Sabbatical June – August 2026
Straight away, on June 1, I flew to Minneapolis, MN where I enjoyed several days of exploring the city including a Twins baseball game and some local coffee before attending the Chorus America conference. It was a wonderful time hearing choral concerts featuring the diverse choirs of the region, connecting with colleagues, attending workshops, and discovering interesting, new choral music.
Before my next venture I was grateful to attend the wedding celebration of close friends and meet their infant son. These friends now live in Hawaii, so it was special to have time with them and their families.
From June 10-16 I spent a week in retreat at Portageville Chapel in western New York state. The general purpose of the trip was to enjoy a week of intense organ practice at this privately owned and restored chapel. Portageville Chapel was bought and registered as a non-profit some years ago and rents out week between May and October to organists/pianists and offers the ideal combination of solitude for private study and lovely scenery highlighted by Letchworth State Park, preceded by a substantial breakfast at the historic Glen Iris Inn, located on the park property. I enjoyed a full day of hiking and exploring Letchworth and taking in the various overlook points. Letchwork is truly a national gem. On the day I flew home from Buffalo, I had the opportunity to take in the spellbinding views from Goat Island at Niagara Falls while enjoying lunch at the famous Top of the Falls restaurant.
The next two weeks included my annual family vacation at Sunset Beach followed by a week at Lake Tillery, with the latter including hikes at nearby Morrow Mountain State Park. My family has been vacationing at Sunset Beach since before I was born – it is truly a haven for us.
Many of you are aware of my time spent working with the Stuttering Association for the Young (SAY) since 2018. I have worked for their summer camp in America and also at their newer camp held outside Melbourne, Australia. Camp SAY in America has been held in various locations over the past several years as are now in their second year in San Antonio, Texas at a remarkable campsite founded only in 2021. This is some of the most meaningful work I’ve done in my life. SAY is an organization founded by a person who stutters for young people who stutter. SAY creates a space where everyone has all the time they need to say what they want without fear of ridicule or interruption. This is a three-week commitment – one week of staff training followed by two weeks of camp. It was a joy to be back amongst my tribe filled with much love and grace.
To round out my sabbatical, I visited friends in Liverpool, England. I enjoyed exploring the city as well as the rural parts outside the city. Highlights included visits to Liverpool Anglican Cathedral (the largest cathedral in Britain) and St Luke’s church, with the latter being notable for being bombed out during the May blitz of WWII after being hit by an incendiary. The exterior of the church remains intact but is wide open on the top and through the windows. I would like to share that I was walking around the inside of Liverpool Cathedral along with many other tourists when a priest offered a welcome to a communion service that was about to begin. At the conclusion of his welcome, he offered a series of prayers for the city and the world, especially the various military conflicts. In a truly beautiful moment, most of the tourists in the cathedral came to a halt and joined together in silent prayer. It was lovely to experience that. Liverpool is a vibrant city with great views along the River Mersey, fine food, plus some good soccer when in season.
During the summer, even when traveling, it was important to me to keep up my fitness, and ran my first 10K, which I was hoping to be able to do before returning to work. It was not an official race, but it marked a personal goal. I did all my running in the heat (it is as hard as it sounds), but I did it. The cooler temperatures cannot come fast enough.
I am grateful to the Chapel’s leadership and my colleagues for their support and encouragement in the build-up to this to extended time away and to the choir for their continued leadership in worship. I have returned well-rested and rejuvenated, which was my singular ministry goal.