The Scoop

Living more fully in the Promised Land is the overall theme for my time of learning and renewal. Three interwoven strands of connecting more deeply with Scripture, Creation, and Family, weave my time and activities together.

My sabbatical begins with a kickoff event on May 18, and I'll have a couple of weeks to begin getting into a sabbatical rhythm. May 31 will be a busy day with graduation for my daughter, Becca, in the morning, then my son Ben and I will be boarding a plane in the late afternoon for Jerusalem. We will be taking part in the 4 week study program at Tantur Ecumenical Institute. Look for updates and pictures come June.

July will bring me back home to Indiana, and I'll spend July 9-13 at the White Violet Center for Eco-justice at St. Mary of the Woods Monastery in Terre Haute, IN, with a focus on care and connections with nature. The weekend workshop features Irish priest, Diarmund O'Murchu.

The last week of July and the first one of August, Susan and I and our three children will traverse to my ancestral land of Northern Ireland. We will visit with some extended family, and see the sights of the land. August 9th we'll make a week long pilgrimage north to Scotland and the Isle of Iona. Then it is back home to Indiana once again for some rest and reflection.

The final leg of my sabbatical journey will take me the Ocala National Forest, August 24-27 to spend 4 days reminiscing and catching up on life with my two sisters, Kathie & Donna. They are 3 years and one month apart in age, and I'm the middle child. Maybe they will finally forgive me for the way I terrorized them while we were growing up.

Directly upon my return from Florida, Susan and I will take off for a long Labor Day weekend to Lake Chautaqua, NY to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary.

Then, I'll be at home for a couple of weeks of rest and reflection before returning to my pastoral post on Holy Cross Day, September 14, 2008.