Welcome

The table is central to our life and ministry as Christians in the world today. In his life and ministry, Jesus continually invited people to the table. The image of the Holy Banquet is present in the communion table, front and center in our places of worship each week, whether or not we celebrate the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper. The image of sharing our daily bread illumines our life as a community of faith and inspires our ministries of service and invitation to the world.

I have been given the gift of a pastoral sabbatical from the congregation I serve. I also submitted a proposal for and was awarded a Sabbatical Grant for Pastoral Leaders from the Louisville Institute. I am extremely grateful to both First Presbyterian Church and the Louisville Institute for this opportunity. From April through June of 2008, I will embark on a sabbatical journey of immersion into the art and the essence of communion.

I've created this blog as a tool to both reflect upon and share some of my sabbatical experiences. In the coming months as I prepare for and enter into this time of sabbatical, I will make occasional posts about what it is that I am up to and from where I'm finding inspiration. I've already begun to delve into the initial reading list, and I'll try to keep a list here of some of the books that have been recommended to me along the way.

In synthesis, during my sabbatical I'm going to be working the wine harvest, learning as an apprentice in a professional kitchen, and baking bread and kneading theology with an old friend. I'll tell you more about my plans later. One of the early questions I have is - how will the visceral connection to the vineyard, the daily preparation of food, and the art of baking shape the way I approach the table, extend the invitation, break the bread, and lift the cup?

So, welcome to this table. My prayer during this Sabbatical time for me, my family, our friends, First Presbyterian Church, and the friends we will make along the way is...

Gracious God, pour out your Holy Spirit upon us and upon these your gifts of bread and wine.

Peace...