The last day of my sabbatical was a Sunday morning.  I gathered my family around our dining room table with half an English muffin and a chalice filled with leftover Merlot.  We read the readings appointed for the day, and for the sermon, we just talked.  “What will be your favorite memory from this summer?”  Evensong at Westminster…walking through fields of gold…birthday at the Eiffel Tower…seeing friends in Rome.  “What are you most thankful for?”  Home… Time with family… our St. Margaret’s community.


Now a month later, I am looking back with gratitude on what I can only say was an amazing experience.  It was a rich season of rest and joy, of study and play.  I look back with gratitude for the community that generously allowed me this time, for the Lilly Foundation that so generously funded it, and for the staff, leaders, and members that kept the work of St. Margaret’s going in my absence.

I am also looking forward with gratitude.  This sabbatical was about practicing a vision for the holy in our lives, and I am now able to see even more clearly the ways in which God is present among us.  I see the amazing love and support that you all give for one another, and I know that God’s holy presence is being shared through these acts of caring.  I see how so many of you are engaged in the world in large and small ways to promote peace and justice, and I know that God is working through you to heal the nations.  I can even look at the changes taking place in our community, and without knowing exactly where they are leading us, I know that God is planting seeds for an abundant crop.

So, I’m glad to be back here, doing the work God has called me to do.  Thank you all for being my partners in our shared ministry.


To see a five-minute slideshow of some of our photos from Europe, click here!