St. Charles Ave. Baptist Church is one of 156 U.S. congregations selected to receive grants through the Lilly Endowment 2021 National Clergy Renewal Program for both pastor and congregation to enter a season of rest and renewal.

Established by the Endowment in 2000, the program’s grants allow Christian congregations to support their pastors with the gift of extended time away from their ministerial duties and responsibilities.

Rev. Lott and the St. Charles congregation, separately, will spend 17 weeks in 2022 exploring a Summer in the Garden. Lott says, “Ideally, this sabbatical time is as restful and playful for the congregation as it is for me and for my family. It is my hope that in playing in the dirt together, the congregation might also imagine how literal and literary sacred gardens might not just serve our church but the world around us. ”

Pastoral recipients may use the respite for activities that allow them to reflect and renew while engaging in activities such a travel, scholarly research or experiences with different cultures and traditions.

Pastors may also use time away from their congregations to explore new spiritual disciplines, invest in focused time with loved ones and engage in activities that enhance their enthusiasm for preaching, ministry and leadership. 

Christian Theological Seminary has administered the Lilly Endowment Clergy Renewal Programs since 2012. “As our nation and our world navigate complex health, environmental and geo-political threats, these grants enable pastors and their congregations to actively partake in the gifts of retreat and renewal that are so needed today,” noted Dr. Robert Saler, director of the Lilly Endowment Clergy Renewal Programs at  Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis. 

The application process  allows congregations to be actively engaged in designing and developing their pastors’ renewal experiences. An inspiring element of the program is the ability for congregations to allocate up to $15,000 of the $50,000 grant to fund interim pastoral leadership, as well as renewal activities within the congregation. Pastors’ families can also participate in the renewal activities.

Pastor Elizabeth, her husband Nathan, and their teenage children, Turner and Julia, will spend 17 weeks in 2022 exploring a Summer in the Garden.

Following a path carved by Monty Don (BBC’s Gardener’s World), Pastor Elizabeth and her family will travel to the U.K., France, and Italy exploring European gardens and historic cities, like New Orleans, living with water.

Components of the pastor’s sabbatical include literal and metaphorical gardening with special attention, thanks to her brilliant husband, to the importance of fallow time.

Pastor Elizabeth’s Summer Reading List:

1. The Well-Gardened Mind: The Restorative Power of Nature (Sue Stuart-Smith)

2. The Kinfolk Garden: How to Live with Nature (John Burns)

3. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life (Barbara Kingsolver)

4. My Garden World (Monty Don)

5. This Day: Collected and New Sabbath Poems (Wendell Berry)

6. Why I Wake Early (Mary Oliver)

The congregation will engage the “Summer in the Garden” theme in a variety of ways.

GARDEN PARTIES

5/15/22 Farewell/Kick-off Lunch “In the Garden”

9/11/22 Return/Welcome Lunch

GARDEN OUTINGS:

berry picking
harvesting chanterelle mushrooms
visiting local and regional gardens

GARDEN BOOK GROUPS

Select a book from Pastor Elizabeth's personal summer reading list or select your own on a similar theme

The Well-Gardened Mind: The Restorative Power of Nature
by Sue Stuart-Smith

The Kinfolk Garden: How to Live with Nature by John Burns

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver

My Garden World by Monty Don

This Day: Collected and New Sabbath Poems by Wendell Berry

Why I Wake Early by Mary Oliver

GARDEN-THEMED SPEAKER SERIES:

host congregation & neighbors for summer garden talks

up to FIVE local garden experts and landscape architects who focus on “living with water,” Louisiana gardening, and native plants

REIMAGINE THE COURTYARD:

Solicit drawings from a landscape architect (one from the summer garden talks, most likely) for “living with water” meditation garden in courtyard