Sabbatical Announcement
Dear Wellspring Family,
I hope you know how much I love you. This community has formed me, loved me, supported me, encouraged me in my walk with Jesus, helped shape me into the pastor I am today, and is full of the best people I have ever known! And now you are granting me the greatest gift - a 12 week sabbatical with my family.
“I don’t deserve it, but it is grace.” These are the words I wrote as I reflected upon taking my first sabbatical after seven years as ordained clergy and 11 years on staff of Wellspring. Serving as a pastor at Wellspring is one of the greatest gifts of my life. On top of my role as a pastor, I’m surrounded by the love of this church and I have experienced tangible support of growing my family by receiving two maternity leaves. I’m left feeling like I’ve been given so much, how could I expect or need more? And yet, I believe God is inviting us, by His grace, into sabbatical. Not because we deserve the time off, but because God longs for us to rest in his grace, to receive his goodness, and to remember that we are loved not because of what we produce for the church, but because of God’s grace for us.
There is a past, present and future reality to this sabbatical. I stand in awe at how much God has done in my life and ministry over the past 11 years. He has revealed himself in my life, our marriage, and this church body in ways I could never have imagined. And God has given me opportunities to lead this congregation that are way beyond my abilities, but because of his grace. I am thankful for how he has sustained me and I believe this sabbatical is an opportunity to pause in gratitude to reflect on God’s work in my past ministry. I also believe that God wants to meet Jeff and I in the present, to deepen our love for Him, and to renew our hearts and minds by his grace. We are coming off of some exhausting years of ministry, not only of leading the church through a move and pandemic, but of expanding our family with our two amazing kids. And it is for this reason that God is calling me, in the present moment, to turn to him, to remember that my identity comes not from what I produce, but from Jesus, and to deepen my relationship with God. And this time of rest and renewal will set us up for the future as we continue to run the race of ministry at Wellspring by God’s grace and with His strength for many years to come.
I am not entering into this sabbatical at a place of burnout. In fact, I feel rejuvenated and passionate about my ministry. This sabbatical is coming at a time when I don’t actually want to leave because I want to press into all of the exciting things happening at the church. And yet, I believe it is an opportune time to remember that my love for Jesus must far surpass my love for what we get to do at the church and that I desire to rest in God’s grace more than anything else. It is also an important time to pursue spiritual health and renewal as a family in order to experience God’s grace together.
The purpose of this sabbatical will be to intentionally experience God’s grace in new ways and in new places. We want to see the Lord outside of the church walls and beyond our normal routines and responsibilities. Our desire is to engage in activities and go to places that meet the needs both for spiritual renewal and meaningful time with and for our kids who are 1 and 3 years old. As we live into the goal of planned rest and meaningful activities, we hope to move slowly, see parts of the country we have never seen, stay near the ocean for an extended period of time, and soak in joyful time as a family. The bulk of our sabbatical will be a 6 week road trip up the west coast. I will get some personal prayer days at the beginning and end of the sabbatical. Jeff and I will also be getting away just the two of us for 4 whole days (pray for Grandma Mitzie and Grandpa Lou during that time, ha!)!
My last Sunday will be May 8th (where we will be baptizing Lilly!) and then I’ll return on August 1st. Jeff (Wellspring’s Operations Director) will be gone 8 of those weeks and we are incredibly grateful for the chance to rest and recharge as a family.
I will miss you all dearly and I can’t wait to see you when I return!
With Love,
Katie Gayle
Executive Pastor of Ministry
