From the Gulf Coast - Part II

My personal retreat month has been very helpful.  Except for 10 days down in my back and visiting the Chiropractor, I have spent my days walking on the beach, hiking trails, light Yoga, daily meditation, reading scripture, reading vocationally related books, Morning Prayer and cooking.  I have shared this time with my colleague and friend, The Rev. Pat Williamson from Unity Christ Church, Golden Valley, MN.  He too is on a sabbatical.  Doing this retreat together was affordable and very beneficial to both of us.

 

Me and Rev. Pat on the hiking trail.

I have finished the book "Becoming the Pastor You Hope to Be - Four Practices for Improving Ministry".  A very helpful and encouraging read.  I have joked several times while reading this book that it was published about 30 years too late for me.  However, I am coming away from this read with a number of helpful things.  When I return to my regular ministry schedule two things I hope to implement from this book are: 1) Seek out several mentors who have done what I hope to do in my ministry site and 2) Create a Clergy Peer Group that will provide a space for me where ministry can be less isolating, shared, examined, and owned, by a group of sympathetic colleagues.  A group that will allow a safe place to share and receive feedback about ministry.  This, I believe, will be very helpful to me as well as my congregation.

On Sunday, January 29th I worshiped at a local Episcopal congregation.  It was a wonderful time of worship.

My reading included many other books and devotional resources.  One quote I particularly liked from my readings is from "The Journey With the Master" by Eva Bell Werber,

"Many words and much speaking do not denote consciousness." 

A Scripture related to this comes from Proverbs 10:19b,

"...the prudent are restrained in speech."

Words to grow from.  Blessings, Pastor Keith

From the Gulf Coast - Part I

From January 8th through February 8th I spent time on a personal renewal retreat in Gulf Shores, Alabama.  During this time I will relax, read, reflect, meditate, spend time in daily prayer, lift in prayer members and others of St. John Church, journal, and take advantage of other personal renewal activities such as walks along the shore, working out, yoga and enjoy the Gulf Shores weather and coast line.

The morning surf

My days begin with morning prayer using The Living Book of Daily Prayer used by our Wednesday Morning Prayer group at St. John, reading from the Bible, writing reflections in my journal and reading a portion of Don Miguel Ruiz's book The Four Agreements.

The Four Agreements has been a steady diet for my daily devotions for some time now.  I find them to be very helpful spiritual practice as a pastor.  In short the four agreements are:
1. BE IMPECCABLE WITH YOUR WORD
2. DON'T TAKE ANYTHING PERSONALLY
3. DON'T MAKE ASSUMPTIONS
4. ALWAYS DO YOUR BEST

Starting during this personal retreat time in Alabama I will begin reading several books.  I plan to read them in this order:

This Odd and Wondrous Calling - The Public and Private Lives of Two Ministers
by Lillian Daniel and Martin B. Copenhaver

Becoming the Pastor You Hope to Be - Four Practices For Improving Ministry
by Barbara J. Blodgett

If the Church Were Christian - Rediscovering the Values of Jesus
by Philip Gulley

Liberating Hope! - Daring to Renew the Mainline Church
by Michael S. Piazza and Cameron B. Trimble

and

Good News Preaching - Offering The Gospel in Every Sermon
by Gennifer Benjamin Brooks

I finished This Odd and Wondrous Calling this morning.  It was engaging with stimulating stories and real-life ministry examples.  I recommend that every member of St. John United Church of Christ in Bellevue, KY read this book.  It gives a good overview of the life, joy, and struggles of a local pastor.  I identified with it greatly and feel it would be helpful to my congregation and others.  There are many good quotes from this book, however, here I will share just this one,
"I thought about how being a bass player is a lot like being a minister.  You lay down the beat, trying to keep it solid and true.  Sometimes your job is to keep it steady enough to allow others to shine, to sing, to play, and to dance.  Other times, it's the bass that makes it funky, adding needed surprise.  But the bass is just one part of the band, and alone it doesn't sound like much.
For people like me who are drawn to music, the mystery that draws us into the bands we love the most is that we know it's not just about playing alone. The notes and sounds come together, the different people play their roles, and what is produced transcends the individual parts.  It's like when you join a church and become a member of the body of Christ.  Where you join a band that is way better than you are, and the next tour is always just beginning."

I would ask members of my congregation to consider reading this book!

On Sunday, January 15th (Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday) I visited a new congregation of the United Church of Christ in Mobile, Alabama called Open Table United Church of Christ where The Reverend Ellen Sims is pastor.  We have very few congregations in the south.  This congregation is two years old and doing very good and intentional ministry in the community in Mobile.  The 5:00 p.m. Sunday evening worship was very meaningful and powerful to me particularly as I am on sabbatical and seeking renewal for ministry.  The lesson was from the story about our persistent-God calling Samuel (First Samuel chapter 3).  Verses 10 and 11 were particularly powerful for me.  It says, "Now the Lord came and stood there, calling as before, 'Samuel! Samuel!'  And Samuel said, 'Speak, for your servant is listening.' Then the Lord said to Samuel, 'See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make both ears of anyone who hears of it tingle.'"  What is it that God is calling me/us to do?  My prayer is: Speak Lord, and make our ears tingle.  We are listening and ready to take action.  Amen!

Please keep Pastor Ellen Sims and the Open Table United Church of Christ congregation in your prayers.


Blessings, Pastor Keith

Silent Retreat - Abbey of Gethsemani

Abbey of Gethsemani - Trappist, KY - http://www.monks.org/

I spent two full days (January 2 - 4, 2012) at the Abbey of Gethsemani in Trappist, KY (about 20 miles south of Bardstown) with the monks.  It was a great experience of silence, prayer, meditation, Sripture reading, and journaling.  They have over 1,000 acres of land to explore (I didn't get to all of that), seven times of prayer/chanting each day (3:15 a.m., 5:45 a.m., 7:30 a.m., 12:15 p.m., 2:15 p.m., 5;30 p.m., and 7:30 p.m.).  Trappist monks are known for Prayer, Work and Silence.  The Abbey of Gethsemani is particularly known for their cheese, fruit cake and fudge.  They follow the rule of St. Benedict of Nursia. 




Abbey of Gethsemani Church Tower

 My retreat at Gethsemani was a great way to begin my sabbatical.  Here are a few thoughts and prayers from my journal:

O God, guide me in this time that I may be renewed for your service and glory.  Amen.

On the first day it was snowing and I wrote:

Come windy-snow, come,
  Blow outside my window,
    Blow right past my heart.
Come windy-snow, come,
  fill the air with your presence
    until the eye can no longer see.
Slow me down, ease my thoughts,
  linger my mind so I may rest
   and find myself again.
Come windy-snow, come.

I wrote another memory about "A Monk on the Stairs" that is a fun story.  You'll have to ask me about it when I return.

PAX (Peace), Pastor Keith


Pastor Keith on a cold day with crystal clear sky - beautiful view from top of hill with Cross




Beautiful tree in the garden valley as the sun is rising



Approved for Sabbatical

On Tuesday, May 17th 2011 the Pastoral Relations Committee presented a proposal to the Church Council regarding granting me a full three-month sabbatical in 2012.  After conversation about the purpose and reason for a sabbatical and questions of how it may work for us, the Church Council unanomously voted to approve this proposal.  My sabbatical will be January 1, 2012 through March 31st 2012.

I am so pleased, happy and thankful for this decision.  Too often these days we loose good, qualified, educated, trained and seasoned ministers from the vocation of local Church pastorates due to burn out and stress.  This sabbatical will not only allow me to have a break from the day to day pressures, responsibilities, stress and continually on-call schedule of being a pastor, it will also provide me with renewal time, training and new experiences of service in order to remain in ministry.

I am thankful to the Pastoral Relations Committee, Church Council and congregation for your support in taking the next step to reach our Conference Compensation Guidlines by including a full sabbatical leave.

I have already begun planning for my sabbatical leave.  I am working through my library selected potential books to read and I'm contacting colleagues who have had this experience to get ideas for mental, physical and spiritual renewal while I am away.  My plans will include some travel, workshops, classes and training, etc.  More of those details will be forthcoming.

Many of you will wonder how things will work at the Church during these three months, who will be in charge and the budget impact a sabbatical leave may have.  Those and other questions will be answered in a variety of ways in future blogs and church publications and forums.  But for now let me just say how thankful I am for this opportunity to care for myself professionally in order to continue with my call to ministry amoung you.

Blessings,
Pastor Keith