Sabbatical Resources
Baptist Theological Seminary and Richmond is offering a Sabbatical Leave Planning Workshop through the School of Christian Ministry.
Dreaming about a sabbatical but need some help in the planning process? In this practical workshop you will learn about the purpose and focus of the sabbatical, and the how-to’s of educating your congregation about sabbatical leave, helping the congregation develop a sabbatical leave policy, planning the sabbatical, and funding the sabbatical. You will receive information about sabbatical leave opportunities at BTSR.
Dates: June 18, 2008, 10 AM to 4 PM
Location: CBF General Assembly, Memphis, TN
Registration: $70 (includes lunch and resource materials)
Contact Kim Siegenthaler for more information.
Sample Sabbatical Celebration Services
Boulevard Baptist Church, Anderson, SC
Sample 1
Sample 2
Ideas
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Visit other congregations that seem to be successful in a ministry your church needs to develop. (e.g. worship; reaching new people; leadership development; mission)
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Travel to holy sites and cities where figures from church history lived and ministered. Consider trips to: the Holy Land, Rome, Ireland, Scotland, England, and Switzerland.
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Attend conferences for personal spiritual development as well as leadership development. Organizations such as the Center for Congregational Health, Alban Institute, Leadership Network, and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship all sponsor such events.
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Participate in a mission trip, possibly combined with a pilgrimage or retreat.
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Begin a journal, recording daily meditations and reflections or notes from reading.
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Engage a mentor for reflection and guidance.
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See the accompanying list of websites which contain a variety of options for sabbaticals. Use your imagination to hitch-hike or expand these options.
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Develop a reading plan. Consider beginning with these resources:
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Robert E. Friedrich, Jr. Discerning Your Congregation’s Future (Alban, 1996)
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Richard Bullock & Richard J. Bruesehoff, Clergy Renewal: The Alban Guide To Sabbatical Planning (Alban, 2000)
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Melissa Bane Sevier, Journeying Toward Renewal: A Spiritual Companion for Pastoral Sabbaticals (Alban, 2002)
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Plan a sabbatical around three blocks suggested by Bullock (above resource, p. 19)
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Resting—sleeping late, exercise, recreational reading, visiting friends and family, hiking, engaging a counselor
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Renewal—Focused study, retreats
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Rebirth—Travel, focused reading, engaging a spiritual director
Web Resources
Resources taken from Bullock and Bruesehoff,
Appendix E, pp. 80-81, with some additions
The Center for Congregational Health
www.healthychurch.org
The Abbey of Gethsemani, Gethsemani, KY
www.monks.org
Berkeley Divinity School at Yale, New Haven, CT
www.yale.edu/divinity
Boston Theological Institute (consortium of divinity schools in and around Boston, MA)
www.bostontheological.org/
Candler School of Theology at Emory University, Atlanta, GA
www.candler.emory.edu
Church Divinity School of the Pacific, Berkeley, CA
www.cdsp.edu/
The College of Preachers, Washington, D.C. (Fellows program and Readers program)
www.collegeofpreachers.org/
Duke Divinity School, Durham, NC
www.divinity.duke.edu/
Episcopal Divinity School, Cambridge, MA (Procter program)
www.episdivschool.org/programs/otherprg.html
Graduate Theological Union (consortium of divinity schools in and around Berkeley, CA)
www.gtu.edu/
Harvard Divinity School, Cambridge, MA
www.hds.harvard.edu
The Iona Community, Iona, Scotland
www.iona.org.uk
Lifelong Learning Opportunities (database maintained by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America):
www.elca.org/leadership/resources/pdf/lifelongpartnership.pdf
The Louisville Institute, Louisville, KY
www.louisville-institute.org
Montreat Conference Center, Montreat, NC
www.montreat.org
Pacific School of Religion, Berkeley, CA
www.psr.edu/
Pendle Hill, Wallingford, PA
www.pendlehill.org
Princeton Theological Seminary, Princeton, NJ
www.ptsem.edu/
St George's College, Jerusalem
www.sgcjerusalem.org/
Seabury-Western Theological Seminary, Evanston, IL
www.seabury.edu/
The Taize Community, Taize, France
www.taize.fr/en/
Tantur Ecumenical Institute for Theological Studies, Jerusalem
www.come.to/tantur
Yale University Divinity School, New Haven, CT
www.yale.edu/divinity/
Chautauga Institute, NY
www.chautauqua-inst.org/
Holden Village , WA (Christian retreat center)
www.holdenvillage.org/
Consult Alban's Congregational Resource Guide at www.alban.org for more resources and retreat ideas.