The Minister of Evesham Baptist Church, Edward Pillar, has been on sabbatical leave for three months, from June–August 2021. This is normal practice for Baptist ministers to take sabbatical leave every seven years and the last time Edward took his was in 2014. We asked him to write a few lines about what he has been doing during these three months and he writes as follows:
Today, 1st September 2021, I return from my Sabbatical break. The Sabbatical has its basis in the idea of the Sabbath rest, taking one day in seven to rest from work and seek to nourish the soul. And so that’s what I’ve tried to do.
My Sabbatical has involved a little bit of a whole number of things. I have tried to rest. I’ve deflected emails, passed on calls, forwarded messages. I’ve walked, drunk coffee, read books, reflected, played the guitar, listened to music, and walked some more. I enjoyed writing and delivering two papers at the European Association of Biblical Studies Conference – by Zoom, of course! Ordinarily I would have spend a week in Germany at the conference, but virtual reality was necessary under the circumstances.
Sarah and I spent a week in North Cumbria, which was a relaxing break away. We’ve attended two weddings, and I attended a funeral. We’ve had to deal with elderly mothers being in hospital for a few days each. And we adopted a dog! A beautiful Saluki cross named Grace.
Edward will be back at the church, leading our service and preaching again from Sunday 5th September.