You can only share so much during a Sunday morning announcement in worship, so I thought I would provide a fuller update about my upcoming renewal leave next year. As it was shared a few weeks ago, my renewal leave will be mid-May through the end of August.
I worked with a lay leadership team to put an application together to submit for the Lilly Clergy Renewal Grant earlier this year. This fall, we learned that our application was approved. Castleton UMC is 1 of only 33 Indiana congregations selected for this competitive program.
When I began planning my renewal time, I imagined space and time to catch joy that I’ve been putting off. I have come to realize that you have to be intentional about carving out time for sabbath rest, prayer, and joy. Our theme for the grant is “Catching Joy,” so this leave will provide the time to catch joy in an intentional way.
The grant application asks, “What makes your heart sing?” My mind immediately pictured many people, like my family and several friends along with two places: monasteries and ballparks. While they are both very different places, they both bring joy to me. I will take three monastic retreats during my renewal leave, with one at the beginning, one in the middle, and the final one at the end. These retreats will provide time and space for solitude, silence, reflection and prayer.
Then there’s ballparks. As you know, playing catch and connecting with people are important and life-giving for me. It’s something I’ve experienced through 3 years of 30 Days of Catch for Gleaners Food Bank. This campaign has been such a wonderful way for me to “catch joy” these past few years.
This baseball connection will take my family to Korea and Japan, visiting ballparks and playing catch with my boys and locals while learning about culture and religion. My cross-cultural experience in seminary, which was required for my Master of Divinity degree, gave me the opportunity to visit Korea and Japan. It was a life-changing experience for me, so being able to take my boys and my wife, Candace, will give us the opportunity to “catch joy” together as we travel.
During the rest of the renewal leave, I will be catching up with friends from college. I have been saying for many years, “If I only had the time, I would head up to Chicago and Pittsburgh and other places to see friends I haven’t seen in some time.” Well, now I will have the time to catch joy by catching up and hopefully playing catch with them too.
Renewal leave isn’t vacation; it’s a time to reconnect with God and others, a time to discover new places and experiences, and a time to catch joy. It’s intentional time with family and friends, old ones and new ones, and it’s an opportunity to reconnect with the steady heartbeat of grace that underlies the sacred and the ordinary.
Whether it’s at monasteries or ballparks, in local parks or in cities, I hope to experience the Spirit that moves in all of those places and bring back those experiences of grace and joy to our church life together.
“Pastors play such important roles in nurturing the spiritual lives of individuals and families,” said Christopher L. Coble, Lilly Endowment’s vice president for religion. “We hope these grants help congregations honor their pastors for their extraordinary service and support them with the time and resources to return reenergized.”
As a congregation, we will mark the transition of my leave and our welcome of Rev. Cindy Reynolds with a sermon and study series by the theme title, “Catching Joy.” During my time away, we will be inviting congregation members to share testimonies of joy throughout the summer, responding to reflection questions such as “what makes your heart sing?” and “where do you find joy (or catch joy)?” There will also be opportunities for community-wide meals and conversations on this topic.
Ministry can often be serious business for all of us, but we can’t lose sight of the joy that God brings to our lives in simple and small ways. This summer I hope we all “catch joy!”
Rev. Matt Landry
Senior Pastor