My Extended Study Leave 18th April – 18th July 2022

The life of a minister is unusual in a number of respects.

Firstly, we don’t actually work. In fact, we’re paid a monthly stipend rather than a wage so that we don’t have to work – the idea being that we are available 24/7 to minister to others and ‘work’ doesn’t get in the way of that.

Secondly, we don’t live in our own homes. Some ministers do own property, but many (like us) depend on accommodation provided by the church, and when we leave so we will move somewhere else.

Thirdly, we don’t earn vast amounts of money. Certainly, our immediate needs (including rent-free housing, water bills and council tax) are met, and we are often the recipients of extraordinary generosity, but there is no ‘ladder to climb’ so earning potential is limited.

Fourthly, we don’t often get away at weekends. For forty-six weeks of the year we will be in our churches on a Sunday, meaning we don’t get to see family and friends as often as we might if we worked Monday to Friday.

Fifthly, it is an extremely varied life. From preaching and leading services to baptisms weddings and funerals; to taking school assemblies and Holy Communion in care homes, to managing staff, to attending meetings and writing reports, to comforting the dying and counselling the bereaved, to visiting those at home, in hospital or in prison, to walking with others through their moments of failure, weakness, doubt and fear, to trusting God and serving him in the midst of our own moments of failure, weakness, doubt and fear; to sharing Jesus in a society that (by and large) no longer sees him as relevant, to seeking God for the direction of the church, yet often not knowing for sure that it really is his voice we are hearing or just that of our own whims and desires.

And six, every seven years we are gifted with a three-month break to lay everything down, get away from it all, do some light study, see family and friends at weekends, and be recharged, refreshed and re-envisioned. A Sabbatical. Or to give it its newer technical term, Extended Study Leave.

Do vicars, pastors and ministers deserve this more than police officers, doctors, and teachers? Probably not (although you could argue that teachers get half a sabbatical every summer). But built into full-time Christian ministry is the God given rule of seven. Just as God rested on the seventh day of creation, so we are to rest from our labours every seven days. And just as the land is to lie fallow every seventh year, so are we to ‘lie fallow’ during the seventh year of our ministry. And the word ‘sabbatical’, of course, comes from the Hebrew word ‘sabbath’ – which means ‘to rest.’

So, from April 18th to July 18th I have the privilege of a three-month break from ministry. Where will I be going and what will I be doing during this time – and what do I hope it will do for me and Rosie?

Cycling round Europe

As many of you know I love long distanced cycling. In my teens and twenties I undertook numerous cycle trips throughout Europe and this is something I would love to do again. So I will be away for a calendar month cycling through Holland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, France and Spain – a total of 1,900 miles.

This will be both an inner and an outer journey. I will be visiting people and places special to me in the past, but at the same time use the miles to think, reflect, pray, ponder and journal.

I will set off from Fleet on Easter Sunday afternoon. Picking up my son Luke in London, we will cycle to Harwich and take the boat to the Hook of Holland. We will visit Rotterdam, where my father grew up, and revisit my grandmothers flat – a place I stayed at often in my youth. Luke will then head back to the ferry and my good friend (and best man) Kevin will join me as we head to Austria.

We will pass through Germany and stop to visit Mona and Jason, Julian’s parents. Many of you will remember Julian, our Time for God volunteer who tragically took his life five years ago. It will be good to see them again.

When we reach Austria (after about ten days) we will stay a few days with Austrian friends of Kev near Linz. We will visit the home for special needs children where we both worked for a year back in 1979. I have also managed to track down Christian, the young Austrian who led me to faith in Christ at that time. He is now a pastor in Salzburg and we will have lunch together – the first time we will have seen each other in over forty years.

Kev will then take the train back to England and I will carry on to Oberammergau, the town in Southern Germany where they hold the Passion Play once every ten years. Sadly I will be too early for the play itself (I promised Johnny I’d get back in time for his A levels) but it will be interesting to see how the whole town gets ready for this event. Around half a million people will visit Oberammergau to see the play between May and October this year.

Then a further ten days or so through the Swiss Alps to Turin in northern Italy. I will be on my own for this leg of the journey. Throughout the whole trip I will be wild camping, perhaps stopping at a camp site every few days in the interests of personal hygiene! Most days I will cycle anything between 60 and 90 miles.

Monica from our church family has arranged for me to stay with her parents in Turin. It will be interesting to see the famous Turin shroud. I will then cycle to the Italian/French border and take an 8-hour train journey to Toulouse in South central France.

Cycle route in yellow

In Toulouse I will meet my brother Tim. We get on well and have cycled together in the past. Our plan is to visit Lourdes, before crossing the Pyrenees. We will then join the famous ‘Camino’ (the Pilgrim Way to Santiago de Compostela) for around 200 miles. Much of this will be off road on gravel paths. We will then turn up north to the coastal town of Santander where we will take the boat back to England docking at Portsmouth. I will then cycle from Portsmouth back to Fleet to make it a full circle. That’s the plan anyway (I could just end up with a puncture in Cove and end up going back home!).

Rosie will remain involved with church during the month I’m away, as well as looking after Johnny and Maggie (our labradoodle). But once I get back she will be off with me for the remaining two months.

Prison Chaplaincy at Coldingly

During the third week of June I will be shadowing Rod, a Chaplain at Coldingly Prison near Bracknell. I have always wanted to find out more about prison chaplaincy. I don’t have many details as to exactly what I’ll be doing, but I do know I have passed the enhanced security checks and that I will be going in for my ‘key training day’ earlier in June.

Spain and Paraguay

At the end of June Rosie and I have ten days in Alicante in Spain. We have been lent a flat and plan to do little more than relax, sight see and be on the beach. We will also meet up with friends from the UK who have recently planted an English-speaking church in the area.

Then on August 22nd we head to Paraguay. This is technically holiday rather than sabbatical as we will have been back with you for four weeks over the summer. You may remember we lived in Paraguay for fifteen years. This will be our first visit since we left in 2009. Our daughter Jess has just returned from her own visit there (to a friend’s wedding). She said so many people were asking after us, particularly the young people we worked with, many of whom are now in their mid-thirties and with families of their own. It seems the right time to return and it will be an emotional reunion. We will also visit Argentina where Rosie grew up before we fly back to the UK from Buenos Aires. We will be away for 19 days.

Rest and study

Apart from the travel, there will be plenty of time for rest and light study. I am particularly interested in reading around the subject of the climate crisis and its impact on theology and faith. How do we understand all that is happening in the light of scripture and God’s purposes? How is he calling us to respond? Many good books on the topic and it will be a privilege to have the time to read and reflect. We also plan to catch up with family and friends in different parts of the country. Then at the end of July, a week of spiritual refreshment at New Wine. Oh, and it looks like we may be having a new kitchen installed at 1 Dunley Drive around that time.

Concluding thoughts

I think I’ve used the word ‘privilege’ several times already, but that’s honestly what this extended study leave feels like. Travel costs and all I need for the cycle trip have been provided through friends, family and some amazing gifts. It’s been a draining couple of years, demanding a level of faith and leadership that does, at times, feel like it has taken its toll. What a blessing to have this time to see new sights, think new thoughts and dream new dreams. It will be good stand back and look at our lives, appreciate all that God has given us, and make sure we’re still in step with his Spirit and aligned with his purposes. We are doing well getting things in place during our absence.

All Sundays are covered for leaders and preachers for both services. Mark Rudall (who was a frequent visitor to COTH several years ago) has set aside these three months to help cover Sundays, Holy Communion, and be present during the week for additional support. Dane, too, is available to preach, lead and support, and many of you are stepping up to make sure things are covered.

So thank you for that and for releasing us for this time. My prayer is that this will also be a blessing for the church and that you won’t miss us too much (though hopefully just a little). It will also be a joy to come back to a new chapter with, quite possibly, a new member of staff to get to know and work alongside.

Patrick

28th February 2022