Dear Friends,
First of all, I want to thank all of you for your concerns, your thoughts and cards, but above all your prayers during my recent illness and surgery. As most of you know. after several days of intractable nausea which resulted in hospitalization, tests discovered the culprit was my gall bladder. I had surgery on May 5th and, after a week in the hospital, I came home on May 6th. I continue to recover from the surgery but I’m struggling to regain my energy. I realize the gall bladder attack I had on April 25th was the third such attack since last August. I just didn’t recognize it as a problem with my gall bladder.
Because of my illness, I was unable to write an article for the May Gatherings. What I wanted to share with you at that time was that I will be taking a sabbatical time away from the church this summer. This church recognizes the need for and provides support for such a time away. I will be gone from June 14th until August 15th, when I am back in the pulpit. During this time I plan to spend the first 3 weeks on Whidbey Island, Washington. This is an Island in the Puget Sound off the coast of Seattle. I will be taking an intensive writing class called “The Self as Story.” The wring workshop leader is Christina Baldwin. She is a pioneer in helping people discover that their own lives are a source of stories – stories that would be helpful to tell our children and grandchildren as a means for understanding something about the meaning of our lives, the influences that have shaped us and made us the people we are. I plan to offer more writing
opportunities for our older adults as I did last year. In addition
Baldwin has written a book called “Life’s Companion: Journal Writing as a Spiritual Practice.” Whatever workshops I offer I hope will be through some of our area libraries.
I also plan to spend two weeks at Lake Chautauqua, New York. One of my favorite spiritual writers, Barbara Brown Taylor will be the daily worship leader during the second week.
I have made all these plans with our cabinet, trustees and others who have leadership roles in the church. I am grateful for this chance for extended time away for
reflection, refreshment, renewal. I will spend the time praying for our church and for direction for the future and of course, I will have time for a lot of reading and writing. When I come back, there will be much to share with you as I make plans for the fall.
While I am away, I have made plans to cover pulpit
supply, and pastoral care emergencies. Rev. Carol Clements will fill the pulpit each week for both lakeside and sanctuary services. Please see the Summer Service
Schedule as it is printed elsewhere in this Gatherings.
Elsewhere in this Gatherings I have a list of area clergy who will cover any pastoral emergencies that may arise.
Again, I am so very grateful that this church recognizes the need for and supports this kind of sabbatical time away. It is my prayer that you support the church while I am gone by your presence at worship each week, by your continued financial support as the work of the church continues all 52 weeks of the year. We still offer “Lunch on Us” the first
Saturday of the month and during July we will sponsor
Vacation Bible School which is always a great time for our kids and kids in the neighborhood. Above all we ask that you keep the church and its staff and its lay leadership in your prayers as we seek to be faithful to our call as the church of Jesus Christ.
Blessings,
Rev. Dianne
