Sabbatical and My Life of Prayer
It is wonderful to be back at Holy Spirit after my sabbatical! I am grateful for the opportunity to have intentional time away. I’m especially thankful for our Vestry and lay leaders and our wonderful staff who did a really great job taking care of our beloved Holy Spirit Church. I have been glad to hear from so many of you how much you enjoyed Erin Jean. She certainly enjoyed being with you this summer.
For me, this summer was a fruitful time of prayer and renewal. I was blessed with a lot of intentional time with my family. We explored new places, churches, books, museums, restaurants and eateries (especially ice cream shops!), and more.
There is much for me to reflect on, but for this Spirit Shot article, I want to share what I found in my prayer life. I have been serving churches for more than two decades at this point which inherently means that my prayer life has been closely linked to those with whom I have shared ministry. That is not to say I only pray about church as Sarah, my kids, and so many others are ever present in my conversations with God. But my experience and understanding of who God is has largely been placed in the context of leading weekly worship, praying with people in pastoral need, sharing in fellowship, listening for God’s call in leadership meetings, and discussing the meaning and depth of our faith in formational settings like Sunday school, Bible studies, newcomers classes, etc. I pray through sermon prep and I pray for each of you by name as I sign your birthday cards. Hopefully, this helps you see how much of my prayer life is tied up in serving with you.
It took me a little while when my sabbatical began to figure out why my prayer life felt different. To be honest, it was a little jarring. But before long, I started to reorient. I still prayed for you every day, but I became aware pretty quickly that these three months away were a different kind of fertile ground. To be fully in the moment and fully where I was encouraged me to sense the joy of wonder that comes from a new routine. At our Oxford house, we saw extended family regularly, I went on dates with Sarah often, swam and ate ice cream with the kids, and took many long walks. Spending time exploring New York City with my family was beyond description. I also got to go to church to listen and receive from the pew which is certainly a different experience. There is so much more I want to share, but this article is already well beyond our normative Spirit Shot length.
I suppose what I am trying to articulate is that one of the many gifts of my time on sabbatical was being able to see my relationship with God from a beautiful new perspective. My walk with God was different from what I have been used to these past twenty years and it was marvelously insightful. I don’t feel that I have left that new experience behind, but instead have brought it with me as I have returned. God has so much goodness in store for us. I look forward to sharing that gift with you as we enter the fall. Thank you again for this chance to grow this summer.
We love you and God loves you,
Josh Condon+
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