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You have likely noticed a few differences while Pastor Erin has been gone on sabbatical. Many of those are quite obvious, like how I have been doing the announcements every week. Others are less noticeable. I wanted to take a few minutes just to connect and update things you’ll notice until October, when she’s back fully.
The first thing I want to point out is the logistical changes. I have switched my days off to Fridays. This will make the beginning of the week flow a little smoother and help us get everything ready for worship the following weekend. This will also shift the activities and meetings that I’m available for during the week. I’ll be attending the committee meetings that I can make, on the days I’m in the office, even if I don’t usually relate to those committees, until Pr. Erin is back. Which means you may be seeing me more often. And don’t be surprised if I’m completely lost in those meetings.
Even though you may be seeing more of me, and I’ll be around in a different capacity more often than I usually am, please recognize that we are essentially two pastoral staff members short during the sabbatical time. We will be welcoming our new visitation pastor in the middle of August. You’ll learn more about him soon. About the time he gets his feet under him, Pr. Erin will return and we’ll be back to our typical pastoral staff configuration.
This is not the only transition that we’ll experience in staff. With Cathy taking a job at UNL, again, we will be welcoming Denise Grasmick to the staff as our Parish Coordinator. You can learn more about Denise in the article below as she began her work with us on Tuesday, July 28th. Mandy is available to stay on and help train Denise for a couple weeks. Be sure to stop in and say hi and welcome Denise to First.
I hope that we can all take this time of Pr. Erin’s sabbatical as a sabbatical of our own as a congregation. I hope we can all remember the need to take a breath, relax, and listen more intently to what God is asking of us and where God is directing us. Sabbaticals are not just meant as a time of rest and study for pastors, it’s also a time of rest and study for congregations. We’ve been working to engage folks in different activities that involve Pr. Erin’s sabbatical focus. But we should remember that it would be good for us as a congregation to take some time to reflect and rest.
Experiment and try new things. Listen for the Word of God and work to move forward in faith. It’s hard to drive a car when you only stare in the rear-view-mirror, it’s also hard to move forward as a church if you are only focused on the past and looking backwards. Let’s use this time to think about the future, focus on what is ahead and become rejuvenated for the path that God has in front of us when Pr. Erin returns.
Blessings,
Pr. Andrew
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