The Plan

Plan for Sabbatical Leave during June through August 2019;

The United Church of Canada describes Sabbatical Leave in the following way;

“The essence of sabbatical is rooted in the biblical practice of the Sabbath day described in the creation story. Jesus kept this practice when he took time in his ministry for renewal. He often went away to pray and reflect in silence and meditation “on mountain tops and by lakesides.” The daily practice of ministry may involve the pressure of many tasks compressed into too few hours, leaving little opportunity for reflective, prayerful time. In the context of ministry, sabbatical time is for learning through reflection, revitalization, and recreation. It is, therefore, personal and individual in nature. It may include study, spiritual retreat, and rest and will probably be a blend of all of these.

 When ministry personnel take a sabbatical, communities of faith benefit from the opportunity to reflect on their mission and ministry and experience different gifts of lay leadership. The sabbatical offers the community of faith a minister who returns with new energy and clarity about the tasks at hand.”

My plan is to take as sabbatical leave in accordance with policy and the terms of my call to McClure from June 1 to August 31, 2019.  My time during that period will reflect a combination of reflection and recreation leading to some revitalization through the activities of the three months I am away.  The primary foci of my time will be a pilgrimage along the “Camino del Santiago” and a personal pilgrimage in Newfoundland.  Time of rest will be incorporated through some time in Jasper and the Rocky Mountains in July.  The itinerary for the summer follows;

June – Sandy and I will depart for Paris, France and the start of the Camino del Santiago on May 31^st.  We will spend a few days in Paris exploring some of it’s historic and religious history; the catacombs, Notre-Dame Cathedral, the Louvre, and some of the cemeteries of the city.  We will travel to Saint Jean de Port on June 5^th and embark on the Camino del Santiago June 6^th.  We will hike the first stage of the Camino from Saint Jean de Port to Roncesvalles June 7^th; we will cycle from Roncesvalles to Santiago de Compestella, Spain, the terminus of the Camino arriving June 23^rd.  June 25^th we will travel to Cape Finisterre as a final part of the journey.  We will return to Edmonton through Paris on June 29^th.

The Camino Del Santiago, or “Way of St. James” is one of the most important Christian pilgrimages during the Middle Ages.  In the middle ages completion of a pilgrimage – to Rome, to Jerusalem, to Santiago and more – could earn an “indulgence” reducing the punishment for sin one had to endure during purgatory.  Pope Benedict XVI describes a pilgrimage as a means of stepping out of ourselves in order to encounter God where God has revealed God’s self.  The Way of St. James follows many routes – some of which I have touched in travels in Portugal in 2018 and 2019.  The French Camino, the route we will follow in June, is the most recognized of the routes.  It will be a pilgrimage in the truest sense as I expect to be challenged physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually along the roughly 750 kilometers of cycling from France across Northern Spain.  My goal is to remain open to the challenges each day and to the revelations of history and discovery along the way.

Upon our return I will take some time of rest to recover from the travel along the Camino and some time for reflection on the experience.  We will continue to maintain our conditioning through cycling around Edmonton and in the mountains – at Canmore and Jasper in mid July.

In August we will travel to Newfoundland for a second “pilgrimage.”  We are registered for two cycling tours through Freewheeling Cycling.  The Viking Tour from Deer Lake to St Anthony, through Gros Morne National Park will explore a part of Canada I have never visited before.  We will hike and cycle through one of the oldest inhabited regions of the country.  And, following that, the Trinity Bay tour further east.  This segment of our trip will be a personal “pilgrimage” as I return to St. John’s where I lived with my family from 1969 to 1973 for the first time.  I will scatter my mother’s ashes in an area that she always remembered as one of her favorite places to live.  Sandy and I will spend some time exploring both the city of St. John’s and the sites of my childhood before returning to Edmonton August 28^th.

I expect that this time of Sabbatical will offer me time, like that Jesus took, “to pray and reflect in silence and mediation “on mountain tops and by lakesides” both literally and figuratively.  In Spain, in Alberta and in Newfoundland, the travel, the cycling, the scenery, the history and the relationships with Sandy and others will grow and be challenged in many ways.  I will be pushed physically as we ride approximately 1500 kilometers on the Camino and tours along.  I will explore the history of Paris, of the French Route of the Camino, of Newfoundland both personally and with a professional interest in the ways God has been revealed in those places.  I will reflect on the experiences and learnings along the way focusing on my personal spiritual journey along the way.  I will return physically tired, but revitalized (I hope) for my continuing journey as minister.

(This was approved by the Ministry Personnel Committee of McClure United Church in April 2019)