Several years ago, I was invited to speak at an Episcopal campus and young adult ministries conference here in Boston. I remember sharing about the time that a Prayer Partner and I gingerly dug a dead bat out of the garbage, packed it up in a cooler on ice, and took it to the state lab to test it for rabies (which, thankfully for the fellow who had been exposed, the bat did not have). I ended my vignette by saying, "Nobody has a job like ours."
Seven years after I arrived on the doorstep of 40 Prescott to start my first day of work at Life Together, I can still attest to the truth of that statement. The work encompasses amazing moments, deeply broken situations, and just plain weird stuff. Staff and fellows have blessed us with their gifts, and then moved on. The world we are forming leaders for, both within the church and beyond it, has shifted in profound and deeply destabilizing ways over the past seven years-- even in the last week, the seismic loss of reproductive rights in this country has been a source of grief and anger for myself and many others. All of this has impacted our community. It has impacted me.
Last spring we worked with consultants from The Capacity Institute to evaluate Life Together's program model in this liminal season, asking what we need to do to serve Gen Z effectively. And in the midst of it, I realized that in order to do justice to the feedback we were hearing from YOU-- our alums and and friends-- I needed to pause for myself. Over the years many of you have taught me the value of self-care and community care, of naming what we need and trusting that together, we have enough for all of us to thrive. This is not a space I always lean into naturally. But I decided to trust the still, small voice telling me what I needed in this moment, a voice I was able to heed because of what I have learned from our community. I requested a sabbatical.
Starting on July 5, I will be away from Life Together through late September. In my absence, our Associate Director of Training and Recruitment, Jocelyn Collen, will be leading our community through Orientation and the first month of the program year. She will be joined by alum Joyce Chae ('19-'21), who returns to Life Together to support preparations for the new program year. I know that they will lead with energy and joy as they welcome our new cohort to Boston in August. I also trust that this community will be there for Jocelyn and Joyce to lean on. I look forward to returning this fall, refreshed and ready to dig more deeply into the changes Life Together needs to make in order to thrive in the coming years.
Please keep all of us at Life Together in your prayers as we launch this program year, and as I lean into a time of sabbath. Your support means so much to us in this season.