A Note From Pastor Dave:
One of the things I love most about Bay Shore Church is how seriously this congregation takes clergy sabbaticals. I don’t take that for granted — not everyone gets to be part of a community that understands why rest and renewal matter. After I preach on Easter, April 5, my sabbatical begins, and I’m totally stoked about it!
The Clergy Renewal Grant provides us with this wonderful opportunity. The first phase is a 63-day road trip across America and back. Dayna is taking a leave of absence from her church so we can experience this together. We’ll wind our way through cities, small towns, and national parks, trying to stay curious and awake to what each place has to offer. The heart of the trip, as we wrote in our grant proposal, is simple: to slow down enough to recognize the sacredness in being fully present, right where we are.
The whole trip is built around a practice of mindfulness — really paying attention, not just passing through. I keep coming back to something the poet Mary Oliver wrote:
Instructions for living a life:
Pay attention.
Be astonished.
Tell about it.
Part of the joy will be noticing what makes each place itself — the food people are proud of, the trees and birds and landscape, the history that still lives in the streets, and the kind of beauty you almost miss if you’re moving too fast. We’ll pass through places like Yosemite, Redwoods, Niagara Falls, Cape Cod, and Lake Tahoe, as well as cities like Chicago, New York, St. Augustine, Cleveland, and New Haven. And scattered throughout the trip, we’ll visit family and old friends in Iowa, Minnesota, Texas, and Oklahoma — people who’ve shaped who we are and how we minister. That part I’m especially looking forward to.
Underneath all of it is a pretty simple hope: to become more awake to the uniqueness of each place, to the presence of God in the ordinary and the extraordinary. Dayna and I want to walk, reflect, photograph, write, and actually savor what each day brings instead of rushing to the next thing. To listen more carefully. To linger a little longer. To remember what wonder feels like when you don’t race past it. After the road trip wraps up, we’ll move into the second phase of the sabbatical: a two-week Caribbean cruise giving us a chance to breathe and pray and let everything we’ve seen and felt start to settle.
I keep thinking about how this trip might change me as a pastor. My honest hope is that I come back with more energy, better stories, and a sharper sense of gratitude — and that seeing so much of the country will help me see Long Beach with fresh eyes. There’s something about traveling far and wide that makes you appreciate where you’re from in a way you couldn’t before. I want to come home and love Bay Shore with renewed attentiveness. Sometimes you have to go a long way to really understand what home means. That’s what I’m hoping this sabbatical will give me. Again, thank you for the opportunity!
Clergy Sabbaticals in 2026
Perhaps you have already heard that this spring, Bay Shore Church will enter a season of sabbatical for its pastoral leadership. As part of their call agreements, our pastors are afforded a three-month sabbatical period after every five years of service.
Senior Pastor Rev. Dr. David Clark will be on sabbatical April 6 through July 6. And Associate Pastor Rev. Susie Bjork will be on sabbatical July 13 through October 13. These sabbaticals are scheduled accordingly to ensure continuity and full pastoral coverage throughout the year. During these sabbatical periods, we will also have an opportunity to welcome some guest preachers into our pulpit. It’s a wonderful opportunity to hear from both some new and familiar voices.
This year, Pastor Dave applied for and was awarded a Lilly Endowment Clergy Renewal Grant. Only 233 congregations nationwide were selected from thousands of applicants to receive this highly competitive grant. Importantly, the grant is awarded to the congregation, not to an individual pastor, as a way for churches to invest in long-term vitality, sustainability, and faithful leadership.
The Lilly Clergy Renewal Program exists to help congregations support their pastors with extended time away from the daily demands of ministry for rest, reflection, and renewal. With the support of the Board of Stewards and church leadership, Pastor Dave’s sabbatical will center on the theme You Are Here and will include extended travel, spiritual practices, writing and reflection, and intentional time for renewal and discernment. The purpose of the sabbatical is not simply rest, but renewal that strengthens both pastoral leadership and congregational life.
This sabbatical is also designed to be a shared experience for Bay Shore Church. The congregational portion of the grant is still taking shape, but plans include a celebration dinner, several guest preachers, and congregational activities that connect with the theme of presence, place, and paying attention to the sacred ground beneath our feet. Details about these opportunities will be shared in upcoming newsletters as plans are finalized.
Congregational Renewal During the Sabbatical
As part of the Lilly Endowment Clergy Renewal Grant, a portion of the grant funds will support special congregational activities throughout the year. These experiences are meant to reflect the focus of my own renewal journey: paying attention to place, practicing presence, and discovering what is distinctive and sacred in the world right where we are. As I travel through different regions, landscapes, and communities, Bay Shore will also be invited to look more closely at the beauty, diversity, creativity, and compassion that make Long Beach our home. Our hope is that this season will bring renewal to the whole congregation and me, as together we learn to notice the holy ground beneath our feet.
Guest Preachers. To help Pastor Susie while I’m away, we’ve arranged six guest preachers who will preach during the weeks I am away (April 6 – July 6). Their presence will help sustain our worship life and offer the congregation the gift of hearing a variety of faithful voices during the sabbatical season.
Sacred Spaces will be a series of visits to houses of worship in our wider community. Over several months, participants will have opportunities to experience how neighbors from different faith traditions and cultures gather, pray, and express reverence. These visits are intended to deepen understanding, widen our sense of connection, and help us appreciate the spiritual diversity that surrounds us right here in our own city. Each visit will also include time for conversation and reflection, helping us connect what we experience there with our own journey of faith.
The Community Cares Volunteer Fair on June 7. will celebrate the many ways people can make a difference in Long Beach and beyond. Community organizations will be invited to share information about volunteer opportunities rooted in compassion, justice, service, and care for neighbors. This event will shine a light on the rich network of people already doing meaningful work in our area and encourage Bay Shore members and friends to discover new ways to get involved. In that sense, it will invite us to ask not only where we are, but how we are called to love and serve in this place.
On August 23, Bay Shore will host a Community Art Fair and Celebration Dinner. centered on hope, creativity, and the unique gifts of our local community. The event will include artwork from local artists as well as pieces created through church-based art classes for children and adults. It will be both a celebration of artistic expression and a joyful homecoming, giving us an opportunity to reflect together on what hope and community look like in Long Beach. In a grant shaped by the words “You Are Here,” this gathering will help us honor the stories, imagination, and beauty that are part of our shared life together.
Please watch for more information in the months ahead about dates, details, and ways to participate in each of these events. I am grateful that this grant will support renewal not only for me as your pastor, but for our whole church as we open our eyes more fully to the sacred gift of this place we call home.