Study Break/Sabbatical/Rejuvenation

Some of the books I am taking with me for my courses this summer at Phoenix Seminary & The CASA (A Franciscan Retreat Center in Phoenix).

This summer my Pastor-to-Pastor Board is giving me a summer sabbatical/study break. It’s my first one, and Jennifer and I will spend our time in Phoenix, AZ, where I have enrolled in Phoenix Seminary for the summer session.  In mid-June I will participate in a 3-day retreat at the Casa, a Franciscan retreat center in Paradise Valley on the north side of Phoenix.

** My class at Phoenix Seminary with Dr. Ted Wueste is called: “The Practice of Spiritual Formation.” The syllabus describes the course as, “A practice-based exposure to various kinds of soul care: retreat ministry, spiritual direction, group direction, spiritual companionship, church ministry, and teaching.”

** The 3-day retreat at The Casa is called “Dry Heat” and is described like this: The desert plays a central role throughout salvation history. Israelites wandered, Jesus fasted, and many of the early fathers and mothers of the Church were connected with the austere beauty of the desert. This June, come to the desert for your own spiritual growth! The 3-day experience will be lead by one of their experienced spiritual directors.

Jennifer will be with me.  She grew up in Phoenix and loves the Arizona desert. She remembers as a little girl finding horny toads and lizards in her backyard during the summer, and playing hard even when it was 110 degrees, which it is every day. “Then we’d run into the house and lay on top of the air conditioning vents.”

[By the way, if you click on the “Soul Work” tab at the top of my blog you can read about the the course that I am leading this Fall and listen to me describe it.  When I am Phoenix this summer, I will be preparing the course and writing the curriculum.]