Sabbatical Message from Rev. Kim Mason
In the Hebrew bible, the concept of sabbatical is first introduced in the book of Exodus as a seventh year when fields lie fallow, after six years of cultivation and harvest. Fallow here means to refrain from planting a crop and harvesting from that particular piece of land. The root is from the word “Sabbath,” meaning the day of rest after 6 days of labor. In several professions there is a tradition of sabbatical, a period of rest when the professor, minister, leader, is excused from their work duties. Even as we trace the idea of sabbatical back to the bible, we see such patterns in nature, when winter is a time for rest.
We know from science that fallow periods are good practice. A field left fallow for a season or cycle begins to rebuild. It is replenished and restored, better able to produce again later. It is the same for people. We need periods of rest to heal, recover, restore, and re-energize us. For folks working in the healing professions or creative arenas, these fallow periods are necessary to refill the well from which we serve and create.
In our UU tradition, ministers earn one month of sabbatical for each year served and can take sabbaticals starting anywhere between their fourth and seventh year. Then the cycle starts again. Having served with you for the past five years, I have earned five months of sabbatical. I am choosing to take four months so that I might return and finish the church year with you.
During my sabbatical I am doing both some personal travel and some professional development. I am taking a class called Improv for Educators, designed for professionals using Improv tools and techniques at work. I hope to bring some of my Improv training and experience to our ministry here at First Unitarian. I am also taking part in a program at The Center for Lived Faith and Organizing at Eden Theological Seminary with the goal of earning a Certificate for Organizing and Social Transformation.
Just as rest and nurturing practice re-energizes a minister, a sabbatical period is good for the congregation as well. The Rev. Dr. Megan Foley of the UUA’s Central East Region explains, “Clergy sabbaticals aren’t just for the clergy – they help the congregational system renew itself. Taking time away requires ministers to share duties with others, which expands the skill set of the leadership and invites new leaders. It forces them to document their work, creating institutional knowledge in the process. Sabbaticals can also help break down power and knowledge silos, allowing everyone to see congregational systems with fresh eyes.”
I am excited about the ways that this sabbatical period will reinvigorate our shared ministry. While I am away you are continuing your work on the vision of the congregation. This is transformational work and it is so very valuable to have you doing during this time. I am looking forward to the ways that the sabbatical period will open a new future for this congregation and our work together.