“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"