by Dawn Star Sarahs-Borchelt, Director of Learning & Family Ministries
I’m back!
Thank you so much for the support of this congregation in giving me a sabbatical, which ran from April 1 until July 1. It was very good.
I spent most of my sabbatical time at home. My family wasn’t on sabbatical, but I got to pour out a lot of love, time, and effort for my loved ones and on my house. We decided a main focus would be on renovating a basement area into a living space for our oldest and his partner, which frees up a bedroom so that our youngest two can each have their own space. This was a critical investment in the harmony of our household!
I did also go to a Unitarian Universalist religious educators’ retreat at the beach in Delaware (brrr!) and spent a week down the shore in New Jersey (including a brief visit from the MLUC youth group as an afternoon activity during their retreat). I worked with four families as their birth or postpartum doula.
And I did things I just enjoy but rarely have much time for in my day-to-day non-sabbatical life: reading both fiction and nonfiction, quilting, knitting, and genealogical research.
I’ll be sharing some about all of these things this Sunday, and some about how all of these things together connect with some big thoughts I’ve been thinking about off and on, in between and while living and working with you. Thoughts like, What would you do if you knew the world (as you know it) was ending in five minutes or five months or five years or 50 years? Thoughts like, How have we (collectively) and I (myself) gotten so tired, and How can we (all) rest, deeply and more often? Thoughts like, How do we move through the grief of change, ourselves and collectively?
I hope to see you Sunday, or that you’ll join us online.