This week I begin a three month stint as locum tenens at Christ Church in North Conway, New Hampshire while my friend Richard Belshaw is on sabbatical. Unlike my previous experience at Ascension Memorial Church, this will be with a community I have known for more than fifty years. Jan and I met at Christ Church in 1971, married there the following year, and chose to retire in the Mount Washington Valley in 2016.
A sabbatical is not only an opportunity for learning for the cleric but for the parish as well. The old saying about the minister ministering while the congregation congregates can be proven wrong during a sabbatical. All members of the Body of Christ are called to share in Christ's transforming and renewing work in the world. The chance to explore new ways of sharing in this work is one of the gifts that the parish can receive during a sabbatical.
During the next three months I will, of course, have responsibility for worship, pastoral care, and some administrative work. But I will also have an opportunity to help parishioners explore new ways of serving one another and our neighbors. I look forward to this new adventure and ask for your prayers.
