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Sabbath Year Information

For Information On January Sabbath in 2010, click here

A Sabbath Year:
There is enough, more than enough…
2009-2010

Vision: By immersing ourselves in the principles and practices of Sabbath
keeping, we will come to trust in the God who calls us to work and then rest,
knowing that God will do the rest.

Rationale: “Ultimately, at its base, Sabbath, this principle of resting in God, this
principle of intentional rest, is all about trusting God, trusting that God will take
care of us, that we certainly have work to do on for six days but on the seventh
day, on the seventh day, we rest in God, trusting that there is enough time to do
what needs to be done, that there is enough money to do the ministry we have
been called to do, to trust there are enough resources for us to do what God has
called us to do. Sabbath is ultimately about trust, about trusting God and about
trusting each other that we will pick up each other’s slack, and that there will be
indeed enough work and enough hands to get that work done. Its ultimately
believing in God’s abundance, and God’s care, and trusting that God will take up
the slack for us, will take care of us, and that we can put down our work, our
emotional work, our spiritual work—yes, even our spiritual work, our church
work, if only for a little while, knowing that God will take care of us. There is
enough, enough time, enough resources, there is enough of God, for us to be
able to rest in God, and learn to trust God for everything in our lives—for our
families, for our church, for our spouse, for our finances, for our very lives.”
From Pastor Kevin’s sermon of July 19, 2009 (click here for full sermon)

Timeline: As a congregation we focus on this theme starting in September 2009
ending in August 2010

Areas Of Focus In The Congregation Around The Sabbath Theme:

Prayer: We will learn ways of prayer that are passive, that are rooted in resting in
God. In fall of 2009, a Centering Prayer Group will be started, with its emphasis
on being an open, listening and quiet presence before God, rather than talking to
God. This group will begin in September 2009.

Worship: We will integrate themes around Sabbath into our regular Sunday
morning worship service, and taking a January Sabbath for the Sundays of
January 17, 24, & 31, 2010 (Annual Meeting is on January 10). We will be invited
to visit other worshipping congregations and will be equipped with tools to help
them evaluate the “best practices” we witnessed as visitors in those places. On
February 7, we will gather back for worship at our own church and share those
experiences with each other. This January Sabbath will offer us a chance to see
how others worship God, and will offer our pastor, ushers, musicians, choir,
fellowship providers, etc a chance to take a rest from the work of preparing and
leading worship.

Stewardship: Integrate the Sabbath principle of “trust” into our fall stewardship
program by inviting members and friends to have confidence that our generosity
to this congregation and other organizations will be met with God’s own incredible
generosity. By giving away more of our resources, we are ultimately showing our
trust in God, believing that there will be more than enough for us and our families
to live on at the end. Sabbath is all about being invited to cease our “gathering”
for a moment and to truly pay attention to our work of “giving” in this life,
trusting that God is always responsive to our acts of generosity by providing for
our needs.

Sabbath Circles: These home-based small groups will meet in the fall, winter and
spring and will explore themes around Sabbath and community. (At least two
groups will meet, one during the day, and the other at night). In early fall, we will
focus on a book about Sabbath itself, and in the latter part of the fall we will read
Sundays in America: A Year-Long Road Trip In Search of Christian Faith by
Suzanne Stremper Shea (2008), which chronicles her visit to dozens of different
kinds of congregations. This will help us prepare for our visits to other
congregations during our January Sabbath. Other studies and opportunities to
practice the gift of Sabbath will be planned for winter and spring.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Could you explain the January Sabbath a bit more?

During this time, congregants will be invited to worship in other settings (for at
least 2 out 3 Sundays, weather permitting). Ideally, leaders in the church would
also offer chances for a group visit to particular congregations of interest (for e.
g. one member has expressed an interest in visiting the Unity Church in
Kalamazoo and so those interested in the same church they would gather
together at a particular time and carpool to that church). Members will be
provided an “evaluation form” that helps them clarify their experience in that
new worship setting (a good, tongue-and-cheek example of that practice is
found at the “mystery worshipper” section of the website ShipofFools.com After
three Sundays away, we will gather on February 7, 2010 to share our experiences
during worship.

Will the Pastor be working during the January Sabbath?

Yes, Pastor Kevin will continue to work full-time during this period, though he
will spend more time connecting personally with many members of the
congregation. This time will allow him a Sabbath from the work of sermon
preparation and planning and chance to learn new ideas from the other churches
he will visit during this time.

Isn’t there a danger that we will lose members if we encourage them to
visit other churches?

The idea of the January Sabbath came from an article written by two pastors
whose churches does this every year. They experienced no loss of members,
and, in fact, found that their members appreciated their own congregation more
because of this chance to worship elsewhere. Often found within this fear of
losing members is an underlying belief that we aren’t good enough, and that if
our people REALLY knew the other more “exciting” options out there, they
wouldn’t stick around. I think many of us believe that this little imperfect but
beautiful congregation is a pretty great place to be a part of, and that we can
“hold our own” with the best of them, relative to our size and location. But if
someone did find a new church home that met their spiritual needs more deeply
than we could, how could we not be ultimately happy for them? We don’t
pretend to have ALL the truth here, nor do we think we can be the church for all
people…but I do think we can be the church for many more than are here
already! This will allow us to see how others worship God and learn from
them.

Can we really afford to miss three financial offerings during the January
Sabbath?

No, we can’t, which means that the Council will need to make sure that the
congregation understands how important it will be for us to continue giving
during this time. Making sure the congregation has plenty of notice before
January regarding this issue, providing stamped envelopes for people to send in
their offerings (or dropping them by the church), and offering other means of
notice is crucial to making sure that January Sabbath does not adversely affects
our financial health. We are also blessed with the fact that many people do pay
their full yearly pledge in January, which gives us a bit of breathing room.
Nonetheless, it will be important for all of us to understand that the bills and
expenses of keeping our own church running will still continue during this time.

Why are we having the Sabbath Circles in homes rather than at the
church?

Primarily, to create a different level of intimacy that comes with being in a more
relaxed, homey atmosphere. This church has had a history of home based study
groups, though not in the near past. However, some people are uncomfortable
with going to other people’s homes, and we have to honor that, while still
encouraging them to “take a chance” by being part of one of these Sabbath
Circles.

What is Centering Prayer?

From Wikepedia: “Centering prayer is a popular method of contemplative prayer
or Christian meditation, placing a strong emphasis on interior silence.” The
practice itself is a simple and yet challenging form of prayer that asks us to rest
in God, rather than speak to God. The actual practice of “Centering Prayer” will
be introduced at the first set of meetings.

Ultimately, why in the world are we having a Sabbath year?!

During these difficult social and economic times, we are people sorely in need of
trust in God. By focusing on Sabbath as a radical act of trust, by allowing God
to meet us in our resting rather than our doing, we still strengthen our personal
faith and our congregation.

Here is information on our church's Sabbath Year Journey: