Bill Haley, Coracle’s Executive Director, is going on sabbatical. This is a good and happy thing after 25+ years in ministry! We are delighted that the Coracle board saw the value of this for Bill at this time and that our staff are very supportive. From mid-April through the end of July, Bill is going to unplug and step away from his work at Coracle. Sabbath and rest are gifts God invites us to receive and are deeply integral to Coracle’s vision and purpose for all of us as Christ-followers – “Spiritual Formation for Kingdom Action.” So, Bill, with his family, is going on sabbatical.

With the Covid-19 pandemic passing into our rearview mirrors, you too may be thinking about the pandemic rhythms of life that came and the pre-pandemic rhythms that changed; about what rhythms to keep and what rhythms to maybe reestablish. My own daily, weekly, monthly rhythms have been on my mind, especially in terms of sabbath and rest. Confession – I am much better at thinking of sabbath and rest than I am at practicing them. Here are some Coracle resources that can help us, but you can also just search Coracle’s website.

• Creating Space for God, for Others
• Shifting Sabbath: How Our Rhythms of Rest Can (and Should) Change
• The Kingdom and the Sabbath
• Delicious Sabbath: From Obligation to Invitation

When I have been “successful” at observing a sabbath I have started around 4 pm on a Saturday and continued through about the same time on Sunday.  This allowed me to slow down on Saturday, have time and space, and move well into Sunday worship but also time late Sunday afternoon to turn my mind to the week ahead.  Just turning off electronics and lighting a candle for a couple of hours on a Saturday afternoon has also let me be quiet and present with the Lord. And, as I try my hand at woodworking, making sawdust is its own rest, a way of contemplating that I follow a carpenter from Nazareth.

There is really no set way for us to take a sabbath or a sabbatical, to rest and be with God.  We all do, however, share the need to do so and can have the blessing of doing so – of being with Jesus.

So, Bill is going on sabbatical from mid-April through the end of July. Please be praying for Bill and his family over this time that he and they will enjoy the time, each other and the Lord. Do not look for emails, texts, or calls until August. We want to give Bill and his family this sabbatical time and space.

A note from Bill Haley:

“I’m so grateful for this opportunity to find rest and restoration, it’s timely! I’m looking forward to spending quite a bit of quieter time at Corhaven, with God in a couple of Trappist monasteries around the US, fly-fishing and hiking, reading, pondering and praying. I’m also looking really forward to deep time with my family, culminating with a long trip to Italy, Crete, and London over the mid-summer. We’ll return and move to Arlington the first week of August, rested and ready for the new work there!”

Coracle’s programs and events will continue, and we look forward to seeing you in person and online in the coming months! As mentioned in last week’s newsletter, Corhaven will be closed from April 17-June 16 and July 19-August 7, and we offered some additional resources for ways to and places for retreat. You can, of course, reach out to any of us here at Coracle at any time, now and during Bill’s sabbatical.

One more thing, there has been interest in giving Bill and his family a financial gift in appreciation for how God has used them and blessed us through them and Coracle. If you too would like to donate, Coracle has established a Sabbatical fund. Any funds donated now will be available to Bill and his family for his sabbatical. Funds remaining afterwards will be available for care of other Coracle staff.

While I mostly wanted you to know about Bill’s upcoming sabbatical, I want to encourage you (and me) to also have regular rhythms of sabbath and rest – extended times to be with and attentive to Jesus.