The camp of my childhood, and the camp I later ran, was a seasonal camp. As such, I was the first one in and the last one out. There was nothing like arriving on an early spring day when everything was a bed of green. Likewise, there was always a feeling of gratefulness for that which had been as I departed in the late fall.
The life lesson I learned from this experience is that places and communities have seasons as well. There was a time when we enjoyed God’s creation to the fullest and a time when we let her rest. The time of non-trampled trails always produced a beautiful green carpet when we returned. The camp, like the rest of God’s creation including us, benefited from a season of Sabbath.
One of the great advantages of the Episcopal Church in Minnesota aligning with the programmatic year of our faith communities is it provides for us the opportunity to have some system-wide Sabbath time
It is an intentional time for us to pause, reflect and make room for the Holy Spirit. And through this, a renewed or new sense of clarity provides the way forward.
I personally will be taking some sabbath time this summer as will the Episcopal Church in Minnesota. My hope and prayer for you and your faith community is that things will slow down enough this summer that you, also, will be able to take some intentional sabbath time.
In doing so the Holy Spirit may lead you to places you never imagined.