SABBATICAL JOURNEY FOR PASTOR AND CONGREGATION
by Jane Capo, Ruling Elder, First Presbyterian, Sebastian
This summer, our Pastor, Rev. Jeff Wood, and our church have been on a Sabbatical journey exploring the theme of “God, Color and Us”. Pastor Jeff applied for and received a Clergy Renewal Grant from the Lilly Foundation. His travel plans were to visit many notable places of color in the Caribbean, Europe, Northern Africa and North America. Our congregation has been on a similar “color journey” for this sabbatical time, beginning with a field trip to Lake Placid, City of Murals. Thirty-five of us toured Lake Placid to see the beautiful, colorful murals and to have lunch.
We also had a mini-retreat focused on relating to God through color. The speakers were a stained glass designer from Pickel Studios in Vero Beach, and our church’s floral designer from Amazing Creations by Val in Sebastian. We learned something interesting from Mr. Pickel. He said that they order the stained glass from Europe, and when it arrives, it sometimes has bubbles, waves or other imperfections. He said these imperfections don’t make the glass unusable; on the contrary, they make different and interesting patterns as the light shines through them. That helped us see that we don’t need to be “perfect” to love and serve God; we just need to be willing and available to let His light shine through us! Our floral designer explained, as she was making an arrangement, how she carefully chooses flowers and arranges them so that together they make a beautiful display. She said that she often thinks of God that way, as a great Creator and Designer who “arranges” each of us so that, together, we glorify Him!
We were also able to offer the congregation a self-guided study entitled “Earth: Our Original Monastery”, written by Christine Valters Paintner, available through Abbey of the Arts. This is a study book with on-line recordings and activities for “Cultivating Wonder and Gratitude through Intimacy with Nature.” The grant monies underwrote a significant portion of the expense for this, and we had about ten people participate, with mixed reviews. Those who loved it, loved it. I found that it truly did help me “begin the journey of contemplative living by focusing on the image of Earth as [our] original monastery”. Elder Cornelia Mills had this to say about her experience:
“I forced myself to begin the days reading and sit still and read. It opened my eyes to appreciate the world around me. I sit by my window overlooking the lake, birds, weather, etc. every morning, but this class gave me a deeper sense of my connection to the rest of the world. The contemplative dance was again a time for sitting still and just being in the moment. Thank you , Pastor Jeff, for the opportunity.”
A more visible and enduring project during our Sabbatical has been the mural we painted on our Thrift Shop. Through talented artists in our congregation, working with a muralist in our community, we now have a beautiful mural on our Thrift Shop which brings smiles to all who see it. It’s a joy to be able to look over from the church doors and see their handiwork, and to share this beauty with our community. A word of caution, however: we were unaware that the mural is considered “signage” and as such is subject to City ordinances and permit requirements. We are in cordial talks with the City of Sebastian to get retroactive approval for the project.
Pastor Jeff, who just returned from his sabbatical, had been away since May 29th, and Rev. Rick Oppelt had been our Sabbatical Pastor, with Rev. Mindy Serafin filling in as “back-up”. During July, both Rev. Rick and Rev. Mindy were diagnosed with COVID, so we had three elder-led services. Pastor Jeff’s “emergency sermons” came in handy, but it was definitely a time of growth for us as a Session, working together to lead worship under the Holy Spirit’s guidance.
We have a beautiful and serene campus near the shores of the Indian River Lagoon and in keeping with Pastor Jeff's sabbatical theme of color, the garden, which is directly in front of our church doors, will be renewed this fall. A local garden expert will be working with us to bring life and color to our garden so that those entering our campus will be able to see and enjoy God's creation. With our newly painted Thrift Shop Mural and our renewed garden, may First Presbyterian Church of Sebastian be an inspiration to see what greater things await when they enter our Sanctuary.
We also had a mini-retreat focused on relating to God through color. The speakers were a stained glass designer from Pickel Studios in Vero Beach, and our church’s floral designer from Amazing Creations by Val in Sebastian. We learned something interesting from Mr. Pickel. He said that they order the stained glass from Europe, and when it arrives, it sometimes has bubbles, waves or other imperfections. He said these imperfections don’t make the glass unusable; on the contrary, they make different and interesting patterns as the light shines through them. That helped us see that we don’t need to be “perfect” to love and serve God; we just need to be willing and available to let His light shine through us! Our floral designer explained, as she was making an arrangement, how she carefully chooses flowers and arranges them so that together they make a beautiful display. She said that she often thinks of God that way, as a great Creator and Designer who “arranges” each of us so that, together, we glorify Him!
We were also able to offer the congregation a self-guided study entitled “Earth: Our Original Monastery”, written by Christine Valters Paintner, available through Abbey of the Arts. This is a study book with on-line recordings and activities for “Cultivating Wonder and Gratitude through Intimacy with Nature.” The grant monies underwrote a significant portion of the expense for this, and we had about ten people participate, with mixed reviews. Those who loved it, loved it. I found that it truly did help me “begin the journey of contemplative living by focusing on the image of Earth as [our] original monastery”. Elder Cornelia Mills had this to say about her experience:
“I forced myself to begin the days reading and sit still and read. It opened my eyes to appreciate the world around me. I sit by my window overlooking the lake, birds, weather, etc. every morning, but this class gave me a deeper sense of my connection to the rest of the world. The contemplative dance was again a time for sitting still and just being in the moment. Thank you , Pastor Jeff, for the opportunity.”
A more visible and enduring project during our Sabbatical has been the mural we painted on our Thrift Shop. Through talented artists in our congregation, working with a muralist in our community, we now have a beautiful mural on our Thrift Shop which brings smiles to all who see it. It’s a joy to be able to look over from the church doors and see their handiwork, and to share this beauty with our community. A word of caution, however: we were unaware that the mural is considered “signage” and as such is subject to City ordinances and permit requirements. We are in cordial talks with the City of Sebastian to get retroactive approval for the project.
Pastor Jeff, who just returned from his sabbatical, had been away since May 29th, and Rev. Rick Oppelt had been our Sabbatical Pastor, with Rev. Mindy Serafin filling in as “back-up”. During July, both Rev. Rick and Rev. Mindy were diagnosed with COVID, so we had three elder-led services. Pastor Jeff’s “emergency sermons” came in handy, but it was definitely a time of growth for us as a Session, working together to lead worship under the Holy Spirit’s guidance.
We have a beautiful and serene campus near the shores of the Indian River Lagoon and in keeping with Pastor Jeff's sabbatical theme of color, the garden, which is directly in front of our church doors, will be renewed this fall. A local garden expert will be working with us to bring life and color to our garden so that those entering our campus will be able to see and enjoy God's creation. With our newly painted Thrift Shop Mural and our renewed garden, may First Presbyterian Church of Sebastian be an inspiration to see what greater things await when they enter our Sanctuary.