I’m back! After several months of sabbatical time away, I’m grateful to be settling back into the rhythms of life at CMC. I am immensely grateful for the gift of time away for deeper study and rest, but I’m sure you all have missed getting regular emails from me, so I knew I just had to return. 

During my sabbatical, I spent time reading, writing, traveling, resting, and thinking about some of the questions that have been on my mind for a while. You may recall that some of those questions included: How do we pass along the faith in a way that honors who we are as a congregation? How do we help people grow not just in knowledge about Christianity, but in the practices and imagination of Christian life? And how might we better make use of and organize the resources we already have for teaching and formation?

I did a lot of reading, including books on Christian formation, theology, education, and the Anabaptist tradition. I also spent time working on some curriculum projects and thinking about how we might continue to nurture faith across generations at CMC.

Of course, these broad questions and the deep work involved with organizing those thoughts ended up taking more time than I assumed, so I did not get around to everything I had hoped to do. I’m still processing much of what I read and experienced, and I expect some of the most valuable fruits of the sabbatical will emerge slowly over the coming months and years.

For now, I’m mostly just happy to be back, to be reconnecting with people, and getting back into the ordinary rhythms of ministry. As I make this transition back, it may take me a little while to reach the end of my inbox. If you sent me a message while I was away and haven’t heard back yet, feel free to reach out again. 

Thanks to all of you who made this sabbatical possible and who held things together while I was away. I’m incredibly grateful, and I’m excited and reenergized to see what this Fall and beyond have to offer us.