Fall is a gift.  Of course, all of life and nature are too, but fall in New England is truly a gift. Residents of the valley know this, surrounded as we are by daily reminders in the color of the leaves, the taste of cider and pumpkin bread, and the rare afternoons when the air is just a little crisp, but not yet so cold we think twice before going out.

I have been asked to share more about my sabbatical, so here it is.

The term “sabbatical” indicates the root of the custom in the Biblical mandate to cease from work and attend to that which feeds us most deeply. Sabbath rest is taken so that we can remember who and whose we really are, what our deepest calling is, where it comes from and what it calls us to do.