Sabbatical Rest, Discovery, and Re-enforcing by Connie McNeill

Connie McNeill Sabbatical

Rest, Discovery, Re-enforcing

February 7–April 10, 2022

From February 7 through April 10 Connie McNeill, our associate pastor of administration and discipleship, will be on a two-month sabbatical. Each of our pastors is eligible to request sabbatical leave (with a general guideline of up to two months) after six full years of service to Second Baptist Church. We believe sabbaticals are essential for the spiritual and emotional health of our pastors and are thankful for the opportunity to provide them. Please join us in praying for Connie during her time away—that it will be rich and fulfilling, and also a time for rest and renewal. Connie, we’ll miss you and look forward to seeing you when you are back. Keep reading for a note from Connie with more information about her sabbatical.

Note from Connie:

Thank you, Second Baptist Church, for this opportunity to be away from my day-to-day responsibilities here while I spend time resting, renewing spiritually, and finally taking the time to accomplish a number of administrative things that will strengthen our operations into the future.

My responsibilities will be covered by the current excellent administrative staff and it gives our Pastoral Resident, Andrea Huffman, the opportunity to experience an enlarged administrative role in ministry. As when I’m in, if you don’t know where else to get answers or help, instead of asking for me, ask for Andrea. She will help you or get you to the right person.

Per the suggested timeline of ministry sabbatical experts, I will be taking some of this time to rest. I do that best at home so that’s where I will be. In the middle of my sabbatical, I will be in Ireland and Scotland for two weeks learning about and immersing in the Christian tradition of Celtic Spirituality. Surrounding that center point, I will be working on files, policies, codifying practices and auditing human resource and financial files in my office and those archived. The timeline and what I hope to accomplish was approved by the Personnel Committee some two years ago.

While I am away, know that I will keep you in my prayers. I would ask for your prayers. Please pray for my desired deepening relationship with the triune God. Pray for me to find the rhythm of rest and renewal that I need. Pray for the other pastoral staff, administrative staff, ministry coordinators, team leaders, committee leaders—all of whom will pick up a little extra in my absence. May God bless this church by the work of renewal done in me.

Until April,

Connie McNeill

Associate Pastor, Administration and Discipleship