It has been my honor to serve as General Presbyter of the Presbytery of Lake Michigan since January 2008. Now after six and a half years of service, I am very appreciative that the Staff Services Committee and Leadership Team have granted me a three month Sabbatical for rest and rejuvenation of spirit and body. My Sabbatical is scheduled for Monday, June 23 through Sunday, September 21, 2014.
On a personal note, this summer is the 40th anniversary of the beginning of Eileen's and my dating relationship. We will celebrate the 38th anniversary of our marriage on August 14th. July 14th will be the 30th anniversary of my ordination. We have served side by side in the P.C.(U.S.A.) over these years, with the Presbyterian Mission in Brazil, then congregations in North Carolina and Virginia while seminarians, and then congregations in Pennsylvania and New York and now the Presbytery of Lake Michigan. This is my first Sabbatical.
Sabbatical Plans: Eileen will be taking an unpaid leave of absence to accompany me on a Pilgrimage to Scotland June 25 through July 24th. We will tour Edinburgh and London, then spend a week (July 5-11) at Iona for a conference "Facing Our Environmental Challenges" with David Osborne, a professor of theology. The conference will not center on the science of climate change or global warming, but on the theological implications and psychological dynamics at play concerning our reluctance to engaging this global challenge. This is a great concern of mine, which I believe has profound implications for faithful leadership in the coming years. I believe this leadership challenge transcends the issues which absorb our daily attention. We will then explore the Scottish Highlands, and conclude with a brief stay at the the Northumbria Community in Northern England, a community which has given us the "Celtic Daily Prayer" Book.
After a week's rest at home, we will visit family in Pennsylvania and Long Island as we normally do. Eileen will then return to work on August 19th. I will then have five weeks at home for reading, resting, prayer and contemplation, enjoying the biking trials and rivers of Southwest Michigan. I will join you at the Presbytery Retreat at Geneva Shores, September 15-16, and will return to work on Monday, September 22nd.
I have contracted with Nelson Lumm and Larry Boutelle, both honorably retired minister members of the Presbyter, to fill in as acting General Presbyter for head of staff, administrative leadership and crisis management for 12 hours a week during the Sabbatical. Pastoral responses will be delegated to COM and other available persons. Use the following email address and phone number to contact them: plmactinggp@gmail.com, and/or 269-381-6337 ext. 1.
Prior to the Sabbatical, I will be attending the 221st General Assembly in Detroit June 13-21, during which I will be blogging here and posting my impressions on Facebook. Please join the Presbytery of Lake Michigan Facebook group for photos and videos. The deliberations of General Assemblies often focus us on what divides us. However, Assemblies also point to what unites us. This Assembly will celebrate Holy Communion every day. Mission co-workers will be commissioned, and mission stories will be shared, which we all celebrate. However, Presbyterians have always been rigorous in discerning the will of God on pressing matters contemporary to ministry. This is part of our DNA as Presbyterians. Presbyterians nation wide, as well as within our Presbytery, agree on some matters and disagree on others. I suspect this will be true again this summer as well.
As I will not be with you in the aftermath of this summer's Assembly, I share here my commendation and prayer. I commend to you our Lord's "Other" Prayer in John 17:11, "Protect them (the disciples) in your name that you have given to me, so that they may be one as we (the Holy Trinity) are one."
Our unity is the content of our Lord's other prayer, his hope for the disciples as he prepared to leave them. Such unity does not mean unanimity, but unity in our diversity as expressed in the Foundations of Presbyterian Polity. "The unity of believers in Christ is reflected in the rich diversity of the Church's membership" (F-1.0403). This diversity is not always seen in our congregations, but is more apparent when we come together in the larger contexts of Presbyteries, Synods, and General Assembly, and ecumenical relationships.
So I call upon the teaching and ruling presbyters of this presbytery to honor our historic principle of showing mutual forbearance toward one another, and fulfilling our ordination vow to be governed by the church's polity and to be a friend among your colleagues in ministry, working with them, subject to the ordering of God's Word and Spirit (W-4.4003e). Christ's call to discipleship is to love not only our neighbors with whom we agree, but also our enemies (Matthew 5:43-48). The Church calls us and we covenant together to be a friend of colleagues. Sometimes this is hard, but I believe the Spirit of God is in the midst of us in profound ways when we walk that path.
The Leadership Team and I want to model for pastors and Sessions the gift of Sabbatical for the vitality and health of ministry. May God bless our pilgrimages!
May the Grace and the Deep Peace, which we know and share in Christ, be with you.
John Best,
General Presbyter
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