2014 Sabbatical

In the summer of 2014, Ann traveled to Africa, Israel, and the western U.S. as part of her professional sabbatical from St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Arlington, VA.

“Around the throne and on each side of the throne are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with a face like a human face, and the fourth living creature like a flying eagle. And the four living creatures…are full of eyes all around and inside.”
(Revelation 4.6b – 8a)

How fortunate to be a living creature full of eyes—all around and inside. The ability to simultaneously view the world around you while engaging in intense personal observation is the dream of those in pursuit of spiritual renewal.  Rev. Ann’s  time away focused on the theme of Looking Out, Seeing Within. It included a research trip to Africa to study lions in the Kenyan wild, a long-postponed trip to Israel to walk in the steps of Christ, time to experience God among the red rocks of Sedona, and opportunities to connect with family members and to deepen study of her ancestry.

What Rev. Ann’s planned journeys all have in common is that they represent “thin places” where she feels intimately connected with God; as the Celtic saying goes, “heaven and earth are only three feet apart, but in thin places that distance is even shorter.” Rev. Ann’s thin places—Sedona’s rocks, the lions’ natural habitat in northern Kenya, and the Holy Land—and the ability to experience them without hurry will allow for spiritual rebirth and growth. All of these places, as well as the act of deepening her knowledge of her family, embody facets of Rev. Ann’s spiritual life that she carries with her every day in her life and work.

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