Coming Home
Dear friends in Christ,
I’m back! And I’m so, so glad for that. I’ve had a wonderful time away on sabbatical, and it is such a joy to be back at Church of the Resurrection. I had a joyous reunion with our fabulous vestry last night, and I can’t wait to see everyone else this Sunday and begin hearing about what your winters were like.
For me, this time away was many things. Perhaps most principally, it was time to rest. I slept and napped almost a shocking amount, and it felt amazing. I don’t always do a great job of listening to my body, and in slowing down and stepping away from work, it was clear that rest was the thing I most needed.
The time away also created amazing and unusual space with my family. We traveled to Indiana to see friends and relatives, enjoyed time up in the Sierra foothills with more dear friends, and near the end of my sabbatical had a tremendous trip to Hawaii — a first for me and the kids. Through it all, I delighted in being able to be present with our kids and say yes to them so much more than I usually can. Ice skating! Baking projects! Art projects! Board games! Foosball… though the kids can now beat me now, to their joy and my horror. All this extra time transformed our relationships, and, I hope, laid a wonderful new layer to our foundation as we prepare for coming adventures, like adolescence.
Sabbatical also gave me the gift of a lot of quiet and time on my own. Extroverted as I am, this is not something I tend to seek a lot of, but I needed it and was so grateful for it. I hiked, read, wrote, made art, gardened, and more, and really appreciated being able to settle into the silence and listen more intently for where God is moving.
One of the strange and delightful elements of sabbatical was exploring other churches. The kids and I decided to try to pair an excellent bakery with each church we visited, making the pilgrimage all the more fun. (We highly recommend One House in Benicia,
Pâtisserie Rotha in Berkeley, La Châtaigne in Lafayette, and Tartine in the city.) We saw all kinds of different ways to make church — dancing together, an altar set up on the beach, worshiping bilingually, and very traditional expressions of our Episcopal heritage. And at each turn, I found myself both grateful to see another way to do things, and also so very glad to be rooted here with you. I can’t wait to fully return and celebrate with you on Sunday.
On a practical note… let’s catch up! I’m eager to hear what’s been going on in your lives these last few months, and I know there are more stories than will fit at Coffee Hour. To that end, here are three times when I invite you to come and just hang out and catch up — no agenda, just coffee or lunch and time to be together again.
Monday, February 26, 3:00-4:30 pm at the downtown Peet’s (65 Crescent Ave)
Thursday, February 29, 12:00-1:30 pm at Urban Plates (60 Crescent Drive)
Wednesday, March 6, 9:00-10:30 am at the downtown Peet’s
And finally, and most importantly, I want to express my huge gratitude to Rev. Whitney, the whole staff, the vestry, and to all of you for carrying on so beautifully these last three months so that I could have this time of rest. It is a wondrous gift, and I am more grateful than you can know.
Love, Liz+