A Watercolor From 35 years Ago

Dear Friends,

As many of you know, on Monday July 24th, I will begin my sabbatical. For three and a half months, I will be away from parish life, returning on the Feast of All Saints, Sunday, November 5th.

The purpose of this leave-taking is to rest, to renew a sense of call and vocation, and to do things that I would not otherwise be able to do without such an extended time. The goal is to return to St. John’s prepared for another extended season of ministry together.

A theme of the sabbatical will be to spend time on creative endeavors, familiar and new, to which I have given too little time in recent years. It has been a life-long dream of mine to learn to play the piano. Having already started lessons, I am eager to spend more time at  the keyboard, and look forward to returning being able to play at least a few hymns! Still, Douglas has nothing to worry about.

Over 30 years ago, I explored watercolor painting  and pen and ink drawing. I have not lifted the brush or pen in quite awhile, and will be taking watercolor classes at the beginning of the sabbatical.

One region I plan to paint images of is the Thousand Islands. I am fortunate that my spouse, Thomas Brown, will have a sabbatical at the same time. While we each will be doing some different things, we will spend a good two months of the sabbatical, from mid August until mid-October, at Thousand Island Park on the St. Lawrence River. Over the last fourteen years, it has become a place of  sabbath rest and spiritual renewal for us both, and I am grateful to have more than a few weeks there this year.

I’ll share a bit more  about my plans in in next week’s News and Notes. I know another important question that my sabbatical raises is “What about St. John’s?”  You will be receiving a letter from the wardens before my departure about clergy leadership and the life of the parish during the sabbatical. Do see the news below about our clergy leadership in the fall.

I am so grateful to the vestry for their encouragement and support for this sabbatical, and to the Diocese of Massachusetts for its provision of sabbatical grants for clergy.   My prayer throughout this time will be that everyone of us finds ways to incorporate sabbath into the rhythm and rhyme of our lives.

Faithfully,

Tom