Skip to main content
Glenda Simpkins Hoffman
As many of you know, the session and I agreed that it would be best for the congregation and for me to take a pastoral leave for three months to make a way for new voices and new perspectives as we prepare for a new senior leader. It is not what I expected, so it’s taking me awhile to adjust to yet another change in my life and that of my family.
Having said that, I am grateful. While this is a different path than I expected, it provides an opportunity for a different pace of life for me and my family in this season. I’ve decided to frame this period of time in four parts.
1.Prayer and practicing the presence of God. I have done a lot of planning and strategic thinking in my role, which takes a lot of mental space. So it will be nice to let go and let God in new ways that will make room for reading books on prayer but even more enjoying being with God as I engage in various prayer practices. Today it occurred to me I could focus each day on one of the 84 practices in Adele Calhoun’s Spiritual Discipline Handbook.
My prayer discipline for this year is practicing the presence of God, so I hope I can really lean into that in new and meaningful ways. I also hope to engage in fixed-hour prayer as a way of marking time with God throughout the day and embracing Welcoming Prayer for whatever comes.
2. Practicing the presence of people. A book by Mike Mason with this title has been sitting on my shelf for years, so this is first on my reading list. I’m grateful to have time to lean into this practice more. Of course, my immediate family is the first priority as I continue to walk with my husband through his ongoing treatment and therapy for cancer, as well as spend time with my sons. My oldest graduates from high school in June.
I already had planned two trips in the coming months to see my mother in her new home. This weekend I go out for Mother’s Day, and then the whole family plans to join our extended family for her 90th birthday in July. And I’m looking forward to spending time with people walking, talking over coffee, and playing games.
3. Preparation: I haven’t really taken any study leave for two years due to the pandemic, so I’m looking forward to having time to read a number of books and take some online classes that will prepare me for future ministry. Reading and studying are passions of mine, so it is truly a gift to have time for more of this along with the time to think about, ponder, and perhaps write about what I am learning.
4. Projects: My mother always says to me that as long as you have a house, there are things to be done. So true. While this is the thing I am least looking forward to, I am grateful to have some time to give to household projects that have to be done. And I’m looking forward to the challenge of embracing these projects of the hands with praying with the heart and pondering with the mind.
During this time of leave, I will take a hiatus from writing the blog, but I am looking forward to resuming it when I return. I do want to thank you for subscribing to this blog and making time to read it.
For those who are interested, we will continue Stuart’s health updates on Caring Bridge.
