My sabbatical leave 2013:
In this new year of the Lord 2014,
I write with an overwhelming sense of gratitude to the Presbytery of Carlisle
for the gift of a sabbatical leave which I have enjoyed. From September 15 to
December 31, 2013 I was on sabbatical. I am especially grateful to Larry for
his service as our Executive Presbyter during my leave.
What did I do on my sabbatical?
There were three different dimensions to my sabbatical. Most important, I made
a daily and rigorous commitment to physical fitness. Before my sabbatical started
I joined CrossfitHershey. (Check out their website). Participating in Crossfit
was my daily discipline. I went to Crossfit every week day for their 9:00 a.m.
workout. This became an important spiritual discipline for me. Although fitness
has always been an important part of my life; working with Crossfit with a
daily commitment for 16 weeks has blessed me. I encourage everyone to build
some commitment to physical fitness into your daily life.
The second aspect of my sabbatical
leave was writing. I wrote and wrote and wrote. By the end of November I had
sitting on the corner of my desk at home a new book, printed out and neatly
stacked sheets of paper. This work had started many months earlier; and I had a
large body of research and a clear direction and outline complete before my
sabbatical. I had never had the kind of extended, uninterrupted time to devote
to such a research and writing task. For weeks, I spent hours each day writing.
It is hard to explain how meaningful, satisfying and spiritual this time was
for me. I am interested in the history of foreign mission work and global
Christianity. Using the online archives of Princeton Theological Seminary’s
library I journeyed back to the starting days of the Presbyterian Church in the
United States .
I explored and wrote about our earliest commitment to mission. I spend many
hours along side devout Presbyterians from previous eras like Francis Makemie,
Ashbel Green, the John Lowrie family, Betsey Stockton and Robert Speer. I know
that few people are interested in this history today. Although I am pleased
that my “book” is neatly printed and sitting on the corner of my desk; it may
never move beyond there. Our Westminster John Knox Press already rejected my
project; I am not surprised. Nonetheless I am convinced that our history will
guide our future. Because we are increasingly ignorant about our history, we
are increasingly unprepared for the future. But at the end of the day my
project is very important to me; I am grateful for the extended time I had to
simply read and write.
The third aspect of my sabbatical
leave was some time to develop a hobby some more. I, like many, many people, am
very interested in woodworking. I do not have the time, the tools or the space
in our home to fully develop this hobby. It remains a future, maybe a
retirement, hobby. But I did spend some time making wooden pictures frames
during my sabbatical. Working for many hours in my tiny, basement shop, and
with my newly acquired photo mat cutter, I made wood (oak and maple) picture
frames for some of the amazing photographs I have taken over the years. These
framed pictures now hang in my little study here at home where I read, write,
pray and work every day. Everyone needs a hobby!
My sabbatical leave was more than
enough. During the week of Christmas, the last week of my sabbatical, I was
eager to get back to work. Now I am settled in again, my careful list of things
to do is again before me; there is a lot of work to do, as usual, within our
Presbytery. And deep in my memory now there abides a sincere gratitude and
appreciation for the weeks of sabbatical leave I enjoyed in 2013. Thank You
Presbytery of Carlisle ! Happy New Year
2014!
