Our Rector went on sabbatical for 3 months in the fall of 2025.  We were all a bit nervous – we’re a small church with one paid clergy member, and we were about to go 3 months with only our part-time parish administrator and the Vestry to hold everything together.  We just wanted to get to Advent without everything falling apart.   

“You should do Renewal Works while I’m away,” our Rector said.  We had started Renewal Works in December 2019, and had gotten through the Spiritual Life Inventory before the Covid pandemic derailed our plans to do the workshops.  We weren’t sure if it was a good idea or a bad idea to try again while he was on sabbatical, but we decided to go for it. 

And guess what?  It was a great idea!  In many ways it was something that brought us together as a congregation.  Our Rector was away, we had to steer the ship ourselves, and through our conversations and discernment in the four Renewal Works workshops, we got to figure out what direction we wanted to go.  It was a risky move for our Rector (what if we discerned a direction he didn’t like, or didn’t play to his strengths?), and empowering for us. 

I think we came out of the process with more autonomy as a congregation.  We had worked through this discernment process on our own, come up with ideas and initiatives, and developed a sense that we could generate the enthusiasm and excitement necessary to start and complete new things.  Going forward, we know that we are the ones who have to do the work to make things happen, and not simply defer to the Rector or wait for him to give us a push.  Our Rector has learned that he can be more hands-off, and let congregational leadership take the lead, giving him more time and energy in other areas.

- Neal Christopherson