Sharon Hardel Prepares for 7-Week Sabbatical

by Sharon Hardel, Youth & Family Ministry Director

Why I am taking a sabbatical? Covid was a very trying time and as you know we did not have a full staff from 2020 – most of 2023, so now that Pastor Andrew is here and we are basically back to full staff, I am taking a sabbatical for rest and renewal. I feel like I have been running on fumes for the last year or so and would like to find my creative spark and joy for ministry again. I connect most with God in nature so what I will do on Sabbatical is have time to rest, do some self-examination, and spend time with friends and family in camp settings and in National Parks. Over my sabbatical I hope to worship at a variety of congregations and / or outdoor camp type worship spaces and bring back some ideas for our youth and family programming here at First Lutheran.

Sabbatical Schedule:

1. Week 1: July 28 – August 3: The first few days will be spent at home resting after the summer accompaniment trips and VBS, then Kent and I will start toward PA with a stop at Cuyahoga Valley National Park in OH. We will visit some of Kent’s family and attend a one of my family reunions before heading to Family Camp.
2. Week 2: August 4 – August 10: Attend Family Camp at Camp Nawakwa in Arendtsville PA. At Family Camp, I will participate in morning Bible study with other adult campers and worship every evening with all the campers (youth and adults). In the afternoons, I will be able to participate in a variety of activities with other campers such as hiking, making crafts, reading, relaxing, and field trips around the area. Camp is a beautiful place to connect with nature, God, and each other. Kent and I used to attend this camp with friends and family from PA, so I will be able to use this week to visit and reconnect with many we have not seen since Covid. (I attended this family Camp for over 20 years each summer and built some good friendships with other families).
3. Week 3 August 11 – 17: We will head back to Nebraska and I will volunteer at the Center for People. I am waiting to hear if I will be working on a specific project or helping with food distribution.
4. Week 4: August 18 – 24: I will still be volunteering at Center for People some of this week and near the end of the week Kent and I will be heading to Minneapolis for a Cardinals Twins baseball game and to celebrate one of Kent’s friend’s 50^th We may get to a National Park in Minnesota if time and weather permit.
5. Week 5: August 25 – 31: We will finish our visit in MN and head back to NE. I will help out at Center for People as needed and hope to do some organizing and down sizing at the apartment. There are still boxes I haven’t unpacked in my “junk room” and I’d like to go through things we don’t need or want any more and donate or toss items. I also have some unfinished craft projects laying around that I need to finish up.
6. Week 6: September 1 – 7: A week of resting at home and then on September 7 (– September 9) I will attend “Cultivating Compassion in our Daily Lives” retreat at the Benedictine Center in Schuyler NE. Here is a description from their website about the retreat “Do you ever wish the world would stop long enough for you to catch your breath? Hit the Pause Button and gift yourself with time and space to nourish and refresh your Spirit in a kind and supported environment surrounded by the beauty of nature. We will explore compassion as a necessary part of nurturing emotional resilience to meet the challenges of our daily lives. Come away and ground yourself with experiential compassion practices, personal reflection, and small group dialogue in sacred community with the Holy One.”
7. Week 7: September 8 – 15: After the retreat ends on September 9 I plan to head home and finish up any projects left to do and hopefully get my patio garden harvested and cleaned up for fall. I hope to do some canning as well. I will work on summarizing my thoughts and experiences from my sabbatical and prepare some ideas of how to share them with the congregation.

While I am on my sabbatical, Jenna Troutman and Kristi Fisher will be taking care of the fall kick off youth group activities and Jenna Troutman and Dave Schmitter will be leading the learning program for middle and high school students beginning September 8. Members should call Mandy at the church office with any questions, and she will direct them to the appropriate person. Please check the youth calendar for upcoming events.