What is Congregational Sabbath?

Q: What Is Congregational Sabbath?

Through the practice of Congregational Sabbath, our congregations will discover the power of God at work in her midst so that we might become the joyful presence of God in the world.

In Congregational Sabbath, the church ceases to move so that it will be moved.  In Congregational Sabbath, we stop trying so hard to be the Church so that God may kneel down to embrace His Bride.  In Congregational Sabbath we trust the busyness of the Church to the One who created the church. In Congregational Sabbath, we stop trying to save the world and discover that it has already been saved.

Congregational Sabbath is a promise at the end of a dare: God promises to start when we dare to stop. When we dare to let our burdens down, God promises to lift our weary souls up.  Perhaps pastor,  theologian, and congregational sabbath pioneer sums it up best:

"Churches need sabbaticals as much as individuals. Spiritual stagnation deepens in the soil of freneticism. A congregational sabbatical can be a time for nurturing spiritual roots, a time for slowing down and taking the time to listen, to pray, and to learn. But it means just what is says--taking a sabbatical from the routine and schedules that define a church's life.  The usual work of committees and departments is suspended, especially the development of programs. Only the bare essentials to keep the machinery going are maintained during sabbatical time. The governing body can attend to necessary business, but this, too, needs to be kept at a minimum. established groups, such as church school classes, women's and men's groups should also be involved in sabbatical time, either by choosing not to meet or focusing their time on prayer and study. The point is to step away from customary activity. Renewal will not occur if the old routine is maintained. It would be like a teacher taking a sabbatical but continuing to teach. It is the break from routine that helps to create the space for something new to emerge." (Reclaiming Evangelism: A Practical Guide for Mainline Churches. St. Louis, MO: Chalice Press, 1988)

In Scripture, congregational sabbath has been called "jubilee" (Leviticus 25) and the year of the Lord's favor." (Isaiah 61 and Luke 4)  Others have called it "church-wide sabbbath rest"  or "church sabbatical."In this blog, I will consistently refer to this idea of cessation of church activity as "congregational sabbath" in an effort to consistently reflect the common, though variable, theme of episodic ecclesiastical cessation.

Congregational Sabbath: Less doing.  More being.

Photo from www.sxc.hu 894738