12/18/2003 News media contact: Linda Green · (615) 742-5470 · Nashville, Tenn
A head-and-shoulders photo of the Rev. Jonathan Almond is available.
By Linda Green*
The
Rev. Jonathan R. Almond, pastor of Mathewson Street United Methodist
Church, Providence, R.I., will get his first-ever sabbatical after 36
years in ministry, thanks to the 2003 National Clergy Renewal Program.
The program is sponsored by the Lilly Endowment Foundation. UMNS photo
courtesy John Almond, Photo number 03-527, Accompanies UMNS #594,
12/18/03
No Long Caption Available for this Story
The
Rev. Jonathan R. Almond, pastor of Mathewson Street United Methodist
Church in Providence, R.I., is one of eight United Methodist pastors who
will get three to four months off through the 2003 National Clergy
Renewal Program, sponsored by the Lilly Endowment Foundation. A UMNS
photo courtesy John Almond, Photo number 03-526, Accompanies UMNS #594,
12/18/03
No Long Caption Available for this Story
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) - The Rev. Jonathan R.
Almond has not had a sabbatical in the 36 years he has been in ministry
in the United Methodist Church. Next fall, he will take four months to
relax, reflect and "recharge my batteries."
The sabbatical is
made possible by a national program that enables pastors to leave their
pulpits for an average of three months for spiritual renewal.
Almond,
pastor of Mathewson Street United Methodist Church in Providence, R.I.,
is one of eight United Methodist pastors participating in the 2003
National Clergy Renewal Program, funded by Indianapolis-based Lilly
Endowment. The United Methodist churches are among 117 congregations
that will collectively receive $4.5 million in grants to provide their
pastors with opportunities to get re-energized for ministry.
Almond
and the other pastors will tour religious and spiritual sites, as well
as visit theological centers and churches similar to theirs. Times of
travel, study, rest and prayer are designed to help the pastors enhance
their spiritual lives. The program also aims to give congregations a new
sense of mission and purpose as they assume additional responsibilities
in their pastors' absences.
The 4-year-old National Clergy
Renewal Program awards diverse congregations grants of up to $45,000
each to plan a "well-thought-out, intentional program of renewal for
their pastor and themselves," says Gretchen Wolfram, communications
director for the Lilly Endowment. Congregations from 33 states and 16
Christian denominations and other faith traditions may use up to $15,000
of their grant money to pay for pastoral services in their pastor's
absence and for congregational renewal expenses, she said.
The
endowment's goal is to reinforce and build on the work of both clergy
and lay people, she said. Most participating pastors will begin their
renewal sabbaticals in 2004 and will have until Dec. 31, 2005, to
complete their spiritual journeys.
The 209-member Mathewson
congregation has worldwide partners in ministry, and Almond plans to
spend some of his renewal visiting two of them, both center-city
churches. He will spend time at a church in Birmingham, Ala., and at
the Central Methodist Mission in Johannesburg, South Africa, focusing on
relational ministry. As the Mathewson church is a center-city church,
he will visit these partner downtown churches to see how they create
ministries of hospitality while meeting the needs of the diverse and
needy populations around them.
"I will be looking at the role of
the church in issues around racism and the ministry that the center-city
churches provide," Almond says. He will hear the stories of hope and
reconciliation from the members of the churches, which will "hold for me
a key to understanding the realm of God in our post-modern world," he
says.
Almond also will compile a portfolio of watercolor
paintings of his experiences and the places he visits. He intends to
display his collection in a gallery showing in Providence at the end of
his sabbatical.
"People do not realize how intense a pastor's
life can be," says Craig Dykstra, the endowment's vice president for
religion. "He or she fills many roles that can become overwhelming."
The clergy renewal program "gives pastors - many of whom have never had a
sabbatical - time to take an extended leave" and "renew neglected
spiritual disciplines," he says.
Says Almond: "I have not had
any type of sabbatical in 36 years of ministry." Being away from his
congregation will be "somewhat intimidating," but he knows that ministry
will continue without him, he says.
Congregations that have
participated in the renewal program knew they had to step up in the
pastor's absence, Wolfram says. "The congregations are pleased for the
minister and their families to be able to be off, and they have
surprised themselves at the success they have had when the minister is
gone."
While the pastor is away, many congregations engage in
activities that often mirror their pastor's work, Dykstra said. Numerous
churches take the opportunity to learn about their denomination, study
how similar congregations have overcome common challenges and
concentrate on building their spiritual life.
"In our religion
grant-making, we hope to strengthen the efforts of today's excellent
pastors because it is no secret that pastors who have reconnected
themselves to the passions that led them to the ministry in the first
place are more likely to lead healthy and vibrant congregation," Dykstra
says.
In addition to the Mathewson church, United Methodist
congregations and pastors participating in the 2003 National Clergy
Renewal Program and the grants received are:
· First United Methodist Church, Grand Rapids, Mich., the Rev. Gary Thomas Haller, $44,669. · First United Methodist Church, Kalamazoo, Mich., the Rev. Douglas Wendell Vernon, $42,611. · Scotia (N.Y.) United Methodist Church, the Rev. Janice McClary Rowell, $37, 479. · Calvary United Methodist Church, Durham, N.C., the Rev. Laurie Hays Coffman, $45,000. · York Street United Methodist Church, Cincinnati, the Rev. Vanessa K. Allen-Brown, $45,000. · Dallas (Ore.) United Methodist Church, the Rev. Gwendolyn Muriel Drake, $42,800. · First United Methodist Church, McAllen, Texas, the Rev. Robert Schnase, $43,295.
# # # *Green is a news writer for United Methodist News Service.
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