“Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work. It is a Sabbath to the Lord in all your dwelling places.” – Leviticus 23:3
Sabbath.
Most of us don’t take enough of it and when we do, we often don’t rest as God intended. But rest is important. As much as our bodies need to rest to recharge and refresh, our spirit does, too. We rest our bodies every night and hopefully on the weekend, and scientists who study this still say it’s often not enough. I don’t know about you, but it’s hard for me to get the recommended eight hours of sleep a night! Sleep quality is as important as sleep quantity and the more studies they do, the more they realize how much poor sleep quality can affect your entire life. Do you snore? Odds are your sleep quality isn’t what it should be.
And he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath…” – Mark 2:27
I think sometimes we have FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) and we sleep less to make sure we don’t miss out on anything. But when it affects your quality of LIFE, aren’t you already missing out? If you sacrifice time spent with family and friends just so you can get that one more thing done, will it be worth it at the end of your life? I hope you will seriously take time to rest. That you will rest your soul AND your body. God doesn’t tell us to do these things arbitrarily. He wants us to do these things to live our best lives.
“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy…” – Exodus 20:8-11
Every four years, the United Methodist Church builds into the system a time of educational sabbatical. It’s meant to give pastors a chance to explore areas of interest they don’t normally get to explore with the day-to-day and week-to-week responsibilities of ministry. The thought being as pastors spend time honing their craft and receiving time to pursue where God is leading them they will come back as better pastors. I’ve been fortunate to have our DS and Bishop grant me continuing education sabbatical leave from September 5 to October 5 and will return for worship on October 10th. For the five Sundays I’m away we are so fortunate to have Rev. Michael Yoshii step in and bless us with his gifts. Please attend virtual worship with him and give yourself this gift of hearing his love of God through the messages he will bring. C
In the meantime, I can’t wait to see what God has in store for me. Please keep me in your prayers. While I’m away I’ll also have another kidney appointment and will be exploring new ways to do ministry. I’ll see you all soon!
Peace in Christ,
Rev. Craig
Who Should I Call?
While I’m away on continuing education sabbatical, Rev. Yoshii is available for you to call with any pastoral emergencies. You can reach him via email at michaelyoshii1@gmail.com or call him at (510) 522-2688. We are so fortunate to be part of a connectional ministry where we look out for one another. If you cannot reach Rev. Yoshii, please feel free to contact one of my colleagues who have graciously stepped up to help us out.
- Sept 5-11: Rev. Gyu-Hyun Kim – (510) 990-4889
- Sept 12-18: Rev. Joe Kwon – (415) 988-3086
- Sept 19-25: Rev. Kristin Stoneking – (530) 902-1299
- Sept 26-Sept 30: Rev. Theon Johnson – (510) 654-5858 x12
Friends of Wadi Foquin Giving Opportunity
During my time away, we thought it would be great to focus our missional giving this month on Friends of Wadi Foquin. This wonderful organization is one that is near and dear to Rev. Yoshii’s heart and he has invested a lot of himself into helping those in this Palestinian village. During the month of September, if you would like to give to Friends of Wadi Foquin, simply use our giving link and in the drop down menu find “Friends of Wadi Foquin” and whatever you donate will go toward that organization. To find out more about Friends of Wadi Foquin, please visit their website.
