Dear Beloveds,
At our 2024 diocesan convention, I announced that I would be going on sabbatical in 2025. My sabbatical is April 1 to July 31. I’m looking forward to this season of rest after the time we’ve spent together since July of 2019. Our Diocesan household, Church, nation and world have lived through so much since then. As your Bishop, vocationally this has been as fulfilling as it has been challenging for me and my family.
In July of 2021, I announced that the diocese was facing a financial cliff. THRIVE, the Taskforce for Hope, Revitalization, Innovation, Vision, and Efficiency, was established and tasked with helping us envision a way of being and governance that would help us find a path for a sustainable future.
At our 2022 Diocesan Convention we adopted a 3-year trial set of canons based on the THRIVE recommendations. At our convention this October, we will decide how to move forward with the THRIVE canons. During my sabbatical there will be opportunities to reflect on what we’ve learned from this experiment, and discern what that means for our future. We have positively and faithfully embraced this work in our governance and in our new church model of Constellations. Now, it is time to revisit the conversation about sustainability.
Our 2023 Mission Leadership Review gave us an overview of the good work we’ve done together, and the areas we need to give greater attention for the sake of our flourishing and God’s mission.
As a result of our Mission Leadership review, we have committed to “develop a spirit of koinonia (community, partnership, communion) in the diocese through gathering people in ways that strengthen relationships and partnerships, emphasizing the importance of reconciliation as a center point of faithful living and serving; working together.”
Koinonia is a Greek word that has no direct translation in English. Typically, we’re given the word fellowship as an equivalent. But koinonia is much more expansive. It can be understood as community togetherness, the work shared and carried out by that community, along with the joys and pains of being people together.
Some of our work toward developing a spirit of koinonia can be aided by agreeing to a set of norms or way of being in community with each other. Our primary set of norms can be found in our Baptismal Covenant. While I’m away, I invite you to spend some time reflecting on the place where we start in our commitment with each other and God. I also hope that everyone will read Community Rules: An Episcopal Manual.
It is a presentation of a very practical, vital and spiritual aspect of our life and work together.
The concept of a sabbatical comes from the faith practice of taking sabbath. In ancient Jewish practice, farmers and their land would have a sabbatical every 7 years, when there would be no farming.
There are some professions where it is expected, or a practice for an individual to take a sabbatical. We commonly hear of academics taking sabbaticals, often for a year, that involve research and or writing.
Some of you may not be aware that ordained people, of various denominations, including Episcopalian, are expected to take a sabbatical. The purpose isn’t to create time for some work product such as a book or body of research, but rather for reflection, rest, and renewal.
During my sabbatical as part of my reflection, I will engage in activities that are restful and restorative, such as knitting, sewing, icon writing (painting), developing a yoga practice, and reading. As I write this, it sounds like a lot. But trust me, this will all be restful work for my spirit.
I’ve also included a list of books I’ll be reading and revisiting. I invite you to join me. I have most of these books in both paper and electronic versions, but when possible, I highly recommend listening to books read by the author.
For example, Isabel Wilkerson’s Warmth of Other Suns, and Caste are much more meaningful when you hear her voice.
One of the icons I will write is The Holy Trinity. In my artist eye, an icon of the Trinity is a visual representation of koinonia. As we seek to develop a spirit of koinonia in our diocese, the creation of the icon will be a powerful tool for prayer and reflection as I hold our diocesan household in prayer, during my absence. I look forward to sharing the image with you when I return.
I’m grateful for the leaders and members of our Diocesan household who will continue to carry on with our work during my time away. Thank you in advance for making this sabbatical possible. I’m looking forward to sharing what we’ve learned in this time of separation.
Peace and Blessings,
Bishop Shannon
A Note from Chancellor Tom Little:
Over the years I have been Chancellor (starting with Bishop Mary Adelia in 1994), when our Bishops have gone on sabbatical leave, I sometimes received questions about the status of the Bishop during their sabbatical. In response to these questions, I have counseled that a Bishop’s periodic sabbaticals, typically every five years (generally the same cycle as for priests), are expressly contemplated in the Bishop’s Letter of Agreement signed at the time of consecration. Episcopal sabbaticals are routine in the life of the Church and encouraged by pastoral care policies adopted at the churchwide level. A sabbatical leave is thus anticipated and planned.
When the Bishop is on sabbatical, the Bishop continues in office as the ecclesiastical authority in the Diocese. As has been the practice with our prior Bishops, senior members of the diocesan leadership team have been working with Bishop Shannon to assure smooth continuation of the ministry and operations of the Diocese, and that contingencies are anticipated and accounted for.
I join in the hope and prayers for a renewing and successful sabbatical for Bishop Shannon.
Tom Little
