching classes and spiritual direction within the congregation and local community will give way to travel, visits with family and old friends, and extended time for reading and study around the words of the prophet Micah, “Do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with your God.” What joy!

The sabbatical is also a time for “Congregation Renewal.”  During the three months I am absent from the congregation the members and friends of Holy Trinity will experience the good news through new voices:  guest preachers and teachers, and friends gathering in small groups to share their personal experiences of justice, kindness and humility.  New leaders will emerge to share in the work of the congregation and advance our mission, “In the city for good.”  And, in the months following my return we will gather to share the discoveries and the challenges we experienced during our time apart as well as the possibilities for ministry in our new season together.

Over the next months I will be planning the details of the sabbatical and sharing my excitement about them in this blog.  I will also be posting pictures and stories here while traveling next summer.

Thanks to all of the members of Holy Trinity and the Church council for this gift.  


I feel like a five year old on Christmas morning ready to open the beautifully wrapped package with my name on it.

   
Exciting!