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On April 4 this year, Father Jim Nixon began his
four-month sabbatical, a time of renewal, reflection and refreshment
for him and an interesting—hopefully exciting—time for the parish as
well. “Where in the world is Father Jim?” is the theme the Parish for communication about this sabbatical.
Already Father Jim’s sabbatical has received
considerable attention. This past spring a group of parishioners worked
diligently to secure a grant from the Lilly Endowment to fund the
renewal. That the Lilly Foundation chose to award St. Catherine’s
$44,785 to fund the sabbatical indicates just how much planning and
thought have gone in to the sabbatical and the quality and potential
impact of the specific renewal activities. (Not generally known is the
fact that $14,300 of the funds will be used for parish life activities
and to pay for supply clergy in Father Jim’s absence.)
“Changing attitudes about and expanding ministries to diverse people
are the focus of the renewal program,” explains Barbara Perry, a member
of the grant response team and incoming Senior Warden.
“We wanted to provide Father Jim opportunities for intentional
exploration and reflection that will give him the additional experience
and insight he needs to effectively lead us as we seek to follow the
teachings of Jesus Christ to love one another as we love ourselves.”
The renewal program has five components for Father Jim. The first three
relate to diversity; the fourth gives him the refreshment and
reconnection with his family that he needs and deserves; the fifth will
renew him for a long-term commitment to our congregation. The
components are (1) interaction with an Episcopal school that is
purposely pursuing diversity; (2) immersion into the Spanish language
and Hispanic culture; (3) experiencing the Taize community in France
and interacting with youth from various parts of the world; (4) travel
with family; (5) time at a retreat center for reading, study,
reflection, and writing.
Father Jim’s sabbatical is actually a couple of years late in coming.,
When he was called as rector in 1998, it was agreed that he would have
a sabbatical after four years of service. But, as the rector explains,
“the timing just wasn’t right for me to go off for four months.” Timing
is much better now.
“First, it comes at the end of seven good years at St. Catherine’s
filled with events that have been emotionally, spiritually, and
physically challenging,” says Jim. “It also comes at a time when my
mind is working through what it means to spend more that 6-8 years with
a congregation.
“I see it as a pivotal moment,” Jim continues. “After seven years, I
have pretty much explored and used the resources I have. I see this as
a time for me to rethink my ministry among the people of St.
Catherine’s. It is an opportunity to bring me back renewed—not just in
terms of rest, but also in the sense of new ideas and new appreciation
for who we have been as a parish and who we can be.”
During the coming months The Wheel will publish additional articles
about Father Jim’s sabbatical, covering parish activities and the
individual components of the renewal program.
Where In the World Is Father Jim Nixon?
(Second in a series)
As noted in our previous article, Father Jim’s renewal program has five
components. The first three relate to diversity; the fourth gives him
the refreshment and reconnection with his family that he needs and
deserves; the fifth will renew him for a long-term commitment to our
congregation. Interaction with St. Paul’s School in Concord, New Hampshire is the first component.
One of the nation’s oldest and most respected prep schools, St. Paul’s
School has attracted students with diverse racial and religious
backgrounds from 46 different states and 20 different countries.
Although primarily a Christian school, St. Paul’s invites students and
faculty members to create an extended family that respects and nurtures
individual talent, personal freedom and responsibility, intellectual
curiosity and public service.
“If we can develop a sense of respect and cooperation here at the
school,” says the Rt. Rev. Craig B. Anderson, the school’s rector, “we
will be able to prepare a very gifted group of students … to not only
tolerate other points of view but actually respect and embrace
diversity in a deeper way. Our mission is not just to promote diversity
because it is the politically correct thing to do, but to recognize
that it is also the morally correct thing to do.”
To learn how an established Episcopal institution practices such a
philosophy, Fr. Jim will participate in a three-week resident program
at the school. He will interact with faculty, staff, and students
and will look specifically at the ways the school teaches acceptance,
resolves conflicts, deals with language and social barriers, and
promotes camaraderie.
“My desire to live in the community of St. Paul’s is to learn how to
integrate an appreciation of diversity among and with our young
people,” says Father Jim. “Living in residence for three weeks will
give me the opportunity to meet with various groups, attend classes and
events, and interact with students and faculty. I hope to be able
to bring some of my learnings back to this community in general and to
our youth specifically.”
Where In the World Is Father Jim Nixon?
(Third in a series)
As noted in the first two articles, Father Jim's renewal program has
five components. The first three relate to diversity; the fourth gives
him the refreshment and reconnection with his family that he needs and
deserves; the fifth will renew him for a long-term commitment to our
congregation. Immersion in the Spanish language is the second
component.
Given the growing Hispanic
community in St. Catherine's neighborhood, there are tremendous
opportunities to welcome and preach the Gospel to Spanish-speaking
people. And, while being able to celebrate the mass in Spanish is one
thing, being able to greet people, meet their children, hear of their
joys and sorrows and respond is quite another.
Beginning in May, Father Jim
will attend foreign language school in Costa Rica, where he will be
"immersed" in the language for four weeks. This will be a significant
step in learning Spanish. The school is part of an international
organization that each year sends thousands of students from around the
world to study in over 50 countries in 30 different languages. This
four-week immersion gives Fr. Jim an opportunity to be a part of the
Hispanic culture and to gain some Spanish language fluency. He will
continue his study upon his return.
"God has been knocking on my heart about
ministry to the Hispanic community," says Father Jim. He explains that
in developing his renewal program his committee asked him, "Where he
might be pushed? Where might he become uncomfortable in exploring
diversity?"
"This is what the language immersion portion of the
program does for me," he says candidly. "Being in Costa Rica will throw
every piece of who I am off balance—being away from my family, away
from the known, in a culture where I will not understand the language,
and, on top of that, having to learn something in the midst of this
experience. What will be important is not just what I'm doing but how
I'm feeling as I'm doing it, which I suspect will include feelings of
being set apart and being different."
In concert with Father Jim's training, St.
Catherine's is sponsoring conversational Spanish lessons to the parish
to strengthen its outreach ministries.
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Where In the World Is Father Jim Nixon?
(Fourth in a series)
By
now, most everyone knows that Father Jim’s renewal program has five
components. The first three relate to diversity; the fourth gives him
the refreshment and reconnection with his family that he needs and
deserves; the fifth will renew him for a long-term commitment to our
congregation. Experiencing the Taizé community in France and
interacting with youth from various parts of the world comprise the
third component.
The Taizé Community calls together more than
5,000 young people from 75 different countries during the summer and
fall months. These pilgrims gather each week in this “parable of
community” to pray, sing, study and do the work of reconciliation. In
this atmosphere, Fr. Jim will explore how youth and their openness to
the “other” become agents of unity amidst the diversity of cultures and
Christian traditions. Fr. Jim will visit the Taizé Community for one
week beginning in late June.
This experience—along with his time at St. Paul’s—provides a foundation
for Fr. Jim, together with our youth leaders, to develop youth ministry
that empowers young people to be creators of trust and peace in a world
wounded by division, violence, and isolation.
“Taizé has been a place where my heart has been calling me since the
early days of my ministry,” says Fr. Jim. “Ever since I learned about
the community from other pilgrims, I have longed to worship in the
Church of Reconciliation with hundreds of young people from all over
the world.”
Links:
2004 National Clergy Renewal Grant Winners (we are listed)
http://www.clergyrenewal.org/pdfs/NCRP2004Winners.pdf
2005 Request for Proposals
http://www.clergyrenewal.org/pdfs/NCRP_05_RFP_web.pdf
Lilly Endowment Home Page
http://www.lillyendowment.org/
Lilly Endowment: Religion Home Page (gives a little more background and can get to 2004 recipients from this page) http://www.lillyendowment.org/religion_ncr.html
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