June 1, 2009 to August 31, 2009

Servant Board approved of plans for Pastor John Bender to take a sabbatical after four years of service in the congregation. John applied for and received a sabbatical grant through the Louisville Institute to fund his total sabbatical.

John will take his sabbatical from June 1, 2009 through August 31, 2009. His theme and focus for the sabbatical will be: Reconnecting, Renewing, and Re-envisioning. In his proposal he wrote:

“After 25 years of invigorating and challenging urban ministry I want to reconnect with my Anabaptist roots, be renewed through rest and prayer, and take time to re-envision my future ministry. Throughout the sabbatical I will use an Anabaptist prayer book, Take Our Moments and Our Days, for daily morning and evening prayers. I will reconnect to my Anabaptist roots by traveling with an Anabaptist Heritage Tour in Europe and hearing stories of how my ancestors faithfully embodied the life of Christ in their day. I will visit several urban Mennonite churches in the U.S. to learn how they are making the Anabaptist faith relevant in their contexts. And then finally, I will take time for prayer, reading and reflection during two different silent retreats as I begin the process of re-envisioning my ministry for the years ahead.”