Canon Wright was away for most of his sabbatical June-Sept this year. Bishop Hughes will be away for part of her sabbatical from mid-December through mid-February and Canon Clark will be away for sabbatical after Easter.
Clergy in the Diocese of Newark have sabbatical leave of three months after five years of ministry in a position. If wardens or clergy have questions about sabbatical, please contact Canon Wright.
I wasn’t entirely sure what being on sabbatical would be like, honestly. I knew it was different than simply time off or even a long vacation. While an important, even central, aspect of sabbatical is time for rest and recharging, it functions differently than just “time off” and it did actually feel different, more purposeful. My own sabbatical plan included two focal points – restoration and enrichment.
My focus on restoration provided me opportunities to begin and end my sabbatical time with retreat. I went to Holy Cross monastery in New York for several days of retreat near the beginning of my time and then made my way out to a remote monastery in northern New Mexico, near Abiquiu, at the monastery of Christ in the Desert near the end of the sabbatical. I took some time to wander through Texas to see family and friends and to revisit places where I grew up on the high plains. From there I went to spend some time in Taos, NM, a favorite area, and to visit my sister who lives on the Hopi Reservation in Arizona. Wherever I went, I was able to spend time in art museums and to attend theatre performances or other cultural events, all of which I often find renewing, thought-provoking, and inspiring.
Seeking enrichment, I was glad to have time to go deeper in some areas that are important to me, but not always part of my daily life. Attending an international scholarly liturgical conference that I hadn’t previously been able to go to was a highlight. Every other year, scholars gather and present papers and hear addresses focused on liturgy and worship, in French, English, and German. I was inducted into the organization, Societas Liturgica, at this year’s meeting in Paris. Anglican members of Societas are also members of the International Anglican Liturgical Consultation, which explores liturgical issues across the Anglican Communion. I also was able to take time to do more intentional reading and to work on thinking through future projects I may want to work on in my academic field. My remaining two weeks of sabbatical have been scheduled for March, where I hope to do some Spanish language immersion study.
Returning from sabbatical has been its own project. Aside from simply catching up on tasks and projects that were waiting, especially during a busy time of year in the fall, the work of the return is its own phase. Part of the gift of sabbatical is the opportunity to reset patterns of work, rest, and restoration and to adjust needed boundaries. The return phase of sabbatical is partly about applying what was learned during that focused time away, to ensure that ongoing life and work can be more restorative, more enriching. One of the ways that sabbatical is helpful not only for the participant, but to the community that they serve, is that they return with a new lens or perspective on themselves and their work, enabling more creative and fruitful ministry in the years ahead.
Pax,
Canon Wright
