What do the following all have in common?

Paypal, Deloitte, Adobe, Brewdog, Buffer, Vistaprint, Church of England

All tech companies?

No. Brewdog is a brewery.

All created since 1845 (when Deloitte was founded)? No, the Church of England has been around for a very long time!

So what’s the connection?

Answer: They all invest in their people’s wellbeing through providing sabbaticals. The word sabbatical comes from the Latin for Sabbath – the Lord’s day of rest. So, a sabbatical is a faith-idea about rest and good patterns of living well. The first reference to the word sabbatical in the UK was in the 1590s!

There’s something special about the idea of a time of rest. We’ve lost that art and I don’t see that it is doing people much good. In many people’s eyes who I meet I don’t see rest, but exhaustion.

The Bible says that there should be a rest period every seventh day and every seventh year because this is God’s best pattern for us (Lev 25:1). If someone is in debt then they should be released from it on the seventh year so that it does not burden them too much (Deut 15:1).

A field should be left fallow to recover on the seventh year (Ex 23:10). If a time of rest is good enough for a field and God’s creation order, then it is a good model for us in our daily lives. That’s why churches have historically gathered people every seventh day. I have my old physics teacher in mind when I recall his words all those years ago when he taught us about the limits of stretching something “If you stretch an elastic band beyond its elasticity, it isn’t any good any longer.”

If you feel stretched, can I invite you to consider what your sabbath pattern could look like? Is Sunday just another day? If you’ve fallen out of the pattern of church on Sunday, please consider the benefits of what it releases in your spirit (Deut 15:1-2).

My sabbatical has come to me after being delayed due to covid lockdowns. It isn’t the seventh year but something approaching a quarter of a century! The question is, what does a vicar do on a three month sabbatical? Mine is a diverse undertaking.

I’m going to Barcelona to look at a cave where Ignatius of Loyola pondered the meaning of life. He formed a Rule of Life shaped on Christian faith which might stand many of us in good stead in the midst of an increasing fractured and World and communities:

·       More – seek to do things well

·       With – to be alongside others

·       Cura Personalis – respect for all, even in disagreement

·       Heartbeat –of heart, mind and soul together

·       Ad Majorem Dei Gloria – God matters

·       Ethic – living well

I think these are universal desires for good patterns of living. I’ll be returning with some thoughts on what this might look like to benefit many of us in a busy Surrey community and local church.

Of course, Barcelona also has Camp Nou (aka Spotify stadium) so that will be a different bit of experience for the heart!

I’ll be taking some time to walk part of the South West Coastal Path to follow in the footsteps of Raynor Winn’s book ‘Salt Path’. I’ll be visiting my favourite retreat centre, the Roman Catholic community of Chemin Neuf in Storrington, West Sussex, which I tend to visit twice a year. Between these times there’ll be space for a few past times that have slipped over the past quarter of a century of serving the church and the local community as your vicar.

The church is in great hands with many fabulous volunteers and a brilliant staff team who serve everyone locally with such love and devotion. We’ve got a very able team of vicars here so all the usual vicar things of both joy and sorrow will continue uninterrupted.

If you see me around, do say hi.