What I Did on My Sabbatical

Today I conclude my pastoral sabbatical and return to my role as Senior Pastor at Eastbrook Church. Two of the questions people often ask me in returning (from what I experienced in my previous sabbatical) is: 1)”what did you do on your sabbatical?” and 2) “how was your sabbatical?” This week, I’ll offer answers to both of those questions, beginning in this post with providing a little view into what Kelly and I did on sabbatical.

Kelly and I began the sabbatical in September with a family reunion in southwest Michigan with about forty-five members of the extended Erickson family. It was wonderful to reconnect with relatives I haven’t seen for some time, and also to introduce our daughters-in-law to family members who have never met them and vice versa. After that, Kelly and I drove to North Carolina where we spent roughly five days with my spiritual director and his wife, reflecting on our spiritual life in ministry and preparing for the remainder of the sabbatical journey. This was very helpful for us, but also challenging as I explored how busy I have become and the need for deeper listening, paying attention, and prayer in my life. After those days, Kelly and I spent three days at a small Airbnb in the mountains for further reading, prayer, and reflection, as well as some amazing hiking in the Blue Ridge Mountains, before visiting some dear friends who live in that area. It was good to reconnect with old friends who we’ve known and have known us since our children were toddlers. 

The return home after that trip to North Carolina, made the feeling of sabbatical more real as we were back in our home space but now in very different rhythms than our regularly life. It was strange not to be with our church family at Eastbrook on Sundays, but that enabled us to worship “incognito” at other churches in the area and also to visit our sons at their churches, including being there while each of them volunteered in leading worship. After all those years of their support of our ministry it was a joy for me and Kelly to visit them in their new spiritual communities and support their ministry. 

Kelly and I both began October away from Milwaukee but in two different places. Kelly traveled with a friend to the 24-7 Prayer National Gathering in San Francisco while I was in Holland, MI, for the annual Doxology gathering hosted by the Eugene Peterson Center at Western Theological Seminary, followed by a smaller gathering for pastors called the Order of the Kingfisher. These gatherings were meaningful for both me and Kelly in so many ways. For Kelly it was a time of refreshment in prayer and the movement of the Holy Spirit. For me, it was a renewal of heart and mind in a community of relationships that has become very important to me. In fact, 12 of my colleagues from my Doctor of Ministry gathering were present, which allowed us a chance of an unplanned joyful reunion while there. This highlights something that has been so vital in my ongoing ministry calling: deep and meaningful relationships of honesty, support, and prayer while engaged in vocational ministry. I was also able to meet with my editor for my book project, talk through some significant revisions to the project, and clarify my next steps which will lead to release of the book in January 2026. 

After we returned home, Kelly and I spent roughly the next two weeks in Milwaukee working on house projects, having doctor and dentist appointments, catching up on life here, as well as Kelly having a series of spiritual direction appointments she has to fulfill even during our sabbatical due to contracts with outside organizations. Then we traveled up to Door County, where we stayed for just slightly more than a week to finish out the month, designating the first three days as solo retreat for each of us and then regathering for relaxation and vacation time. During the mornings of the second part of our time there, I worked on revising my entire book manuscript. It was good to have focused time for writing, and I was able to submit the entire revised manuscript by mid-November. Door County is a special place for our family where we have traveled nearly every year for the past 20 years. It is a place of deep refreshment for us, whether hiking in the State or County parks, or enjoying a cup of coffee and walk through the touristy aspects of the towns, and so it was so good to have time there.

This last month of the sabbatical in November has been very meaningful for me and Kelly, particularly November 9-16, when we participated in a guided retreat with the Northumbria Community in northeastern England. Their Celtic Daily Prayer (book 1 and book 2)  has been an important resource for both of us over the years, drawing upon historic Christianity in the British Isles and from the monastic spirituality of the desert mothers and fathers. The retreat was themed around the words of Jeremiah the prophet: “Thus says the Lord: Stand at the crossroads and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way lies; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls” (Jeremiah 6:16). More on that retreat in the second post about how my sabbatical was. Of course, the end of November was filled with celebrations as we welcomed our entire family to our house for Thanksgiving, enjoying good food, meaningful conversations, and fun times together. As I write these words, I am in the midst of preparing for reentry and am grateful for all that we have been able to experience during the sabbatical.