In Good Hands
FROM THE RECTOR
By the time you read this, I will be gone—on sabbatical for three months. I have already written enough in the newsletter about me and my plans. In this last missive before my departure, I want to write a little bit about my hopes for St. Paul’s during the summer. This is not an attempt to guide or direct things while I am away. In fact, I hope it will be the exact opposite—an intentional letting go of my role as your rector for these next three months.
First, I want to reiterate that our congregation is in very good hands. This sabbatical would not be possible if Sara Milford were not here. As you have undoubtedly noticed, she brings deep gifts for leadership into this place, and she has earned my confidence and the confidence of the whole parish right from the start. She is an excellent preacher, pastor, and leader, and she will faithfully guide the staff, volunteers, ministries, and people of St. Paul’s during the months ahead.
In addition, Sara is supported by a host of talented colleagues, including our staff and many volunteers. Among the clergy, Danny Schieffler, retired Rector of St. Mark’s in Little Rock, will be here as a supply priest for four weeks, and Lowell Grisham has returned to St. Paul’s as our Rector Emeritus. Although Lowell will be gone in June and July, we look forward to his return in August. Also, Lora Walsh, Chuck Walling, and Lynne Spellman will continue to serve this summer. Until her retirement in July, Kathy McGregor will be here, and we welcome Casey Anderson-Molina, the new Chaplain at St. Martin’s, who will offer support on Sundays.
Despite a deep roster of supporting clergy, Sara will need some extra help this summer, and that may be the most exciting part of the opportunity ahead of us. When I am gone, everything will shift a little bit. Some things will need to be put down, and, in their place, space for new possibilities will open up. Familiar ministries will be led by new people, and our capacity to do the work that God has given us to do will grow each time someone takes on a new role. Although our clergy are likely to preach and preside in worship, other faithful people will step up and take on some of the work that clergy have traditionally done, including some of our pastoral care.
People call me all the time to ask me if they can do something—start a new project, try a new ministry, adopt a new strategy, or care for our church in a new way. Sometimes I feel like I need to help coordinate those efforts to prevent two groups from competing with each other, but, as long as the resources are in place and there is no conflict to work out, my answer is always yes. Over the last few weeks, in anticipation of my time away, those requests have come in more frequently. Imagine what would happen in this place if no one had to ask and if no one waited on me to say yes. Although it is possible that innovation and creativity around here will dwindle to a trickle until I am back, I hope and pray that will not be the case. I hope instead that I will come back and see all of the ways in which my getting out of the way has fostered good and faithful work on your part.
If our goal during this sabbatical were to carry on as if nothing had changed, we would miss the chance to learn, adapt, and grow during these summer months. I have encouraged our staff not to do everything the way that they think that I would do it and instead to trust themselves to figure things out on their own. I would much rather come back and celebrate their accomplishments than discover that their creativity was somehow stifled by my shadow lingering over this place. I hope that you will see this sabbatical in the same way—as an opportunity for you to pursue your own creative ministry.
When God tells God’s people to leave the land fallow once every seven years, God is not inviting the community into a more fruitful harvest through a primitive form of crop rotation. Honoring the sabbath day and keeping it holy is not a strategy for maximining the output of labor by spreading it out over the remaining six days of the week. Instead, by sanctifying the sabbath, God is showing us that faithfulness cannot be measured in terms of economic output but only by our commitment to whatever growth God brings about.
These three months are not a time for us to rest up so that the next seven years can be even more productive. This is not a time for me to go away and come up with lots of new ideas for what we can do together when I get back. This is a season of rest, when my voice is not needed to guide the ministries of our parish. This is a time of renewal, when some of the familiar ways of doing things give way to new and creative approaches. In that space, good and God-given things spring up.
In a self-propagating way, that sort of sabbath-enabled fruitfulness is only possible when we trust that God has given us everything we need to be faithful, and the practice of stepping back and giving space for whatever will come teaches us to trust in God’s provision. If that sounds like a lesson in stewardship, it is. We set aside this time not knowing fully what will come to bear but trusting that the act of setting it apart will lead to a new sort of flourishing.
I will miss being a part of what this summer will bring, but I recognize that this summer cannot bring it if I am still here in the middle of things. I hope you look forward to this sabbatical as much as I do—not only for my own rest and renewal but for the work of renewal that God will bring to all of us. Even though we will be apart, this is definitely a journey we share.
Yours Faithfully,
Evan D. Garner