Team Magazine Sept 2010
Sabbatical:
For 3 months from April 11th to July 11th I was on Sabbatical Leave.
Sabbatical comes from the same root as the word Sabbath and has similar meaning. It is a time of rest!
In the Christian mind the Sabbath day is a Sunday – a day of rest and a day of giving worship to God. A Sabbath for a Jew is on a Saturday, and for Islam it is on a Friday. But it means the same for all of us – a time to rest in spirit and mind, reflecting upon God and our relationship with Him through the study of scripture and in prayer.
A Sabbatical is a period of time set apart for this purpose – time set apart for ‘a time to rest in spirit and mind, reflecting upon God’.
I always consider there are three R’s in a Sabbatical – Rest; Renewal; and Relationships – oh, and one more thing as well when taking a Sabbatical in the Church of England, but this is a ‘P’ – one has to undertake a ‘Project’.
For myself the project was to write a ‘Web Book’ on the ‘Symbolism and Traditions in the Church of England with special reference to the writing of Icons on English Saints’. This project was begun with vigour and dedication, and it required me to go to London and do research in the British Library and the British Museum, which was great fun! I really felt like an elderly academic, working in these austere surroundings with a great number of clever young students doing similar work. This lasted for 4 weeks.
I also made arrangements to go to York, and visit the hallowed archives in Yorkminster where there are many medieval and ancients documents with paintings and prints of English saints to give me an introduction to English Iconography. Sadly I did not get there! The Project basically ended when I returned from my 2 week summer holiday (which had to be taken during the Sabbatical period) and as we landed I was informed my mother had been rushed into hospital and could I go to her bedside! I went immediately and found her in hospital very poorly, but thankfully not seriously ill. However, she was to be discharged and so I continued to care for her at her home for 2 weeks until she became stronger and could look after herself again. Then when I came home – well there were a lot of other demands I had to meet so that, out of the final 6 weeks of the Sabbatical, I was reduced to 1 week in which to complete the work. So there it is – my unfinished project is now on the web – as a blog! You can see this ongoing work (remember it is unfinished) at www.rictsymbolism.blogspot.com
But that was not the main object of the Sabbatical – it was the three R’s!
I had plenty of Rest – it was a wonderful time in which I re-discovered the delights of what is called ‘The Weekend’! I was able to be with my wife and family and re-establish my Relationships with them, as relationships require time being spent on them. And I was able to find Renewal of my spirit in my relationship with God through Reflection and Prayer. I took time to visit other churches on Sundays – the cathedral being a popular choice, but it was interesting to go to places where I would not normally attend and observe the different symbolism and traditions that were enacted out in front of me. It is interesting that most of the symbolism and traditions in the church are taken so much for granted that they are not actually seen by most of the members of the congregation, it is seen as being ‘just part of the service’! But I found all the churches I visited have a rich and varied store both of traditions and symbolism, some old but very many are new! They are all used to draw people into a living and uplifting relationship with God.
So I have returned; refreshed, rested and renewed; with the realisation that in my ministry I have been trying too hard to fulfil the (too many) demands of the role and have neglected the first reason of my calling to the priesthood – to be alongside the people of God, praying and encouraging them in their faith. So I am determined to get back to basics – to renew my calling to be a priest and a pastor to God’s people, which means taking more time out to visit people and to make time for myself so that I can be strong enough in body and spirit to undertake this calling.
If you would like me to visit you – to talk, pray and help rediscover a living relationship with God through the grace of His Son Jesus Christ, just give me a call.
Rik Peckham
