Pastor Tiffany on Sabbatical

June 22 - September 25, 2023

Thanks to a generous grant to Metro Baptist Church, Rev. Tiffany Triplett Henkel will be on sabbatical during summer 2023. The sabbatical is part of the National Clergy Renewal Program funded by Lilly Endowment Inc. and administered by Christian Theological Seminary.


Pastor Tiffany’s specific sabbatical experience will include time for personal retreat, meditation and centering, as well as time for family travel and bonding. Rev. Henkel’s sabbatical will begin Thursday, June 22, and she will return to the office on Wednesday, September 27. Her first Sunday back in worship will be October 1 - World Communion Sunday. While away, Pastor Tiffany has made plans to be informed by Metro staff in the event of a death (to make personal contact), a pastoral care crisis, or an unanticipated leadership emergency, but will not be active in the regular pastoral care and leadership of the church for this period.


While Rev. Henkel is on sabbatical, the active ministries of Metro Baptist Church and Rauschenbusch Metro Ministries will continue under the leadership of Interim Associate Pastor Jana Dye and the faithful staff of Metro and RMM. Please reach out to Pastor Jana as you would Pastor Tiffany. As always, ongoing support will be provided by Metro’s lay leadership teams: Deacons, Trustees, Personnel Committee, and RMM Board. Additionally, Metro is blessed during this summer to have the regular prophetic voices of Rev. Kym McNair and Rev. Co’Relous Bryant as our Sunday preachers.


If you need assistance or support in the coming days, please contact Metro’s offices at mbc@mbcnyc.org or 212-594-4464 and you will be connected to the appropriate ministry team member.


Pastor Tiffany is grateful for this sabbatical opportunity and looks forward to returning to Metro this fall refueled and with fresh energy and vision for the ministry God has in store for us together.


A Benediction offered by Pastor Tiffany on June 19, 2023:

Until we meet again, 

may rest find each of us, 

may the sabbath before us renew and revive us

reminding us of the divinity of our humanity.  

And may the rest we find

and the rest we offer

be resistance

to all the forces that are counter to God’s design

for us and all creation. 

And most of all, may our holy rest remind us that we are enough.

Amen.

A Sabbatical litany

By Rev. Dr. Troy messenger

PASTOR JANA: Friends in Christ, today we give thanks to God for Pastor Tiffany and ask for God’s blessings as she enters her Sabbatical rest. We give thanks for the blessing of these 100 days – the possibilities for rest, dreaming, study, laughter, adventure, and space to do nothing at all. May they be overflowing with an abundance of grace, both for her and for this congregation.


DEACON: We wish Godspeed to Pastor Tiffany as she begins her sabbatical.


CONGREGATION: As you journey, God dwell with you while we are away from one another.


PASTOR TIFFANY: God’s blessing on you while I am gone from you.


DEACON: May God’s Spirit lead you to places of adventure and surprise, quiet and listening, wonder and awe.


PASTOR TIFFANY: I thank God for the ministry we share and the gift of this time away.


DEACON: May God lead you to guides and teachers, known to God but new to you, who will nourish your mind, spirit, and imagination.


PASTOR TIFFANY: God’s peace be with you as I leave to walk in different places.


DEACON: May you discover new depths to your own spirit, returning revived and energized for ministry.


PASTOR TIFFANY: I pray that you, too, might be renewed and revived to serve in God’s name.


CONGREGATION: Spirit of God, bless Pastor Tiffany during her sabbatical. Renew her for ministry through this time set aside from daily tasks and routine. Plant in her the seeds that will flourish in the next time of her ministry. Grace her with your presence and keep her steadfast in the faith while we are gone one from another.


REMOVAL OF STOLE


PASTOR JANA: The primary and unique symbol for Pastors is their stole. It points to their being set apart by the Church for ministry. We will now remove Pastor Tiffany’s stole and place it on the table where it will remain unFl she returns from sabbatical. The presence of Pastor Tiffany’s stole will remind us of our shared sabbatical journey and of our mutual commitment to prayer for one another during this time of rest and growth.


FAMILY BLESSING


JANA: God of love, whose will it is that humans live in community, bless the Henkel family during this sabbatical time. Fill their home with joy, laughter, and prayer, so that this might be a time of renewal for each of them individually and together as a family.


CONGREGATION: Eternal God, you fill us with every good thing and your steadfast love endures forever. We thank you for Pastor Tiffany, her family, and for our life together at Metro. As they depart for sabbatical, send them forth with your blessing, fill them with your Spirit, and bring them again into our presence with renewed life. Amen.