Journeying Together

Exciting news! In December 2023, Christian Theological Seminary, an ecumenical seminary based in Indianapolis, announced that 229 congregations from across the United States had been selected to receive grants through the Lilly Endowment National Clergy Renewal Program and one of the grants was given to The Greensboro United Church of Christ.

The purpose of the grant is to help congregations honor and support their pastors by enabling them to engage in a period of extended rest and renewal. Recipients may use the respite for activities encouraging them to reflect and renew while engaging in activities such as travel, scholarly research, or immersive experiences with different cultures and traditions.”

Above all, I recognize this award as an affirmation of your commitment, which you demonstrate every day to this congregation’s life and work.

Here is an excerpt describing the rationale and theme of this grant: “The theme for this sabbatical is journeying together. The first way this journeying together renewal makes my heart sing is that my wife Patti and I will have been married for 38 years when we take it. While we have vacationed regularly through the years, much of my work-related travel was without Patti. I’m looking forward to spending this time with her free of other concerns that would require my attention.

The idea came when we were returning from a visit to Tennessee. We listened to an audiobook, as we often do when traveling. Somewhere in that journey home, the idea of spending my leave time with my wife, driving across the country, camping in national parks, and listening to audiobooks started to take shape in my mind. Being together and listening to good stories while experiencing the beauty and wonder of the great outdoors immediately excited Patti and me.

The idea of journeying together made even more sense when we decided to stay at Greensboro United Church of Christ until my retirement. After living and serving here for six years, I’m convinced that there is at least 10 years’ worth of good and meaningful work for me to do in this place. As we continue to build connections beyond the church walls, we invite our community to understand and experience our congregation as a vital part of what we share together as residents of Greensboro. While most of our town does not enter the sanctuary on Sunday mornings, they are gladly coming to see the value of having a loving, open, and inclusive congregation of the United Church of Christ in their neighborhood.

At some point, we plan to move out of the Parsonage and buy a house. With the congregation’s help, we have begun taking steps to help us move in that direction, not the least of which was ensuring that my housing equity allowance was in order.

Our desire to be here, along with the congregation’s desire to have us here, points to the depth and meaningfulness of the ministry we’ve shared together over the last six years. I believe it also points to a shared future of thoughtful and innovative ministry in a rapidly changing rural landscape. The thought of doing that ministry with these people in this place makes my heart sing even louder.

Making journeying together the theme of this extended leave is neither exaggeration nor aspiration. This congregation has acted definitively to demonstrate the depth and breadth of our covenant together as congregation and pastor. Therefore, journeying together affirms the two relationships that shape the “living of my days.”.

That is a broad picture of what sabbatical time will look like for us. In practical terms, in the first week of May 2025, Patti and I will be away from Greensboro until early August 2025. We have begun planning to care for the congregation’s pastoral needs during this time. One thing that remains unclear is who will staff our tent at the Greensboro Farmer’s Market while I am away. If you are interested in doing so, please let me know. It is one of the most fun parts of my job.

Again, thank you for the honor and privilege of serving as your pastor. May God bless us and keep us as we continue our journey together.

Joy and peace,

Ed