“Community Office Hours”

Moment of Confession: Ever since my sabbatical, I have felt like I have my feet in two worlds:

• In one world, the world outside the walls of the church, I find an existence that is immense, beautiful, challenging and filled with both wonder and darkness. For me, my sabbatical reminded me of my own journey of faith, and that rich, yet troubling time in which I wrestled with my own sense of meaning and purpose for six or eight years.
• In the other world, as a pastor in The UMC, I have my feet firmly within the world of the church.  In this world I see many people striving to live faithfully, engaging their own journey to the best of their ability and striving to be the person God created them to be, and to do that which God has "called" them to do.  I also experience an institution with inertia and a certain way of being that sometimes feels isolated from the rest of the world.

          I wonder sometimes what it would be like to have those two worlds collide into one world.  Is that possible?  Desirable?  I have to find ways to be faithful to the ways I have experienced true life and grown as a follower of Jesus, while also allowing people to go on their own journey of wonder and exploration. 

          Another moment of confession: Since my sabbatical, I have become slightly claustrophobic sitting in my office at the church.  I cannot stay in my office, and there is a renewed commitment to build and nurture connections in our community.  As a way of striving to make connections across these two worlds, or at the very least to be authentic to my own sense of self and call at this time, I will be having "office hours" somewhere out in our community, most likely in different area coffee shops or other gathering spots.  Generally it will be in the middle of the day on Fridays, and I will be available if you want to stop by and chat.  I will also be utilizing that time to connect with others in our community, as well as work on my sermon plans, etc.

          My plan is to send out the information on times and location on Twitter (@GreggSealey and/or @Covenant_UMC) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/covenantmethodist) each Friday morning.  If you don't have a social media account, you are welcome to call the church office at 509-466-1768 and our secretary can let you know where I will be "setting up shop."  For anyone who isn't available on Fridays, I would love to find a different time to visit.  You can call the church or email me and we can make other arrangments. 

          We can always tell other church folks about the importance of increasing our capacity to connect with the people beyond our church walls, especially those who aren't connected with a life of faith, but it is completely different to model it.  I am grateful for any opportunities to deepen connections and relationships.

Blessings to you on your Journey!
 Gregg

"I'm Baaaaaaaack!"

I have just returned from my sabbatical, and I am still processing all of my insights.  First of all, I want to say “thank you” to the community of faith at Covenant UMC for the incredible gift you have given to me and my family.  Even though pastoral ministry isn’t as physically demanding as some other jobs and professions, it can be spiritually, and emotionally taxing.  If my pastor friends are reading this, I highly recommend you take one!

I also need to affirm the incredible ministry that happens through the community of faith, even when the pastor isn’t here!  When I left, I felt completely comfortable and trusting of all the incredible folks planning various aspects of our ministries, which allowed me to completely unplug.  Upon my return, I was again heartened by the magnificent ways that Covenant UMC is in ministry.  The church is definitely not the building, but rather the church is the people.  

While on sabbatical, I was engaged in a bit of “cultural anthropology.”  I tried to immerse myself in the culture outside of the church and become intimately connected with folks who we might call “religiously unaffiliated.”  I had many insights, and my plan is to share them throughout this month in my messages.  If you want to check it out, you can access them through our website (www.covenantmethodist.org) and click the “Sermons + Blog” tab. 

I am glad to be back, and I have to say that I truly missed being a part of this community.  I missed being here and sharing life with my peeps.

Prayerfully,

Gregg

Pastor Gregg

"Sabbatical"

           Beginning on Monday, August 5th I will be on sabbatical for four weeks.  This is the first time that I have taken an opportunity like this since I have been a pastor for a little over ten years. That being said, in addition to not being at the office, I will also be taking a sabbath break from all social media (Twitter, Facebook, etc.). I am both excited and a little uncomfortable with that, but I think it will be a really life-giving time with space to breathe.
          Our UMC Book of Discipline (our United Methodist "rule book") allows pastors to take one week each year, and four weeks every quadrennium (four-year period) as a spiritual renewal leave.  I have plans for my time away, and although I am not in any way "burned out" I think this time away will be very healthy for me and for the congregation and community I serve at Covenant UMC.
          I am grateful and humbled by the privilege of being a Christian pastor and leader, and I have tremendous hope for our future as people of faith.

Have any of you taken sabbatical?  What did you do/not do?  What advice would you give to someone starting a sabbatical?

Home from El Salvador: Day 11 & 12 - "Long Travel Day"

It was a grueling travel day with two really long layovers and 2 of 3 flights being delayed, but it was all worth it as we were greeted by a party of friends and family!  We awoke at 3 am El Salvador time (2 am Pacific) to go to the airport for our 630am flight, and our last flight was delayed 1.5 hours so we landed about 1 am the following morning and got to bed @ 215 am.  Our 24 hour+ journey was complicated by a head and sinus cold that spread among four or five of us throughout our travels (Ugh!).

Here is one last group photo, taken at

The CRISPAZ office with a few of the local artisans earlier this week:

Reminder that the group will be sharing how God touched us and moved us in Central America during worship this Sunday at both 930 am and 5 pm (with only parts of the group at each worship service).

We are tired, but incredibly full of gratitude for our time in El Salvador. 

See you all soon?!

Pastor Gregorio

El Salvador: Day 10 - "Botanical Garden & El Paisnal"

Sunday, July 28th...  Our last full day in El Salvador went by too quickly.  

Our first stop was at the Botanical Garden situated in a crater of a dormant volcano.  We got to spend some wonderful time in a beautiful space that used to be a lagoon.  We even got to see some iguanas and some sort of mammal that I still don't recognize (only have video of that, so I can't post it here). Keep in mind that it is even more beautiful in person:

We drove by the statue of El Salvador Del Mundo on our way to see our friends:

We got to return to our sisters and brothers in El Paisnal for worship again today, and it was a great bookend to our week to see our friends again.  I helped baptize Andrea, we shared communion and had a beautiful day with my beautiful friends.  Take a look:

Elba helping me to preach!:

We ended our day with a time of meaningful reflection after dinner, and prepping to go home.  We leave the Alfalit Guest House very early, so I need to head to bed.  I go to be tonight feeling full and content, yet continuing to discern where this goes from here. 

I hope to post one last time during our trip home, so "hasta manana (see you tomorrow)!" 

"Pastor Gregorio"

El Salvador: Day 9 - "Juvenile Center & Suchitoto"

Saturday, July 27th started with breakfast with Emily Engle, a volunteer who went to Gonzaga in Spokane but has spent the past year here in El Salvador working on issues of violence against women.

After that, we went to CDE.SSPAS ("Centro De Encuentro Juvenil, Servicio Social PASsionistas") where we met with Alex, Fr. Antonio, and Eduardo.  They have incredible passion and work on trying to eliminate the causes of violence and conflict in El Salvador.  Fr. Antonio is one of the main parties working directly with the gangs, but they also work with vulnerable kids, youth and women in a variety of amazing programs.  Here is a picture of me with Father Antonio:

We then drove about an hour (maybe closer to 1.5 hours) to a town in the countryside called Suchitoto.  There we met with an amazing woman, Sister Peggy O'Neill, who has been there since 1986.  We all felt like we were sitting at her feet as she delivered theological "zingers," one after the other.  She had an amazing way of engaging us in her storytelling, and illuminating deep spiritual truths (like the meaning of solidarity, Trinity, and the communion of saints, for instance).  Here is Peggy:

The church and bell tower here were built in 1838, but the Sisters of Charity built a school in this facility in 1914.  After years of being abandoned Peggy has spent the past 7 years "converting"/restoring this place to be the Center of Art for Peace. At first they went out to the kids, and now the kids (and their whole families come here for amazing opportunities to learn all different kinds of art as a pathway to healing and peace.  This country is badly in need of peace and reconciliation and this ministry is an incredibly fruitful and hopeful sign of peace.  Here are some photos of this beautiful (but HOT!) place:

This is the bell tower that they will begin working on next month.  The rest of the grounds are beautiful, peaceful and full of God's grace:

and some more of the town of Suchitoto:

Tomorrow we go back to El Paisnal on our last full day here to worship one last time with our friends.  I will also be helping Pastor Chema baptize one of their/our kids, which will be a complete honor!  I will post pictures from that experience tomorrow night.  We are on the home stretch now, but we are fully present and awaiting whatever we still need to experience before we leave.

Prayerfully,

Pastor Gregg/"Pastor Gregorio"

El Salvador: Day 8 - "Politicians, The UCA, the MUTE Museum and Santa Tecla"

Today is Friday, and we have been in the country for exactly one week now.  This morning we went to the National Assembly (El Salvador's Legislature) and toured the building.  Take a look:

We also had the opportunity to meet with representatives of the two main political parties here in El Salvador.  Our first meeting with a politician was with Rolando from the FMLN and here are some pictures:

We then met with David, a young politician from the Arena party (the party that was in power throughout the civil war from 1980 to 1992, and all the way to 2008 when the FMLN elected their first president). Here are some pictures:

This whole room was basically a shrine to Roberto d'Aubuisson, the founder of the Arena Party (who was trained and supported throughout the civil war by our US military) and the military mastermind that began the US-trained "Death Squads" during the civil war.   Here is the portrait of Mayor d'Aubuisson that stood behind David throughout his presentation, among other mementos:

(i will admit I was physically anxious sitting in that room and seeing the presence of a man who was responsible for so much evil being lifted up as a hero)

After our lunch we went to the UCA (University of Central America) where six Jesuits and two women were assassinated in an overnight surprise attack by the Salvadoran government's army in 1989:

The rose garden that stands as a memorial to all who died that day: 

After spending some quiet time on the campus and in the chapel, we went to a former army prison that had been abandoned after the war before being turned into an art museum.  I have to say that it felt eerie to be in the same place where human rights abuse occurred, but it was also interesting to see that space now filled with beautiful art: 

The very small and haunting "torture room":

We then ate dinner and hung out in that community of Santa Tecla.   It is an artistic, bohemian kind of place with lots of bars and small businesses.  They also closed off the street for booths to sell stuff, tables and chairs for outdoor dining, and many, many bars and restaurants.  It was a good night hanging out with my friends:

And Sarah getting her first taste of Elotes Loco (boiled corn on a stick, with mayo, ketchup, mustard, Worcestershire Sauce, and bits of cheese.  Do you think she liked it?:

This evening, I would say that the picture I would offer for how God is moving among us looks like the Book of Genesis.  I feel like God is hovering or vibrating over the deep chaos that is "pregnant with being."  There is a lot of creative power brewing, but not a lot of clarity at this point.  We'll see how God continues to use our experiences here.

Hold us in your prayers when you think of us.

Paz, 

Pastor Gregg/Gregorio