Dear Friends,

A friend sent me an email this morning with a clip of Fred Rogers listening to the Empire Brass Quintet play a piece for him – “Central Park Morning.” It was a lovely way to begin the day. Included with the clip were some quotes of Mr. Rogers, and among them was this:

“It’s important to know when we need to stop, reflect, and receive. In our competitive world, that might be called a waste of time. I’ve learned that those times can be the preamble to periods of enormous growth.”

I’m so grateful that the parish is providing the opportunity for me to have such a time during my sabbatical. Creating the time to “reflect and receive” means that I will be away for the whole sabbatical. It also means that I will not be returning for any occasions or pastoral needs, such as baptisms or funerals.

During sabbatical periods or transition times in the life of a parish, the senior warden takes on the leadership role normally held by the rector. We are fortunate to have Doug Heim serving as our senior warden. He and I, along with Bridget Nyhan, our junior warden, have been meeting to prepare for this time. Questions or concerns during the sabbatical can  always be brought to the wardens, even as people already look to them throughout the year.

The three of us will be meeting this week with Lyn Brakeman, Dick Simeone, and Liz Senft, our priest and pastor associates, and Luther Zeigler, our sabbatical supply priest.  Together, they will ensure that pastoral care continues while I am away.

We are fortunate to have such leaders, both lay and ordained, and I am grateful for all that they already offered in preparation for this time.

I do hope there have been at least moments this summer when you have had the chance to stop, reflect, and receive.  Such moments can be a form of prayer, when in the quietness of waiting, God’s whispers and guidance can be heard more clearly.

Faithfully,

Tom

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

Finally beloved, whatever is true, whatever honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
Philippians 4:8

Dear Friends,

As a sophomore in college, I spent a semester as an intern working in a  parochial school in Jersey City. St. Bridget’s was located in one of the poorest neighborhoods in the city, and a dedicated staff of Roman Catholic nuns and lay teachers worked for all too little pay and with all too few supplies to create a community of learning, and of love.

There was a very small staff room – to call it a “teachers’ lounge” would be wildly overstating its comforts. Back in those days, in addition to that new invention, a coffee maker named “Mr. Coffee,”  there was the ubiquitous haze of blue smoke, as it was the one place in the building where teachers could smoke.

But one thing was missing. I thought that given the challenges and stresses the teachers faced each day, the staff room would have been a place where people would blow off steam, expressing their frustrations about this particular child or that particular class. We all know of “gallows humor,” jokes and comments that persons in high stress professions make to get through the most difficult moments. Yet never once did I hear a teacher in that room make fun of a child, or suggest that a class might be “acting like animals” today. Yes, jokes were made, but it was usually at the expense of the teacher telling the joke, rather than the students he or she served.

On my first day in that school, Sister Barbara, the principal, handed the interns a statement of the mission of the school. I don’t remember the exact words, but it emphasized treating each child with profound respect and love, and honoring his or her dignity as a child of God. Sister Barbara cheerfully, but in all seriousness, asked us as interns if we could agree with the statement. If so, we were welcome to work there. If not, she would do what she could to help us find another placement.

I came to realize that the commitment of the nuns in that school affected everyone, and their values permeated every place. Yes, that respect for each child was lived out in the classrooms, but also in the rooms where children never set foot.

“Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure…. think about these things.” In this time of our national life, I find myself thinking often of St. Paul’s words, and of my experience at St. Bridget’s. I think also of Sister Barbara and that dedicated staff. And I know that as citizens, and as leaders, we can do better.

Just like those children in Jersey City, our children are watching and listening.  What are they learning about us, and our nation? Think about these things.

Faithfully,

Tom