Rest, Recharge, and Refocus

April 17, 2024

Dear Friends:

At our vestry meeting this week, your vestry and I finalized plans for my sabbatical this summer/fall. A sabbatical is part of the agreement that all clergy in the Diocese of North Carolina have with their congregations and means that I will have time off from my regular duties as Rector of All Saints’.  The Sabbatical will be taking place from late July to late October 2024. 

There are two primary purposes to this time away: 

The first purpose is personal – a time of rest and recharging.  I am in my twenty-ninth year of full-time ministry, and my fourteenth year as Rector here at All Saints’. Especially after the challenges of Covid closures and reopening, I need to catch my breath and recharge the batteries. 

The second purpose is for the church – a time of refocus. For me to be effective as rector of this church, I need a clear, big view perspective of the current season and the next season, and how to lead in both. The sabbatical will provide time for personal development, reflection, and sharpening my focus for the next season. 

Rest, Recharge, and Refocus – those are the primary purposes of this Sabbatical. My plan is to enhance the quiet times of reflection and focus through two periods of retreat, walking the Camino Ingles (another pilgrimage path of the Camino de Santiago) and the Way of Saint Hildegard, studying the roots of the Protestant Reformation, and continuing my study of Spanish, the language of the fastest growing demographic of the Episcopal Church.

You may be wondering about what all this is going to mean and may have questions about who will cover my responsibilities. Look for a letter from Martin Ericson, Senior Warden, in the next Weekly Word, with more details. As well, I am grateful for the pastoral ministry of Deacon Vern and our retired clergy associates, Father Jim, Mother Mary, and Deacon Jackie, all of whom will be assisting in various ways during this time. 

Thank you for joining me, the vestry, staff, and clergy in praying for this Sabbatical experience. 

With gratitude for you and God who has called in ministry us together, 
The Reverend Nancy L. J. Cox, Rector