Lutheran Pastors, Congregations Benefit From Renewal Program

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- She may look like just another tourist, or
it may seem like a family on vacation, but there's something more
meaningful and more spiritual going on here. A congregation of
the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and its pastor
are participating in the National Clergy Renewal Program of the
Lilly Endowment, Inc.
The Lilly Endowment announced Sept. 20 that this year 23
ELCA congregations were among 124 congregations that received
grants of up to $45,000 each for the support of renewal programs
for their pastors. Up to $15,000 of each grant may be used for
congregational expenses associated with a sabbatical.
Since 2000 the Endowment has invested more than $23 million
in the National Clergy Renewal Program for 755 congregations and
their pastors. It awarded 20 of 132 grants to ELCA congregations
in 2004, 10 of 117 in 2003 and 26 of 135 grants in 2002.
The Lilly Endowment is an Indianapolis-based, private
philanthropic foundation that "seeks to strengthen Christian
congregations by providing an opportunity for pastors to step
away briefly from the persistent obligations of daily parish life
and to engage in a period of renewal and reflection," the
program's promotional materials said.
In August the Lilly Endowment announced that 2006 will be
the eighth year for a similar program just for congregations in
Indiana. Two ELCA congregations -- Risen Lord Lutheran Church,
Bargersville, and Salem Lutheran Church, Indianapolis -- were
among 36 congregations that received grants in the 2005 Clergy
Renewal Program for Indiana Congregations.
"I have the privilege of talking with many pastors who have
received grants from the Lilly Endowment for their sabbaticals
and with leaders in their congregations," said the Rev. Richard
J. Bruesehoff, director for leadership support, ELCA Division for
Ministry.
"Almost without fail each expresses gratitude for the gift
of this time of personal and professional renewal," Bruesehoff
said. "Pastors will go on to talk about their profound gratitude
both to the Lilly Endowment and their own congregation, and the
renewed vitality and commitment with which they return to
pastoral leadership," he said.
"Congregational leaders will talk about the new clarity and
vision with which the congregation engages in its ministry after
the sabbatical," Bruesehoff said.
That's not usually where they start out, Bruesehoff said.
Pastors don't see where they'll find the time; pastors and
congregational leaders worry about the finances and about the
congregation without a pastor.
"The Lilly Endowment grants really have addressed these
concerns by making money available not only to cover the pastor's
sabbatical expenses, but also to cover the congregation's costs
of contracting with interim leadership. The grant also can be
used by the congregation for its own long-range planning and
development work during a sabbatical," Bruesehoff said.
"One of the surprises expressed by pastors who have received
Lilly grants is the effect of completing the grant application.
The process has helped them and the congregation's leadership
focus on the short-term and long-term goals of the congregation
and their plans for addressing them," Bruesehoff said.

Saint Peter Lutheran Church, Greenwood Village, Colo.
The Rev. David J. Risendal
http://renewal.home.att.net/

"The health of a congregation is fundamentally intertwined
with the health of its pastoral leadership," said Lee Dehmlow,
president of Saint Peter Lutheran Church in suburban Denver. "I
have learned that there can be no wiser congregational investment
than a regular, fully supported pastoral sabbatical program to
maintain the energy, focus and faith of its pastor."
It was tough for the Rev. David J. Risendal to follow in the
footsteps of a charismatic pastor who had served the congregation
for 13 years, Dehmlow said. The former pastor had taken two
sabbaticals during her tenure with the congregation.
"Congregational leaders speak of the benefits both the pastor and
the congregation received from these experiences," the president
said.
Worship, music and Sabbath rest were priorities for both the
congregation and its pastor in sabbatical planning. Three
notable conflicts in the congregation during Risendal's seven
years there were demanding on the pastor, staff and members of
Saint Peter, Dehmlow said.
"Pastor Risendal has challenged Saint Peter to reshape its
leadership development, worship and music styles, and adult and
youth education while retaining our theological and liturgical
integrity," Dehmlow said. "I believe that the next phase of
congregational development will be well served by Pastor
Risendal's proposed sabbatical," he said.
The three-month sabbatical will begin with piano lessons, a
music theory course at the University of Colorado School of Music
in Boulder and visits to four churches known for their creative
worship life. The visits take Risendal to Arizona, Minnesota and
Washington.
Risendal and his family will spend the last month of the
sabbatical in Europe.
"This will be a time of rest and renewal for their family, as
well as a time to visit and worship in a number of historic
houses of worship," including "some of the sites where the
Lutheran Reformation had its beginning," the grant application
said. The month comes to a close with a week of spiritual
renewal at the Iona Abby in Scotland.
During the renewal program Saint Peter will host a weekend
workshop on worship and music, open to other area worship
planners and leaders. Workshop leaders will demonstrate Lutheran
worship traditions and how to create worship experiences that
could transform the worshipper.
"A post-sabbatical time of reflection and re-evaluation" is
planned for Risendal and Saint Peter for 13 weeks after his
return. The pastor will prepare a written report to the
congregation, a newsletter article series, a Web site and a study
for worship leaders. Risendal will also attend the Alban
Institute's "Clergy Development Institute" in Allenspark, Colo.
"My love for music goes back to the purchase of my first
guitar when I was 10-years-old," Risendal said. "During my 20
years of ministry I have found my role as a worship planner and
leader to be among the richest experiences in my ministry. I
love exploring how the ancient traditions of our church can be
given new life, and working to see that newcomers and youth are
honored and included in worship."
"As one who has never traveled to Europe, I am thrilled at
the prospect of visiting the great cathedrals of Europe. I
expect it to stretch my vision of what we can become at Saint
Peter," Risendal said.
"I have never taken a sabbatical leave," Risendal said. "I
am especially excited about the aspect of rest and renewal that
it promises."
"I am hopeful that Saint Peter is a congregation in which I
can experience a long-term ministry," the pastor said. "I trust
that periodic sabbaticals will help me stay enthused, vibrant and
committed to this ministry over the long term."

Pilgrim Lutheran Church, St. Paul, Minn.
The Rev. Carol J. Tomer
http://www.pilgrimstpaul.org

"Although it was many years ago that we initially committed
to the idea of a seventh year sabbatical, the time is ripe now
for so many reasons, said Kris Hogquist, the president of Pilgrim
Lutheran Church, St. Paul, Minn.
After a strong round of chemotherapy and radiation for six
months, the Rev. Carol J. Tomer wanted to be more than a breast
cancer survivor but a breast cancer initiate into a new way of
life.
Kenda Creasy Dean advanced the idea of "pilgrimage as
spiritual dehabituation" in her book "Practicing Passion: Youth
and the Quest for a Passionate Church." Breaking routines and
opening one