I am back from my Sabbatical and it was great spiritually and educationally. I certainly will be speaking and preaching about both my trip to Israel and about my other studies for next months and years. I am certain that my preaching will be informed by my Israel trip for the remainder of my ministry.

If you haven’t already checked it out, I kept a blog of my trip to Israel which you can visit to see some pictures and read some short notes on the days travel. It was a very powerful trip in many ways. It also had plenty of unexpected and surprising moments and lessons and that is always a sign that God is at work. I will be processing through my experiences for a long time.

I would summarize the theme of my studies as pointing me towards a renewed focus on our relationship with God and our relationship with others, or as we might say in the church, Covenant and Community. But importantly that focus is centered on the here and now of our immediate neighbourhood and cultural context. Anyway, I still need to unpack this some more myself, but I can say that I am excited to be back. I feel renewed and ready to work with you and our community in our neighbourhoods, to help do God’s work.

Peace.