Over the course of next spring and summer, pastors from 149 Christian churches — including All Saints Lutheran Church in Austin — will disappear from their pulpits. One by one they will fan out across the world to see sights they’ve only dreamed about, to learn new languages, take up a new hobby or relearn an old one, and use this time to reengage themselves in their calling.

All Saints Lutheran Church pastor Janice Johnson is among the members of the 10th class in the National Clergy Renewal Program funded by Indianapolis-based Lilly Endowment Inc. Through this national program, the endowment provided $18,430 to enable Pastor Johnson to take a three-month sabbatical.

“The workload and lifestyle of most pastors are difficult for many to understand,” says Craig Dykstra, endowment senior vice president for religion. “So many activities command a pastor’s time and attention — often urgent activities like leading worship, counseling, visiting the sick and grieving — that there is little time left for the pastor to attend to his or her own spiritual growth, reflection and family life.

“The National Clergy Renewal Program gives pastors the gift of being able to live in sabbath time, to honor that moment as God-given, Many clergy renewal participants have reported to the endowment that they found their vision for ministry enlarged when they returned and that their call and commitment were renewed.We find that these programs can be transformative for the congregations, too.”

For their renewal time, some pastors will visit places related to their families of origin or their churches’ heritages by traveling, studying and taking time for reflection in biblical lands like Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Greece and Turkey.

As in past years, Spanish-language immersions will be an important feature of many pastoral renewal periods, with pastors studying and being welcomed into homes in Costa Rica, Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala, Peru, Argentina. Ecuador and the Galapagos.

At least 20 will “cross the pond” to visit places of special religious and spiritual significance in the United Kingdom, France, Spain and Germany. Six will be in Oberammergau, Germany, for the 2010 presentation of the Passion Play. Several will travel to Spain for the rigorous walking pilgrimage known as the Camino de Santiago de Compostela (the way of St. James).

Other pastors will return to longtime interests, revive old hobbies or learn new ones.

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