Getting started

Hey all,

The summer of 2010 will be a great one for our family. I will be taking four months off from serving as a pastor for renewal leave, made possible by a grant from the Lilly Foundation. This space will be used to keep an ongoing journal and share some of my reflections on our journeys.

We begin June 26 by heading to Ukraine, the birthplace of our children. There we will visit the capital Kiev and then spend some time in an area called the Crimea on the edge of the Black Sea. None of us have been to that area so it should be filled with some great times of exploration. We will spend 12 days in Ukraine before heading home.

After some time back home in Durango, Colorado we'll head to San Diego for some time on the beach and just relaxing for two weeks. We will be back in Durango to get our kids in school and actually get to enjoy fall in Durango going camping and other outdoor activities.

Finally, to end the renewal leave, I will go by myself to Turkey, Greece and Malta in late September to visit places where the Apostle Paul started churches.

I am looking forward to the next few months and hope you enjoy hearing about this special time in our lives. I am grateful that the church I serve as pastor, First United Methodist Church in Durango, has been so supportive and encouraging of me taking this time away after 22 years of full time service in ministry.

May God bless you this summer as well! Peace, Jeff