Sabbatical – meaning Sabbatical finds expression in study, rest, spiritual retreat, and prayer. Justification: As the gospel story illustrates, Jesus experienced sabbatical when he sought occasional respite from the demands of his ministry (i.e. Matthew 14:23 et al).
Sabbatical – desired purpose For the minister, rejuvenation of spirit and clarity of purpose may be the outcome, while for the congregation sabbatical may occasion an increase in the level, and expression, of lay leadership.
Goals for Minister Prior to the Sabbatical starting, these were the stated goals for Steve: 1. Reflection on his Ministry at Tansley 2. Learning and developing new skills for preaching & pastoral care. 3. Rest and spiritual rejuvenation
Steve’s Goals – A report back 1. Reflection on his Ministry at Tansley Outcome: • Reflected on insights from last 30 years that I can use today in my leadership at Tansley • Reflected on getting clarity about what will be needed as we enter a new exciting time with Nelson and Tansley together **Note to reader: these were the ‘headlines’ – Steve gave more description on the details during the service**
Steve’s Goals – A report back 2. Learning and developing new skills for preaching & pastoral care. Outcome: • Conference attended in May had many good practical learnings I want to use at Tansley • Reflected on “listening from the pew” vs. from the Minister’s perspective – a good exercise. **Note to reader: these were the ‘headlines’ – Steve gave more description on the details during the service**
Steve’s Goals – A report back 3. Rest and spiritual rejuvenation Outcome: Putting God first. **Note to reader: these were the ‘headlines’ – Steve gave more description on the details during the service**
Congregational Learnings • Over the course of a 3 week period, everyone was given the opportunity to write “what I learned during Steve’s sabbatical May - June 2017” on a piece of paper, and put it in the locked box at the back of the sanctuary. Those away on vacation had the option to submit a response to Sue Stephen by email.
Congregational Learnings Outcome: • 37 respondents • 72 comments • Those all fell into 13 distinct themes • Of those 13 themes – there were 8 common themes the other five were all individual comments made by only one person
Congregational Learnings – what we committed to do • We said we would bring back the 2-3 most common themes, and share them with the congregation • we are ‘over - delivering’ and sharing the 8 common themes, and giving some detail on the top 3
Congregational Learning – 8 common themes 1. Appreciation of the value/skill of our various lay leaders during worship 2. Congregational resiliency – how much our congregation pulls together to get things accomplished 3. Value of well organized and structured worship services – more easily followed, and message is better understood 4. A significant acknowledgment of the amount of work and difficulty in preparing sermons – by people who were preparing the work, and by others who noticed the amount of work going into each service 5. Delivery of the other worship leaders gave tips for areas to highlight for Steve – reading helps stay on message, style, organized services, etc. 6. Choir and Music – our music continued to support multiple different lay leaders 7. Congregational Compassion – people that were visiting and new attendees commented that individuals in the congregation reached out to them in a pastoral way 8. Children’s program – involvement of the kids in the message made Genesis extra memorable
Congregational Learning – 8 common themes 1. Appreciation of the value/skill of our various lay leaders during worship Next steps: Applaud our lay leaders and groups! We are very blessed to have the level of talent we have. Worship and M&P want to find ways to get lay leaders involved even when our Minister is not away.
Congregational Learning – 8 common themes 2. Congregational resiliency – how much our congregation pulls together to get things accomplished Next steps: A lot of people recognized how much the church can do when we work together….we should reflect and act on this!
Congregational Learning – 8 common themes 3. Value of well organized and structured worship services – more easily followed, and message is well understood Next steps: • Working with Worship Committee, and M&P to try to ‘formalize’ some of the organization that others used to keep things ‘efficient’ in the absence of clergy
Congregational Learning – 8 common themes 4. A significant acknowledgment of the amount of work and difficulty in preparing sermons – by people who were preparing the work, and by others who noticed the amount of work going into each service “The strength and depth of the congregation shone through during the services, however, there must be an appreciation for the fact that this level of excellence throughout the year is unsustainable. Producing blockbuster services “every week” is a very different challenge for any minister.”
Congregational Learning – 8 common themes 5. Delivery of the other worship leaders gave tips for areas to highlight for Steve – reading helps stay on message, style, organized services, etc. Next steps: • M&P are working with Steve on ways to incorporate some of the styles that were well received, and use some of those techniques • Adding some more support to help with structure and process to keep sermons organized
EXPECTATIONS FOR 2018 SABBATICAL • We are going to set clear goals for the Sabbatical next year, that will help Steve, and help Tansley • We now understand the sabbatical better than before, and we will work to benefit all of us even more than we did this year • We will not run the same process to the same extent (seeking feedback and learnings), BUT we will communicate the goals before and report on the results following the sabbatical
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