Read the full issue of this week’s newsletter here: The Weekly Liberal Oct. 22

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In this week’s issue, Rev. Jen Crow writes:

I am full of gratitude as I prepare to head out on sabbatical beginning November 1. I’m grateful to have found and followed a calling into ministry that offers me a life of purpose and meaning. I’m grateful for the gift of sabbatical time that allows ministers to move away from church work for a limited time to make room for deep rest, renewal, and projects related to their calling that cannot be completed while holding their usual church responsibilities. This time away from November 1 through January 15 will allow me to deepen my daily spiritual practice, lean into my communities of support, spend critical time with my family as we (like so many of you) adapt to learning at home and the pressures of being a family that includes an essential hospital worker, and enjoy some extra time with my father who is living with cancer. In the midst of all this, I also look forward to devoting time and energy to another aspect of my calling, as a writer. 

This winter, I will submit the first draft of my book, Take What You Need, that will be published with Broadleaf Books. What began as an essay about my family’s experience surviving a house fire has turned into a spiritual memoir exploring the ways we can look back through our life and learn more, or learn again, from a new perspective – taking what we need from our life experiences and leaving the rest. I look forward to sharing my writing with all of you, and to celebrating the book launch together. If you want to read the essay that started it all, you can find it here.

In the meantime, my heart will be with you, and your ministers and staff will be right here – leading worship, stewarding the institution, caring for you and helping you care for each other. We have a strong team on staff and a strong team of lay leaders. While I am gone and into the future, Arif Mamdani will oversee our Pastoral Care Ministry, and all of your ministers and staff will be available for support. Staff and volunteers are temporarily taking on my other responsibilities while I am away and I am so grateful for their support. 

Here’s what I know: you know how to do church – how to show up with generous hearts, sharing your vulnerability and strength, supporting and challenging yourselves and each other as we build the Beloved Community we dream about right here, right now. You’ve got this, and you’ve got each other. I can’t wait to see you, to hear your stories, and to share mine when return. 

In gratitude,
Rev. Jen