Where's Pastor Tim?

Sabbatical 2006 Information

Clarion Article October 2005

CHRIST THE KING HAS RECEIVED A CLERGY RENEWAL GRANT

Christ the King a has received a grant of #37,293 to enable Pastor Keyl to participate in the 2005 National Clergy Renewal Program funded by the Indianapolis-based Lilly Endowment Inc. It is one of 124 congregations across the country that will support their ministers in the program, which allows pastors to step back form their busy lives and renew their spirits for the sake of the ongoing ministries.

Now in its sixth year, the program invites congregations and ministers to consider and plan a period of "intentional reflection and renewal." It provides a time for ministers to take a break from their daily obligations and gain the fresh perspective and renewed energy that a carefully considered "Sabbath time" of travel, study, rest and prayer can provide.

Each Congregation is eligible to apply for a grant of up to $45,000. Up to $15,000 of that amount can be used to fulfill pastoral duties during the minister's absence and for expenses related to the congregations' own renewal. The 124 grants this year total nearly $5 million.

Pastor Keyl will be on sabbatical from mid-June to mid-September 2006. With his wife, Pastor Kari Keyl, they will first travel to Palestine to enroll in the Tantur Institute, based in Jerusalem. The four-week program balances learning, excursions, and time alone to explore, reflect, and study. The Keyls will also connect with Lutherans from our companion synod in the Holy Land.

The second leg of the sabbatical will be a family trip to Holden Village, a retreat center in the Cascade Mountains of Washington State. At Holden Village, in its dedication to living in community, daily prayer and justice keeping, a three-week stay will serve to provide rest and refreshment, and time to reflect on the experience in the Holy Land.

While Pastor Keyl is away, the grant will fund pastoral care and worship leadership. Studies about the Christian presence in the Holy Land will be offered. Upon return, Pastor Keyl will develop presentations about his travels in the Holy Land and Holden Village.

This year's congregations represent 37 states and the District of Columbia (the Endowment administers a separate program for Indiana congregations). They represent 16 Christian denominations. Previous grantees number 631.

"We have heard wonderful stories from the pastors who already have experienced these sabbaticals," said Craig Dykstra, Endowment senior vice president for religion. "Their time away freed them up to pursue personal interests and needs in ways that have given them new energy for ministry -- and the congregations discovered that they didn't fall apart without their minister around. Indeed, they too experienced refreshment and a new-found sense of their own strengths."

The Endowment's larger goal is to bolster the good work that America's pastors and congregations accomplish day in and day out, to reinforce and build upon the important work being done on both sides of the pulpit. "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 congregations, " Dykstra said.

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