28th May 2024

At church this past Sunday we shared the exciting news that Becky and I will be taking a sabbatical this coming September. But we’re aware that not everyone was able to be in the room, attend church in person, or know what’s involved when a pastor goes on sabbatical. So, we wanted to create space here to unpack some of the headlines with you.

In short, a sabbatical is an extended period of paid leave where a pastor steps back from their responsibilities, to rest & refuel.

This isn’t a decision we made lightly, or alone. For months we’ve been working with the Bishop and the Trustees to piece a plan together.

So that’s a very simple description of what a sabbatical is, but you might also be asking why? Why would you need a sabbatical?

We’re grateful that we get to pastor this amazing church, which doesn’t place unrealistic expectations on us, but encourages us to share the joys and workload involved in leading with our amazing staff team, volunteers & trustees. We try to lead as relationally and collaboratively as we can.

I see a spiritual director every couple of weeks, we both spend time with Jesus daily in prayer and regularly make time for retreats. But even with our healthy church context and our life-giving personal practices, after eighteen years of pastoring, we have found ourselves, particularly this past year, experiencing a weariness that is new to us. And we need to listen to that, for our own sakes, for our family’s sake and for the overall health of the church. We need to take time out to be reinvigorated for the years ahead. So that’s a bit about the what and the why, but let me quickly speak to the when & who parts of the sabbatical process.

We’ll be taking all of September, October & November off, which means my first Sunday back will be December 1st, just in time for our Christingle service. During that time, Louise Jones will lead the staff, supported by Andrew McNeile and the Trustees. Rob Jones from Holy Trinity Rathmines will also be coming in to lead Communion and cover any pastoral needs Louise and the team can’t field for themselves.

I think that covers all the main practical things, but there’s two final bit’s we wanted to be clear about in wrapping up.

This is not a coded message, where we’re not saying one thing, but really, mean another. Nothing’s wrong, nothing has happened, the job isn’t too much for us. This is about our need to listen to and respond to the weariness I spoke about earlier. It’s about us stepping back to seek God for ourselves, our family and for the life of this place & our future together.

And with that in mind let me also say that we’re not secretly leaving. I will not be coming back in December to announce my departure. I’ve said this a few times over the years now but let me say it again. This is my dream job and as I hope you have picked up during our recent series of vision talks, we still very much feel called to lead Saint Catherine’s. We love everything about it our church; so much so, that we’re willing to do this bit of work offline, so that we can be even better shepherds as we lead.

So please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we prepare to go. Pray for the trustees and the staff team and for all God will do in the church through this time. And if you have any questions, please reach out on a Sunday or email me on eoghan@saintcatherines.ie

With great love,

Eoghan & Becky Heaslip

Lead Pastors  

(Listen to the audio announcement below)