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sabbatical description

A rest and renewal experience for Pastor Ben Squires and Bethel Lutheran Church

Fall 2020 Sabbatical for Pastor Ben Squires and Bethel Lutheran Church

A Sabbatical Description by Pastor Ben Squires:
Inventive Departures: Explorations in Imagery & Writing

In the year 2020, I will have been in ministry for 20 years--10 of those years at Bethel. This seems the perfect opportunity to take my first pastoral sabbatical--a 3-month time away from the congregation for rest, renewal of spirit, and recreation. 

But a pastoral sabbatical isn't just for me. It's also for the congregation--for a renewal experience of your own, a break from our routine built up over 10 years of ministry together, a time to see new ways God is leading us.

You'll notice in reading about the Sabbatical Plan that it's built around poetry. I spent many years in high school and college writing and reading poetry. Poetry is literature that is designed to make you slow down, reflect, rest. Seems like a good companion for a sabbatical. The title comes from a description of George Herbert's poetry ("inventive departures from tradition").
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  • The sabbatical will be a departure from our norm.
  • The "inventive" comes from the theme of reading poetry, walking in the footsteps of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, spending time writing, and pursuing photography as a growing hobby. (Coleridge wrote poetry while walking, so the combination of poetry, art, and hiking will be a key piece of my renewal).
  • Coleridge's writing provides thematic words for pieces of the sabbatical: symbol, metaphor, imagination.

Follow these links for more detailed information​
  • Original Description
  • Reasons for the Sabbatical
  • Elements of the Sabbatical (What Will Pastor Be Doing?)
  • The Congregation's Experience of the Sabbatical
  • Sabbatical Schedule
  • The Return
  • Funding
  • Bethel's Sabbatical Team
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Bethel Lutheran Church & Preschool  |  5110 Grand Ave, Gurnee, IL  60031  |  (847) 244-9647  |  office@bethelgurnee.org
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www.facebook.com/BethelGurneeIllinois

  • Preschool
  • Discipleship
    • Mission Opportunities
    • Mental Health Information
    • Sunday Education Hour
    • Pastoral Care
    • Tell Us Your Story
  • Worship
    • Virtual Attendance Card
    • Bethel Worship Information
    • What To Expect
    • Music
    • Recent Worship Services & Sermons
  • Recent Posts
  • Calendar
  • Leadership
  • About
  • Staff Directory
  • Why Christianity?
  • Pray - Eat - Love
  • Baptism
  • Marriage
  • Contact
  • Email Newsletter Sign Up
  • Governing Documents
  • Spiritual Gifts Discovery
  • Generosity Expressions