Sabbath Resources

Home » Groups » Oregon Synod
Kim Hester's picture
Submitted by Kim Hester on Thu, 09/01/2011 - 9:33pm

I have been personally doing some reading and thinking (and trying to practice again) about sabbath keeping.  I am currently reading The Sabbath World: Glimpses of a Different Order of Time by Judith Shulevitz.  I am wondering what resources (books, articles, websites, etc...) you might have come across?

In addition to this personal inquiry, I am creating a retreat for a women's group in November (a revision of one that I have already done), and am working on a piece of writing that I will eventually seek to have published.  So it is a broad scope bit.

 

Thanks in advance!

Dave Brauer-Rieke's picture

Sabbath

Submitted by Dave Brauer-Rieke on Fri, 09/02/2011 - 9:14pm.

I've always liked Abraham Heschel's little classic, The Sabbath.  Our Jewish brothers and sisters practiced Sabbath first, right?  For me Sabbath is not working so that I can be reminded that God can do the world just fine without me. Sort of a "get over yourself" time. Humbling.

I like the story of the Jewish farmer who, on the Sabbath, was out riding the fence line and saw a break in the fence. Being the Sabbath he resolved not to fix it right away. But, later, realizing that he had been out and thinking about fixing on the Sabbath resolved never to fix it at all. God would care for God's creation.

jtrev's picture

Resources to Learn and Teach Sabbath

Submitted by jtrev on Fri, 09/23/2011 - 11:07pm.

Please don't take the following as a flame.  (How's THAT for an opening line?)

My sense of your post is that you are looking for resources to comprehend . . . understand . . . pass on to others the concept of Sabbath.

It just strikes me as funny.  Funny "ha ha" and funny "sheesh," to quote an old cartoon.

It is typical of what I've done and seen among other church partners -- talk about it, conceptualize it, teach other people what you have learned about it, but, perhaps never apply the good to ourselves out of the concept we have theologized -- in this case Sabbath.

The Holy One seems to make Sabbath simple and clear -- in two parts:

  1. Take a day off, and give a day off to everyone over whom you have authority, including your livestock.
  2. Worship me on this day set aside for rest.  (Implying that the nature of worshipping God is part of the restfulness.)

I read through your post after posting the poll about how long Pastors take at a time for vacation.  I'm curious to see the results.  I'm guessing that there will be a few who take as much as two weeks in a row, but darn few that take more . . . even though most of us get more.

I've offered the Pastors in the Vineyard Cluster a free Sunday off -- recently retired, I will lead worship for no fee.  So far there are not takers.  While it may be that I'm a lousy worship leader I'm more inclined to believe it's just too darn hard for most of us to cut ourselves some slack.

So we study Sabbath instead of practicing it.

I really don't mean this as a criticism and am glad you are thinking about Sabbath.  I hope you find healthy practice out of your search and sustain your Sabbath rest.

Zion Redmond's picture

Flaming Maas...

Submitted by Zion Redmond on Sat, 09/24/2011 - 8:54am.

Hey John:  Good post, as always.  I still think you're too young and far too good looking to be retired, plus you have far too much to offer!  I haven't read the social statement on genetics, but I think if we could clone you the world would be a better place!

Dude, as far as a Sabbath rest, you must have listened to my sermon on July 24.  It's a sermon where I preached about the importance of rest and renewal, and said that fatigue is one of the biggest barriers to prayer and spiritual growth.  If we're not well rested we are not at a point of being able to hear the whispers that God sends us.  For me, Sabbath rest is an important part of life.  You can listen to the sermon here:   http://zionredmond.blogspot.com/search?q=spiritual+growth

As for a weekly Sabbath rest, I do that regularly on Fridays.  Seriously, I get my sermons done on Thursday so I don't have to be thinking about church on my day off.  I have an Adventure Blog that I update mostly weekly at:  http://whereispastoreric.blogspot.com/  It's linked to our website  http://www.zionrdm.com/ and I get regular comments on those posts.  In fact, a newly retired couple visited last week who are building a house at Eagle Crest, and part of the reason they're interested in Zion is because of the active portrayal of life on our website.

On a side note, I'm working on a series of videos to stock our website with related to teaching.  I have a three part series on Lutheranism 101, and I had a bright (well, maybe not so bright...) idea of recording one up at Holden Lake when I was up there with a group from Zion at the end of August.  It might have been OK, but the flies were horrible and I swallowed one while filming, plus I was interrupted by a young couple hiking past me.  Unbeknowst to me, a binkni girl comes into the video in the lower left hand corner.  I'm going to re-record it, but you can see it at:  http://whereispastoreric.blogspot.com/2011/09/holden-lake-holden-village.html

Enough for now, John, but rock on, dude.

Eric Burtness

Zion/Redmond

Zion Redmond's picture

Flaming Maas...

Submitted by Zion Redmond on Sat, 09/24/2011 - 8:55am.

Hey John:  Good post, as always.  I still think you're too young and far too good looking to be retired, plus you have far too much to offer!  I haven't read the social statement on genetics, but I think if we could clone you the world would be a better place!

Dude, as far as a Sabbath rest, you must have listened to my sermon on July 24.  It's a sermon where I preached about the importance of rest and renewal, and said that fatigue is one of the biggest barriers to prayer and spiritual growth.  If we're not well rested we are not at a point of being able to hear the whispers that God sends us.  For me, Sabbath rest is an important part of life.  You can listen to the sermon here:   http://zionredmond.blogspot.com/search?q=spiritual+growth

As for a weekly Sabbath rest, I do that regularly on Fridays.  Seriously, I get my sermons done on Thursday so I don't have to be thinking about church on my day off.  I have an Adventure Blog that I update mostly weekly at:  http://whereispastoreric.blogspot.com/  It's linked to our website  http://www.zionrdm.com/ and I get regular comments on those posts.  In fact, a newly retired couple visited last week who are building a house at Eagle Crest, and part of the reason they're interested in Zion is because of the active portrayal of life on our website.

On a side note, I'm working on a series of videos to stock our website with related to teaching.  I have a three part series on Lutheranism 101, and I had a bright (well, maybe not so bright...) idea of recording one up at Holden Lake when I was up there with a group from Zion at the end of August.  It might have been OK, but the flies were horrible and I swallowed one while filming, plus I was interrupted by a young couple hiking past me.  Unbeknowst to me, a binkni girl comes into the video in the lower left hand corner.  I'm going to re-record it, but you can see it at:  http://whereispastoreric.blogspot.com/2011/09/holden-lake-holden-village.html

Enough for now, John, but rock on, dude.

Eric Burtness

Zion/Redmond

Kim Hester's picture

Thanks for resources...

Submitted by Kim Hester on Wed, 10/05/2011 - 1:47pm.

Thanks for the resources, reflections and questions.

I am working very hard at this retreat not being a "receiving of information" about sabbath, but a time of reflection and practice, questioning and sharing of real-life struggles with this ancient spiritual practice.  So I hear your concern and I share it.  

I wholly recommend The Sabbath World: Glimpses of a Different Order of Time by Judith Shulevitz as well as the classic Heschel bit.  I think I am looking for some additional first-hand accounts of folks practicing sabbath keeping for the first time, restarting the practice, struggling with the practice, etc...I think I've got the theological, academic, and spiritual-side fairly solid.

Peace~

Becky Brown's picture

My Sabbath Practice

Submitted by Becky Brown on Wed, 11/09/2011 - 9:56pm.

So, is it too late to share how I spend my Sabbath?  If not, here I go...

In 1998, I was listening to a sermon about keeping the Sabbath holy (# 3 of the Big Ten).  I thought about what I did on Sunday and realized that I spent an hour or so at church and read a fatter newspaper that day; otherwise, Sunday was pretty much like Saturday.  So, how could I change my behavior?  I decided that I was not going to run errands, do home tasks unless if they were fun ones, and would spend money only if it promoted a relationship.  If a friend was only available on Sunday to go see a movie and she wasn't available any other day, I would go to the theatre with her then.  I enjoy mowing the lawn when it's spring but hate mowing in August so I mow another day.   I get grocery shopping done by Saturday night.   I made this decision when I was flying down to the Bay Area at least twice a week for work.  I also like the idea of not being in businesses on Sundays because maybe, just maybe, another person will not have to work that day because I "need" something. 

These changes have changed my life!  I am so much less concerned about money and life is much less complex.  I am a better planner and I really get everything important done in six days.   I truly look forward to Sunday because I get to spend time with friends, do more Bible study, and do fun things.

I broke my rule once.  I was visiting my sister and her family on a Sunday and we were leaving the next day to go on a family vacation.   My sister was very sick, my brother-in-law needed to finish up some work, and my two adorable nieces needed things for the trip.  I could have told my sister that I wasn't going to do her shopping for her but I decided the better thing to do was to volunteer to do her errands and let her sleep at home.   My nieces and I ran the errands and ended the afternoon playing in the park.  (To be totally honest, the park was the bribe for good behavior during the shopping trip. Swings and slides are good motivaters for good behavior!)  

That's how I keep the Sabbath...

Janell Bethke's picture

Sabbath book

Submitted by Janell Bethke on Mon, 10/10/2011 - 4:52pm.

Kim:

A great resource for me has been Sabbath: Finding Rest, Renewal, and Delight in Our Busy Lives (9/28/2000) by Wayne Muller

It is short essay's and reminders of how to take rest in the midst of busyness.  Another resource I read years ago was by Keeping the Sabbath Wholly by Marva Dawn.  The image that remains is not doing dishes all day and spending time relaxing, reading and sitting on the front porch.

 

The task of caring for our soul in the midst of demands is a good conversation.  I pull open Wayne Muller's book as a good reminder to rest in the simple ways of life.

  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
jtrev's picture

Best Resources I found

Submitted by jtrev on Mon, 10/10/2011 - 6:33pm.

If this is about TEACHING about sabbath I defer to those of you who are more studious and have found such resources.

For me personally the two very best resources I found were:

  1. a sabbatical.
  2. a month as a member of the Trappist Community at the Lafayette Abbey.

I don't think WE get Sabbath if we are at work.   Well, I'll speak for myself.  I never did, and usually didn't get much of a Sabbath if I stayed in the geographical area of the congregation.

lgifford's picture

Dorothy C. Bass, Receiving

Submitted by lgifford on Wed, 10/12/2011 - 10:36am.

Dorothy C. Bass, Receiving the Day: Christian Practices for Opening the Gift of Time (Jossey-Bass, 2000).

Kim Hester's picture

Thanks!

Submitted by Kim Hester on Thu, 12/29/2011 - 4:42pm.

Thanks again for all the thoughts, commentary and resources.  While the retreat is long passed, I am still doing personal reading and focusing on Sabbath Keeping.  I will keep coming back here and sharing other bits I discover along the way.  This is a conversation we need to have as leaders of the church and followers of Christ.

 

Peace,

Kim

jtrev's picture

Sabbath Keeping

Submitted by jtrev on Thu, 12/29/2011 - 9:37pm.

Will you share with us how you are sabbath keeping?