A note from Rev. Lara Hoke:
Greetings, Members and Friends of FCU!
Thank you for granting me a sabbatical to refresh, renew and revive. I am approaching my time away from FCU with a sense of radical curiosity – both for what the time will shape into for me, and for you, the congregation. I’m excited for all of us, truly. You are in great hands with Sabbatical Minister the Rev. Kathy Schmitz (she/her). And you are held in each other’s caring hands as well!
My sabbatical begins on January 22, 2024 and ends when I return to the pulpit on May 19, 2024.
Rev. Kathy will do many of the things that I normally do while I’m away. Keep in mind thoughtfully, however, that she will be working half-time. Rev. Kathy will be in the pulpit preaching six times while I’m away. The other worship services will be lay-led; we have some excellent topics ahead, coming from our own talent! And of course Molly will continue to provide beautiful music; Thea will continue to provide inspired religious education for our kids; Bllu will continue to provide office administration; and Dana will continue to take care of our facility and grounds.
Rev. Kathy will supervise staff with input from the Standing Committee and will help lay leaders and the Worship Associates to offer excellent worship services. She will be available to offer pastoral care, along with our Lay Pastoral Ministers (David Butz, Jan Duston, Patti Sardella, and new LPMs Ann Donald and Lynda Kaylor). Rev. Kathy will be available to help the Deacons and our other committees as well. She will also help with the tasks of overall church leadership, working with the Executive Team.
The links below will direct you to a great deal of useful information about the sabbatical. The Sabbatical Team (Jackie Clement, Debbie Eston, and Mike Pilman) has done a marvelous job of keeping all of us organized and on-task! I am so grateful to them. They, along with Rev. Kathy, will determine if I need to be contacted during my sabbatical time for any reason. (For those of you who are new to the idea of sabbatical for a minister, it is the tradition that the minister and congregation are not in contact during sabbatical time. I will temporarily be in “invisible” mode on Facebook. You will still be able to view my Instagram and Twitter/X accounts if you wish, but I won’t interact there. You can read my blog if you wish; I’m not sure how often I’ll post, but it might give some flavor of what I’m up to if you’re curious: http://mlarahoke.com.)
What will I be doing, you ask? I will spend some time resting and relaxing, of course, with my family in Lowell as well as my mother and sisters and other family in Pennsylvania. I will spend most of February in Ghana at the Macdellar Sons of Grace Preparatory School – the same school that Susan Tordella, Bob Williams, Lynn and Peter Cina, and Lynda and Larry Kaylor have visited and told you about. You can learn about the school at this link. I will volunteer in any way that is helpful; I anticipate doing some teaching, music-making, and helping with fundraising as well. My wife Emily and I will spend some time during April in southern Italy; this will be in celebration of our upcoming 20th Wedding Anniversary. (I was stationed in southern Italy while in the US Navy, and many of Emily’s ancestors come from this same region.) I will be doing lots of music-making and reading. I am hoping to try my hand at song writing – we’ll see how that goes! And I will attend a handful of workshops that I believe will enhance my ministry.
It is an honor to share this ministry with you. I look forward to my return already!
With love and faith,
Lara
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