Parish Meeting
Sabbatical Briefing
Barbara Duffield
Sabbatical Committee

Last June, as Bonnie just told us, our Vestry approved a sabbatical policy that had been developed by our sabbatical committee.  A lot of work has been done by all parties in this past year, and I am here today to talk to you about what a sabbatical is, and what it isn’t, and why we believe it is in our best interest as a congregation to offer one – not only for Fr. Tim, but for future clergy in our church as well.
First, I want to give a bit of an explanation as to what a sabbatical is.  The concept is based on a model we see in the Scriptures as Jesus had times of intense energy followed by a deliberate time of “pulling away” to listen, pray, and be replenished by His Heavenly Father. For clergy, a sabbatical is an opportunity to have an extended time away from the parish for prayer, study, reflection, and rest while listening for God’s call and direction, as well as re-charging and re-vitalizing his or her ministry. It is crucial that we all understand that a sabbatical is not a long vacation.  It is a deliberately structured time designed to allow the priest to come back to the parish family able to lead with renewed energy and effectiveness.
            The question may come to mind, “Why is a sabbatical important?” The national average to stay in a position for clergy in the Episcopal Church today is from 4 to 7 years, not because the clergy themselves particularly want a change, but more because they need the move in order to rediscover the energy and inspiration to continue growing in their ministry.  The natural tendency for a church family to depend on the clergy to “do it all” and “be it all” for the congregation can be very draining for the priest; even more so in a church like St. Matthew’s with only one priest on staff.  Our diocese has recommended for a number of years that a sabbatical should be a part of any call to a clergy person. We, like many parishes, have not seriously considered it, thinking it not to be a priority and although I remember reading about it when Fr. Tim was first called, it didn’t seem to be anything we would need or be able to do. We’d never done it before!
           In the February Matt’s Missive, Fr. Tim wrote of his realization that he was committed to church related activities five nights per week for at least the upcoming seven weeks, and I suspect if he spent more time with his little electronic planner he would find that has been the rule more than the exception over recent years.  A number of people expressed surprise and dismay at learning he was spending so much time on church business, and I know that he told us this not as a complaint but as part of a decision that a Lenten program was not a wise choice for this year. I want to stop here and say that the consideration of a sabbatical is not in response to any dissatisfaction that Fr. Tim has voiced; on the contrary he’s said many times how very happy he is to be here, and at our last sabbatical committee meeting he commented that his time with us at St. Matthew’s has been the most fulfilling time of his career as a priest.  And I think, at least I hope, that it’s obvious to him how happy we are to have him.  As a matter of fact, the idea of the sabbatical was not something he asked for, it was an idea brought first to our then Senior Warden Wayne Mudge and then proposed to Fr. Tim. The point to the sabbatical is to ensure that he stays healthy and able to lead us by providing him an opportunity to step away and take time specifically designated for spiritual renewal, study, and rest.  A sabbatical, when planned properly, will provide time to accommodate all three of those components.
            Usually, one of the first questions that come to mind is one of money.  And no, this is not an inexpensive proposal.  As Bonnie said earlier, St. Matthew’s sabbatical policy provides for the priest to receive their full salary, minus some expenses such as car allowance, while they are on the sabbatical.  Obviously we won’t close the doors here while he is gone, so we will need to provide clergy for various times such as Sunday services here, Thursday services at the ARC, and various parish needs that crop up.  There are national programs offering a number of grants; both for the clergy and for the expenses the church faces.  The sabbatical committee is in the process of applying for those.  One is from an organization known as The Louisville Institute. This group offers up to a total of sixty grants of $15,000 for twelve-week sabbaticals for clergy. This is their primary grant program for pastors and other religious leaders. Another group is the Lilly Endowment, Inc. whose program for Clergy Renewal offers 100 -120 grants of up to $45,000 each directly to the congregations for support of a renewal or sabbatical program. Since 2000 the Lilly Endowment has offered nearly $24 million to over 600 congregations. Up to $15,000 of each grant may be used for the congregation to fulfill pastoral duties during the priest’s absence or to support activities as a whole as the parish seeks to be renewed in its own ministry. Fr. Tim has been in contact with a pastor in the local area who was the recipient last year of one of these grants and he has provided his grant proposal, along with several other successful proposals that were shared with him, for our use in preparing our own proposal. Additionally, we have gathered information put out by each of these organizations describing in detail what they expect to see in a submitted proposal. A requirement of any submitted grant proposal is a completed plan, including all anticipated costs for the desired sabbatical. We have, in the past year, established a fund to hold any continuing education funds that are unused at the end of each year, and are funding it this year with an additional amount from the operating budget.  A typical sabbatical is funded by monies from the church, from grants, from the priest, and from private donations from members of the congregation who feel called to do so. 
The planned for sabbatical is a “work in progress” at the moment. Fr. Tim has spent much time, (including an attempted silent retreat during the recent ice storm!) praying and listening for God’s guidance in how and where he should invest this time. There will be components of travel, study, relaxation and above all prayer and time alone with God involved; the plan will be finalized this month and we should have a good idea of the cost by the end of the month.
Another important piece of the plan is how to select a “sabbatical interim” priest to come into our midst during Fr. Tim’s absence. It was important to us as a committee that we find one person if at all possible to be with us in order to provide a continuity of relationship and we are working on that now. We believe it will be possible and hope to know relatively soon who that may be. We have spent considerable time in determining what tasks and responsibilities Fr. Tim performs now, and have formulated a list of those tasks, as well as who would appropriately be able to take over those duties during his time away.
Your sabbatical committee is now working on a plan for how we will, as a church family, use the time while Fr. Tim is away – not to just keep the doors open and await his return – but to grow and re-energize ourselves in his absence. One of the things we have learned during our study of sabbaticals is that, when planned for properly, a sabbatical benefits not only the priest but also the church family as a whole. Our goal is to affect that sort of growth and excitement during the time he is away.
We sincerely believe that this is not only financially doable, but will be extremely beneficial to Father Tim and to our church family, both now and in years to come. If you have any questions now or in the future, please feel free to talk to Fr. Tim, me, or any member of the sabbatical committee. We will be happy to talk to you about where we are in this process and will continue to be in touch with you as more details are finalized. The members of the sabbatical committee are going to hand out to you a nifty little brochure we have created that covers many of the points Bonnie and I have just covered for you to refer back to, and we will have copies of the Sabbatical policy and other information available for you if you have other questions. We will mail a copy of Bonnie’s and my talks to those who were unable to attend the parish meeting today, but again, don’t hesitate to ask any of us if you have questions either now or later. And speaking of questions, does anyone have any at this time?


March 4, 2007

St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church
Sabbatical Policy

In keeping with the Diocese of West Texas recommendation for clergy compensation and benefits, the following is the St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church Sabbatical Policy.
According to Clergy Renewal, The Alban Guide to Sabbatical Planning, by A. Richard Bullock and Richard J. Bruesehoff, “The word sabbatical has its roots in the biblical concept of Sabbath (“to rest” or “to cease”). Sabbath keeping is setting aside time that God consecrates and makes holy.” Sabbatical leave is a time for our priest to be away from the congregation to rest, disengage, pray, study, reflect, and travel in order to return to minister among us refreshed and renewed in body, mind, and spirit. It is not a time for routine work, job search, retirement planning, or terminal leave.
A sabbatical is more than a vacation from meetings, budgets, sermons, and other pastoral responsibilities. Again, from Clergy Renewal, it is a time for the priest to “receive spiritual nourishment and a change in perspective, to deepen his relationship with God, himself, and his family – a season of spiritual growth. This special time will also be a season of growth for the congregation.”
The priest may apply for sabbatical leave of up to twelve weeks, to be taken after every seven years of service to the congregation of St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church, Universal City. Sabbatical time does not accumulate. Credit for time served toward a sabbatical in one position does not transfer to a new position either within the church or coming in from another church. Leave will be granted in order to provide the priest the opportunity to seek spiritual and physical reinvigoration through a time of study and travel.
Salary, insurance, and pension will be paid in full during the time of sabbatical. Continuing education and car allowance will be discontinued during that time. Planning for the sabbatical will be organized by the sabbatical committee and priest, and presented to the Vestry for authorization. The sabbatical plan should ideally include components of continuing education, travel, and rest.
Funding for the sabbatical will come from the parish budget, the priest, grants, continuing education funds, and private donations. The parish will be responsible for maintaining a line item in the budget annually to fund future sabbaticals. The vestry is encouraged to direct unused parish continuing education funds at the end of each fiscal year to the sabbatical fund.
A sabbatical policy should be a part of the agreed compensation when a priest is called. This policy will include a minimum one-year commitment to continue in office following the sabbatical. Sabbatical should be taken in one period and is not to be considered as any portion of priest’s vacation. It is highly recommended that some time of vacation should be planned both before and after the priest’s time away. The vestry will determine the overall program needs of the congregation during the time of the sabbatical. A sabbatical management plan will be developed by the vestry or its designated committee. The plan will include:
Procedure for informing the congregation about the sabbatical
Specific features of the sabbatical leave
Provisions for support clergy during the time of the sabbatical
Specific plans for “Who does what” within the church during the time of the sabbatical
Return celebration plans
Provision for clergy’s re-entry into the life of the community
Consideration of staff time off following the return of the priest



Adopted by the Vestry June 17, 2006

Parish Meeting
Sabbatical Briefing
Bonnie McKaskle
Senior Warden


At this time in our meeting, I would like to let you know about St. Matthew’s Sabbatical Policy. The policy applies to Father Tim and also will be a part of any compensation package for any future priest we call to serve in our parish.

In 1999, I was chair of the search committee that called Father Tim to serve at St Matthew’s. At that time, we followed the Diocese’s recommended clergy compensation policy which stated that a sabbatical would be provided. Since St Matthew’s had not provided a sabbatical to Fr. Bob, our former rector, we did not have a policy in place; not much had been mentioned of it. That is until last year when the idea of creating a policy was brought before the vestry. Our senior warden at that time, Wayne Mudge, formed a committee and asked Barbara Duffield to chair that committee. The other committee members he appointed are Joyce Nollen, Pat Perry, Jesse Quisenberry and Father Tim.

The committee began researching and formulating a draft policy in January of 2006 to submit to the Vestry for approval. After receiving that draft, the Vestry worked closely with the Sabbatical Committee on some refinements and clarifications to ensure the necessary guidelines were included and clearly defined. The vestry approved St. Matthew’s Sabbatical Policy on June 17, 2006. I would like to go over the key points of that policy with you and then ask Barbara to provide you information on the sabbatical management plan that the committee is currently working on to insure that the spiritual and business life of St. Matthew’s continues uninterrupted while Father Tim is on sabbatical leave late spring of next year.

Now to the key points:

The priest may apply for sabbatical leave of up to 12 weeks
after every 7 years of service to our congregation. Sabbatical time does not accumulate. Credit for time served toward a sabbatical in one position does not transfer to a new position either within the church or coming in from another church.

Salary, insurance and pension will be paid in full during the time of sabbatical. Planning for the sabbatical will be organized by the sabbatical committee and priest and presented to the Vestry for authorization. The plan should include components of continuing education, travel and rest.

Funding for the sabbatical will come from the parish budget, the priest, grants, continuing education funds, and private donations. The parish will maintain a line item in the budget annually to fund future sabbaticals.

The policy includes a one-year commitment to continue in office following the sabbatical. The sabbatical will be taken in one period and will not be considered as part of vacation time, although it is recommended that vacation time be planned before and after the priest’s time away.

The vestry will determine the overall program needs of the congregation during this time. A sabbatical management plan will be developed by the committee.

At this time, I’d like to ask Barbara to come up and explain the specifics of the sabbatical management plan that she and the committee have developed so far.



March 4, 2007