Craig’s Priestly Sabbatical

by the Rev. Craig Lemming

“Six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather in their yield, but in the seventh year there shall be a Sabbath of complete rest for the land, a Sabbath for the Lord: you shall not sow your field or prune your vineyard. You shall not reap the aftergrowth of your harvest or gather the grapes of your unpruned vine: it shall be a year of complete rest for the land. You may eat what the land yields during its Sabbath — you, your male and female slaves, your hired and your bound laborers who live with you, for your livestock also, and for the wild animals in your land all its yield shall be for food.”
— Leviticus 25:3-7

The word “sabbatical” comes from the Greek word sabbatikos — “of the Sabbath.” In the Episcopal Church and many other Christian traditions, it is customary for clergy to take a season of sabbath in their seventh year of ministry. I began serving as the Associate Rector of St. John’s on September 1, 2018, so this September marks my seventh year of priestly ministry with you.

I am grateful to our Rector Jered and Wardens Bette and Bob for granting me a sabbatical from September 1—December 1, 2024. I am also very thankful for the members of St. John’s Liturgy Committee, Faith Formation Commission, and Circle of Care who will continue to love, serve, equip, and empower our community in my absence. 

What will I be doing on sabbatical?

During my priestly sabbatical, I will write my dissertation for the Doctor of Ministry degree which I began at Trinity College at the University of Toronto in 2021. My three months away from St. John’s will be devoted to continued research, analysis of qualitative data, and writing theological reflections on my findings.

Why this work?

The murder of George Floyd in May 2020 and the subsequent global uprising against racism and coloniality catalyzed me to pursue a Doctor of Ministry degree. I chose to study at Trinity College at the University of Toronto because I wanted to pursue my doctorate from a critical distance outside of the United States in one of the most multicultural and multiracial cities in the world. I also wanted to become better acquainted with The Anglican Church of Canada’s ongoing work with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. As a doctoral student in the Toronto School of Theology, I have spent the last three years developing an Anglican Practical Theology that is more robustly decolonial and antiracist.

Studying in Canada also afforded me a creative way to navigate immigration hoops, hurdles, and loopholes too numerous, convoluted, and exasperating to mention. In brief, after 23 years of navigating the immigration system, the saga continues to unfold with many more labyrinths ahead. With God’s help and all the saints, I will continue to escape the minotaurs and befriend the angels who lurk around every corner. Pray for me!

What’s my dissertation about? 

My doctoral study investigates spiritual practices that cultivate kinship across lines of difference. This summer, I am interviewing 20 members of St. John’s and the 20 alumni of Circle of the Beloved. With the assistance of 8 focus group members comprised of lay and ordained faith leaders and community organizers, our analysis of the qualitative data will help me discover and develop a spirit-based, decolonial, antiracist, practical theology that can be adapted and applied in Christian churches and in intentional communities for justice-seeking young adults on the margins of institutional religion.

Howard Thurman, Pauli Murray, and Gloria E. Anzaldúa are three antiracist, decolonial thinkers who will help guide my own reflexive, theological, and critical thinking about the qualitative data I will be interpreting. Based on the experiential and practical wisdom that emerges from the interpretive threshold I occupy between those seeking racial healing and justice inside and outside the church, I anticipate making a unique contribution in the field of practical theology.

The outcome of my sabbatical will be a doctoral dissertation on decolonial, antiracist, spiritual practices that create kinship across lines of difference in a post-George Floyd Twin Cities. With the guidance of my dissertation supervisor and committee, I will make revisions through the winter and prospectively defend my dissertation in the spring of 2025.

I bid your prayers for the Holy Spirit to quicken my mind and kindle my heart with the fire of Christ’s love and wisdom. I will look forward to submitting the first draft of my dissertation and returning to St. John’s on the first Sunday of Advent. May God’s love surround, strengthen, and sustain us all as we tarry together in the Spirit during the in-between times.

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