The Lord said to Moses on Mount Sinai, "Speak to the Israelites and say to them:

When you enter the land I am going to give you, the land itself must observe a Sabbath

to the Lord. For six years sow your fields, and for six years prune your vineyards and

gather their crops.

But in the seventh year the land is to have a Sabbath of rest, a Sabbath in the

Lord. Whatever the land yields during the Sabbath year will be food for you--for yourself,

your manservant and maidservant, and the hired worker and temporary resident who

live among you, as well as for your livestock and the wild animals in your land.

Whatever the land produces may be eaten.                          Leviticus 25:1-7

Healthy rostered ministers (Pastors and Deacons) are one key to effective ministry. It has been repeatedly demonstrated that extended Sabbaticals for rostered ministers offer benefits for both the leader and the congregation. During its fall 2024 meeting, the Synod Council adopted a Sabbatical guidelines policy to help promote the health and wholeness of all our congregations and rostered ministers.

Thanks are due to these members of the Synod Council who served on the Sabbatical guidelines working group: Rev. Matt Erickson, Terri Lindemann, Tami McHugh, and Rev. Anne Palma

As spiritual leaders of the congregation, our rostered ministers spend most of their working life engaged in day-to-day administration, visitation, preparation, teaching, counseling, etc., and they are often “on call” in their time off as well. Continuing education addresses their academic health but is not normally designed to nurture the physical and spiritual health of the leader.

An extended period of renewal is valuable not only for rostered ministers but also for the congregation they lead, and for God’s work in the world. A Sabbatical period provides an opportunity for a rostered minister to reflect on the call to ministry and on their relationship with God and God's people, and it is a tangible sign of the care the congregation bears for its rostered minister(s).

The Synod Council encourages each congregation to put into practice a congregational sabbatical policy appropriate to its context. The Synod's policy includes a model congregational sabbatical policy that your congregation may adapt and adopt! 

Click here to see it. It can also be found on our website under Resources/Synod Documents:tools-forms-resources-ministry