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Sabbaths

Sabbaths

by The Reverend Beth Anne Nelson on August 18, 2021

Self-care is incredibly important. A couple of weeks ago, I attended a curate cohort, a group of curates at Camp Allen that supports each other in their ministry. I was impressed with the ideas the facilitators told us about such as making sure to tell our parishioners boundaries.  Having said that this is something we do well at St. Dunstan’s Episcopal Church. Just yesterday, at a Vestry meeting someone asked when my Sabbath was each week. I appreciate the way each of you care for each other and for me. You respect my boundaries without me having to push back. Even though I commute to work I still am able to take my daughters to school or pick them up most days.

I have long been a proponent of taking a sabbath and finding space for rest each day to connect with God. The idea of Sabbath comes from the book of Exodus and is one of the Ten Commandments. I am extra blessed because I spend Sundays with each of you worshipping God. It is recognized by The Diocese that it is easy to become wrapped up in the work of the church on Sundays. Clergy and laity who serve the church are encouraged to take a day off each week. In fact, it is part of my contract.

Typically I have Monday as an additional Sabbath. In fact my close friends know that I sometimes leave my phone upstairs and read a book downstairs. The church office has an alternate number to reach me if there is an emergency since Sabbath was made for humans.  There are times when my schedule must be changed due to a pastoral situation, I then find a different day to take a Sabbath. Sometimes this might mean falling back on my smaller Sabbath idea of taking a mini Sabbath during the week by doing something that rejuvenates me such as going for a longer run.

One of the ways I connect to God is through running. In the quiet of the early morning I wake up and after praying the daily office, I emerge into the darkness. Often without music just listening to the sounds of my neighborhood I begin to pray and think about how God wants to use me that day. I think and pray for each of you, my neighbors, and my family. If there is anything I am angry or hurt about I lift that up to God as well. I try to run or walk 60 miles a week. This time allows me a space of connection to God that is totally my own; after all, who wants to talk to his sweaty woman seemingly talking to herself running around the neighborhood?

My question for you is how do you find time for yourself? The idea of the Sabbath is important as I said before. Sometimes I think we need to find many Sabbaths within the week to ensure that we are finding time with God. For me, these moments of self-care can be as rejuvenated as a day off. Are you able to take time away to hear the word of God speaking to you through scripture and prayer? Are you able to find times to lift up your concerns to God regularly? I hope and pray that you are able to find Sabbaths big and small in your life.

return to The Rev. Beth Anne