Lake Michigan Presbytery, thank you for the gift of my Sabbatical. Our good intentions, our strong sense of call to ministry to glorify God and join God in addressing the never ending needs of our families, our congregations/presbytery, our communities, and world make us vulnerable to burn out and illness. Too many of us live out of balance forgetting self care. I thought I was doing pretty well at it...but the strain and fatigue does have a way of catching up with us. The Michigan and American cultures prize work and celebrate 150% effort at the expense of the time and space for the mind, body and spirit to rest and rejuvenate. Not surprisingly, our culture suffers from the compounding crisis of failed marriages, dysfunctional families, health and obesity crisis... Step out of our culture for a bit, and one recognizes that it does not have to be this way. European workers in highly developed countries are granted far more leisure time than the typical American worker. Christian brothers and sisters in under developed countries exhibit in their poverty a joy that stretches and lifts our spirit, which is far too often depressed. A recent National Geographic documentary names "stress" as the nation’s most deceptive killer. I believe God has a healthier more balanced lifestyle intended for us. So does this Presbytery! My Sabbatical gave me an extended period of time to unwind, get my mind and heart on something else for a bit, nourish my spirit and passion, tend to my marriage and family, and strengthen my body. What a gift! I thank this Presbytery and its Committee on Ministry for having a policy which encourages Sabbaticals, the Staff Services Committee and Leadership Team for granting me a Sabbatical and freeing up funds from an unused professional development account to make it possible. Thank you to the staff and Nelson Lumm and Larry Boutelle who filled in for me. I return strong, invigorated, healthy, as fit as I can remember being and renewed for ministry serving this presbytery.
So what how did I use this time? After getting turned around on our return from attending the General Assembly in Detroit, Eileen and I, traveled to Great Britain for four wonderful weeks! This immediately got our minds on something other than our presbytery duties and gave us an adventure in which we spent nearly every moment together. We first toured Edinburgh: St. Giles Cathedral, Greyfriars Church, John Knox House Museum, the Peoples Museum, the National Museum of Scotland, shopping on the Royal Mile. We stayed with an Airbnb hostess just behind Holyrood Palace and park below Arthur's Seat. We were able to walk everywhere.
Then we traveled by train down the East Coast to London, seeing Holy Island at a distance and going through York (I was born in York, Pennsylvania) on the way. There we stayed in a community in the north east outskirts of London and commuted by the Tube. We watched the changing of the Guards at Buckingham Palace on a sunny, blue sky day and walked through the gardens and around the House of Parliament with Big Ben. We toured Westminster Abbey and worshiped there and at St. Paul's Cathedral for Even Song with the boys choir singing. These midweek services were well attended, each with grand processions and recessions of many church officials in full dress. We enjoyed a midday concert at St. Martins of the Field, and ate lunch at the church cafeteria in the crept downstairs. We visited the National Gallery of Art, next door, the British Museum, The British Library, and the Museum of London. We took a walking tour of Old Kennsington, and ate a snack at the Kennsington Palace, the home of Will and Kate, then meandered through the gardens there. To rest our feet, we took a cruise on the Thames,
From London, we traveled straight to Oban by train via Lancaster (Eileen was born in Lancaster, PA), Carlisle (I grew up near Carlisle, PA, and was ordained by Carlisle Presbytery), and Glasgow. The train trip from Glasgow to Oban is not to be missed if you go to Scotland. The train travels slowly, as it winds through the incredibly beautiful mountains and along the lochs (lakes). In Oban, after touring London on the cheap, we celebrated our 38th wedding anniversary a month early by staying in a refurbished Bed & Breakfast with a harbor view from our room and going to Oban's best seafood restaurant by the docks! Nice!
The next day we hopped the ferry to Mull and headed for Iona. A waiting bus at the ferry terminal took us across Mull on a single track road. Then another ferry to Iona. This was my second visit to Iona. There is a saying that no experience is complete until you share it with the one you love. When asked what her favorite part of the trip was, Eileen will tell you, "Iona." There is another saying, if you come to Iona once, you will come three times. May be. Hundreds of thousands of people make the pilgrimage to Iona every year. We stayed at the Abbey for a week long conference, "Love for the Future" with David Osborn, a member of the Iona Community, and author of the book with the same title. I consider Environmental Stewardship the greatest challenge of this generation. This conference attracted many kindred spirits. We spent twenty minutes at the first session on the global environmental crisis and then the rest of the week on the spiritual gifts and disciplines David believes are needed to summons the courage, strength and stamina to address the crisis. PERFECT! More on that in another blog. We participated in the daily chores of community life. We worshiped morning and evening. We ate the freshly baked bread and homemade jellies from the kitchen. A highlight for me was the pilgrimage walk around the island. At Columba's Bay where St. Columba landed after leaving Ireland, I picked up a stone, as we were all invited to do, and cast it into the sea, representing that which I named to leave behind. I named what is almost pathological for many of us ministers, the desire to please people. I have always tried to speak the truth in love. Sometimes it's painful. I cast that pain into the water and gave it back to God. We took an excursion to Staffa, a neighboring island, where we had a wonderful photo shoot with the puffins. They are the cutest, friendliest birds.
Our time at Iona was the centerpiece of our month. Afterward, we picked up a rental car, and explored the Highlands. I drove 1200 miles on the "wrong" side of the road with a left handed stick shift. Many of those miles were on single track roads. We drove through Loch Lomand National Park. Walked to a waterfalls in the misty clouded forest of Queen Elizabeth Park, a reforestation project of the queen some years ago. We explored the standing stones in Kilmartin, south of Oban, the Isle of Skye, toured Eilean Donan Castle, one of Scotland's most picturesque, as it has been restored. From there we drove all day on single track roads up the west coast, including what a National Geographic poll determined the world's most dynamic drive--the Applecross Highway. Actually the drive up over the mountain was the most exhilarating experience I had. The mountain pass had many hair pin steep switch back turns, no guard rails. I was having the time of my life. Eileen lost a year or two with white knuckles on that mountain pass. We climbed over 2,000 feet and stopped at the top. There was the Isle of Skye and the community where we had stayed, just a few miles away as the crow flies. We could almost the make out the house where we left hours before that morning. So it is in the west coast of Scotland. Absolutely stunning views all day!
We then stayed at an Airbnb in Golspie, on the east coast of the Northern Highlands. Our host was a miller who ran a water powered Grist Mill, one of two in Scotland. We toured the Dunrodin Castle, the home of the Duke of Sutherland. The Castle and gardens were stunning. A falconer did demonstrations with his trained falcons, owls and eagles. Fascinating! The Duke had a museum of hunting trophies from Safari Hunts in Africa. The next day we drove north and visited the ruins of the seaside town where crofters (subsistence farmers) who for centuries worked the land for the price of fighting the Duke's wars. When the region was demilitarized by the English after the Battle of Culloden in 1745, the Duke of Sutherland was one of the first to figure out that he could make a whole lot more money by raising sheep. The Duke expelled the crofters, an experience called "the Clearances." The families I grow up with were Scotch Irish farmers who had immigrated to Ireland briefly, and then to America. The church of my youth in South Central Pennsylvania was organized by Carlisle Presbytery in 1766. Again and again I was reminded of the scenery and of driving the roads of my youth in the valleys of the Appalachian mountains. My impression of the Duke was transformed that day as the place and history resonated with memories of the families of my childhood. We drove to the north shore, explored the Grey Cairns of Camster, Bronze Age Pict burial places which look like a pile of stones in a field. These were reconstructed. I crawled into three of them on my hands and knees through a 20 foot long passage way just high and wide enough for me to squeeze there. Another exhilarating adventure! We drove to John O'Croats. the end of the road on the north shore. It reminded me of Montauk, the east end community of Long Island. We went right to the light house and hiked along the cliffs of Duncansby Head on a rare (for the area) clear blue sky afternoon. Stunning! We stopped by the Castle of Mey on the north shore, which the queen mom bought when King George died and Queen Elizabeth became queen. She found a refuge there to grieve. Prince Charles now oversees it. We drove to the top of Dunnet Head, the northern most tip of the mainland of Great Britain/Scotland. Because of the clear day, we could see the Orkney Islands, and much of the northern coast. We ate dinner at the docks in Scrabster, famous for fresh seafood. We watched the Orkney Island ferry load and unload. We headed south.
The next day we headed to Turiff in the North east of Scotland. We visited a 12th Century church in Dornoch where Madonna was married. The Clintons and other celebrities visit there. We passed through Inverness, drove along Loch Ness but the views were limited along the much busier highway. We retreated to the Culloden Battlefield. Ran into a couple there who shared our week at Iona! For those who unfamiliar, it was the Gettysburg/turning point battle in the war with England. The English disassembled the power of the clans, altering the culture of the Highlands. We pulled into Turriff and were warmly, lovingly welcomed by Jim Cook, a minister member of Lake Michigan Presbytery. Jim is from Grand Haven, First, was a candidate under care of and then ordained by Lake Michigan Presbytery to serve the Church in Scotland. He has been there 15 years. He was a gracious host to us, and is a great pastor. With Jim, we toured Fyvie Castle and the Glenffidich Whiskey Distillery (self proclaimed as the world's best). Farmers who raise prize Angus beef and barley rule here, and are quite wealthy. The many wind turbines that dot there farms are paid for by the farmers at a cost of a million or so dollars each... We talked long into the nights there, visited his two churches and worshiped at the St. Andrew's Kirk in Turiff. That Sunday, the Society of the Italy Campaign were present to place their records in the hands of the church for safe keeping. Nine World War II veterans, all in their nineties were there, along with family and family of their comrades. It was an emotional exchange.
We then headed south following the eastern edge of the Cairngorms National Park. We drove along the Linn of Dee river valley. We toured Balmoral Castle, which was more of a hunting cottage bought by Prince Albert and Queen Victoria. The expansion of this "castle" was Albert's main project. He died young and she grieved his death. One wonders what the Victorian Era would have been if he had remained the life of the party and she was not so long depressed. We learned there again of the royal families environmental sensitivities and land management principles and practices. High tailing it south we stayed in an Airbnb near the Firth of Tay. The next day devoted exploring Stirling. We ended up spending near the whole day at Stirling Castle. Since 2002, when I last visited many improvements have been made to tell the story of this historic home of the king of Scotland. After which we made the quick drive on super highways to Glasgow, our last stop. The Commonwealth Games were opening the next day. The city was a buzz with the Games events. The Glasgow Cathedral hosted a flower exhibition/show of the Flower or Woman's Clubs of Scotland. The cathedral was filled with elaborate flower arrangements, and women. Reminded my of the movie Calender Girls. Most of them were in their 70's and 80's. The games were beginning as we boarded the plane to return home.
That was our adventure.
After a week at home to rest and pay the bills...we traveled to Pennsylvania with our two daughters. We attended the LIMIAR Family Reunion at the University of Pittsburgh branch campus in Bradford, PA. These families had all adopted Brazilian children. I led worship for the group on that Sunday. We spent a week visiting Eileen's father and her extended family in Paradise, PA, with several family reunions, and a Best gathering. I painted my father-in-laws basement windows. The next week we spent at a Beach house in Wainscott, NY. Spent time with our son, Nate. He taught me to paddle board in the Sagaponnack Inlet. We had a fabulous week of weather there. There I began my physical fitness regime. I walk/ran on the beach every morning and did a session of yoga, that I had learned when living in Montauk, but have neglected these past years. We also worshiped with the Montauk Church, which I had served as pastor for 12 years. We met their new pastor and had a wonderful reunion with friends.
We arrived back home on August 19. Eileen returned to work. I went to work on painting and organizing my garage, stained the deck, waxed the cars, while continuing the exercise routines I had begin at the beach. I added lifted weights, which were collecting dust in my basement, a couple of times a week. I bought a new bike and rode the KalHaven, the Kalamazoo River Valley, and Portage Trails. I became quite surprised and proud at how fit, trim and strong I became. Until I hear what others are doing ... Humbling. Each of us are on our own journeys. We must stay within ourselves... I also downloaded 2500 photos into a new external hard drive, and a new photo processing software, which I'm still learning to use. I saved the photo work for winter evenings to savor the memories. I look forward to showing them. Eileen was our main photographer. I also got a means to transport a Kayak which has been in storage for too long. Did't get it in the water...but plan to this fall.
You'll notice a lot of "doing" in the above paragraphs. Sabbaticals are also about rest and making peace with "being," which will be the theme of another blog. For now, know that I love with my deck at home. I read several books novels. To mention a few: "The Monsters of Templeton," by Lauren Groff, about Cooperstown. An interesting read for me, because Lauren was a teenager in the church I served as pastor in Cooperstown in the early 90's. And I laughed my way through Christopher Moore's "Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal." This book is X rated, inappropriate for read aloud groups at church. But it is hilariously funny, biblically rich, and out of the box thought provoking imagining Jesus' boyhood coming of age adventures and of Jesus young adult years on which the Gospels are silent. It was good to laugh and laugh often. "The Boys in the Boat" a remarkable true story of the University o f Washington's 1936 eight-oar crew and their quest for an Olympic gold medal, is a powerful, and beautiful description of the elements of a successful team. We also viewed a special screening of the documentary film: "Fed Up" a cutting critique of the obesity crisis in America and the public policy fiascoes, which has caused it.
Finally, one Sunday, I attended a local mega church. I'll write about that another day.
Again, thanks. It is good to be back!
We then stayed at an Airbnb in Golspie, on the east coast of the Northern Highlands. Our host was a miller who ran a water powered Grist Mill, one of two in Scotland. We toured the Dunrodin Castle, the home of the Duke of Sutherland. The Castle and gardens were stunning. A falconer did demonstrations with his trained falcons, owls and eagles. Fascinating! The Duke had a museum of hunting trophies from Safari Hunts in Africa. The next day we drove north and visited the ruins of the seaside town where crofters (subsistence farmers) who for centuries worked the land for the price of fighting the Duke's wars. When the region was demilitarized by the English after the Battle of Culloden in 1745, the Duke of Sutherland was one of the first to figure out that he could make a whole lot more money by raising sheep. The Duke expelled the crofters, an experience called "the Clearances." The families I grow up with were Scotch Irish farmers who had immigrated to Ireland briefly, and then to America. The church of my youth in South Central Pennsylvania was organized by Carlisle Presbytery in 1766. Again and again I was reminded of the scenery and of driving the roads of my youth in the valleys of the Appalachian mountains. My impression of the Duke was transformed that day as the place and history resonated with memories of the families of my childhood. We drove to the north shore, explored the Grey Cairns of Camster, Bronze Age Pict burial places which look like a pile of stones in a field. These were reconstructed. I crawled into three of them on my hands and knees through a 20 foot long passage way just high and wide enough for me to squeeze there. Another exhilarating adventure! We drove to John O'Croats. the end of the road on the north shore. It reminded me of Montauk, the east end community of Long Island. We went right to the light house and hiked along the cliffs of Duncansby Head on a rare (for the area) clear blue sky afternoon. Stunning! We stopped by the Castle of Mey on the north shore, which the queen mom bought when King George died and Queen Elizabeth became queen. She found a refuge there to grieve. Prince Charles now oversees it. We drove to the top of Dunnet Head, the northern most tip of the mainland of Great Britain/Scotland. Because of the clear day, we could see the Orkney Islands, and much of the northern coast. We ate dinner at the docks in Scrabster, famous for fresh seafood. We watched the Orkney Island ferry load and unload. We headed south.
The next day we headed to Turiff in the North east of Scotland. We visited a 12th Century church in Dornoch where Madonna was married. The Clintons and other celebrities visit there. We passed through Inverness, drove along Loch Ness but the views were limited along the much busier highway. We retreated to the Culloden Battlefield. Ran into a couple there who shared our week at Iona! For those who unfamiliar, it was the Gettysburg/turning point battle in the war with England. The English disassembled the power of the clans, altering the culture of the Highlands. We pulled into Turriff and were warmly, lovingly welcomed by Jim Cook, a minister member of Lake Michigan Presbytery. Jim is from Grand Haven, First, was a candidate under care of and then ordained by Lake Michigan Presbytery to serve the Church in Scotland. He has been there 15 years. He was a gracious host to us, and is a great pastor. With Jim, we toured Fyvie Castle and the Glenffidich Whiskey Distillery (self proclaimed as the world's best). Farmers who raise prize Angus beef and barley rule here, and are quite wealthy. The many wind turbines that dot there farms are paid for by the farmers at a cost of a million or so dollars each... We talked long into the nights there, visited his two churches and worshiped at the St. Andrew's Kirk in Turiff. That Sunday, the Society of the Italy Campaign were present to place their records in the hands of the church for safe keeping. Nine World War II veterans, all in their nineties were there, along with family and family of their comrades. It was an emotional exchange.
We then headed south following the eastern edge of the Cairngorms National Park. We drove along the Linn of Dee river valley. We toured Balmoral Castle, which was more of a hunting cottage bought by Prince Albert and Queen Victoria. The expansion of this "castle" was Albert's main project. He died young and she grieved his death. One wonders what the Victorian Era would have been if he had remained the life of the party and she was not so long depressed. We learned there again of the royal families environmental sensitivities and land management principles and practices. High tailing it south we stayed in an Airbnb near the Firth of Tay. The next day devoted exploring Stirling. We ended up spending near the whole day at Stirling Castle. Since 2002, when I last visited many improvements have been made to tell the story of this historic home of the king of Scotland. After which we made the quick drive on super highways to Glasgow, our last stop. The Commonwealth Games were opening the next day. The city was a buzz with the Games events. The Glasgow Cathedral hosted a flower exhibition/show of the Flower or Woman's Clubs of Scotland. The cathedral was filled with elaborate flower arrangements, and women. Reminded my of the movie Calender Girls. Most of them were in their 70's and 80's. The games were beginning as we boarded the plane to return home.
That was our adventure.
After a week at home to rest and pay the bills...we traveled to Pennsylvania with our two daughters. We attended the LIMIAR Family Reunion at the University of Pittsburgh branch campus in Bradford, PA. These families had all adopted Brazilian children. I led worship for the group on that Sunday. We spent a week visiting Eileen's father and her extended family in Paradise, PA, with several family reunions, and a Best gathering. I painted my father-in-laws basement windows. The next week we spent at a Beach house in Wainscott, NY. Spent time with our son, Nate. He taught me to paddle board in the Sagaponnack Inlet. We had a fabulous week of weather there. There I began my physical fitness regime. I walk/ran on the beach every morning and did a session of yoga, that I had learned when living in Montauk, but have neglected these past years. We also worshiped with the Montauk Church, which I had served as pastor for 12 years. We met their new pastor and had a wonderful reunion with friends.
We arrived back home on August 19. Eileen returned to work. I went to work on painting and organizing my garage, stained the deck, waxed the cars, while continuing the exercise routines I had begin at the beach. I added lifted weights, which were collecting dust in my basement, a couple of times a week. I bought a new bike and rode the KalHaven, the Kalamazoo River Valley, and Portage Trails. I became quite surprised and proud at how fit, trim and strong I became. Until I hear what others are doing ... Humbling. Each of us are on our own journeys. We must stay within ourselves... I also downloaded 2500 photos into a new external hard drive, and a new photo processing software, which I'm still learning to use. I saved the photo work for winter evenings to savor the memories. I look forward to showing them. Eileen was our main photographer. I also got a means to transport a Kayak which has been in storage for too long. Did't get it in the water...but plan to this fall.
You'll notice a lot of "doing" in the above paragraphs. Sabbaticals are also about rest and making peace with "being," which will be the theme of another blog. For now, know that I love with my deck at home. I read several books novels. To mention a few: "The Monsters of Templeton," by Lauren Groff, about Cooperstown. An interesting read for me, because Lauren was a teenager in the church I served as pastor in Cooperstown in the early 90's. And I laughed my way through Christopher Moore's "Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal." This book is X rated, inappropriate for read aloud groups at church. But it is hilariously funny, biblically rich, and out of the box thought provoking imagining Jesus' boyhood coming of age adventures and of Jesus young adult years on which the Gospels are silent. It was good to laugh and laugh often. "The Boys in the Boat" a remarkable true story of the University o f Washington's 1936 eight-oar crew and their quest for an Olympic gold medal, is a powerful, and beautiful description of the elements of a successful team. We also viewed a special screening of the documentary film: "Fed Up" a cutting critique of the obesity crisis in America and the public policy fiascoes, which has caused it.
Finally, one Sunday, I attended a local mega church. I'll write about that another day.
Again, thanks. It is good to be back!
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