Why an Art Theme?

Most folks know me as “Rick the pastor” or “Erik and Olivia’s dad” or “Leroy’s partner.”  There are only a few who know me solely from my work as an artist, and I admit it’s a pleasure to slip into that other role once in a while.  I don’t get to do it often enough.  The sabbatical will give me an opportunity to just be “Rick the artist” for three whole months.  I can’t wait! 

The Celsus Library; Ephesus, Turkey

The seeds for the sabbatical theme were sown thirteen years ago.  At the end of a year in residence studying for a Doctor of Ministry degree, I traveled to the Holy Lands with Dr. Ben Witherington III.  Dr. Witherington is a prominent New Testament scholar, and he taught a class on-site in Israel.  The students were required to keep a journal.  Instead of taking a lot of notes, I started sketching ancient columns and statues.  I thought I might get a bad grade for not following instructions, but Dr. Witherington liked the drawings and made a copy of my journal for display in the seminary library.  Several years later when he came to Western New York, I volunteered to drive him to the airport after a lecture.  I suggested to him that the very lengthy books he wrote would be much more interesting with pictures.  On the spot, he invited me to illustrate his next book.  Over the last several years, I contributed to other books, and in a recent (Nov. 2012) release by Oxford University Press, he referred to me as his “long-time illustrator.”

When applying for the Lilly Grant for Clergy Renewal, I related the story above and expressed my desire to return to the Holy Lands with pen in hand and do more on-site drawing.  I also described my ongoing interest in photography and my wish to create a book filled with drawings, photos, and written reflections.  Since I consider cooking to be an art-form of its own, I proposed classes in Mediterranean cooking to fill out the theme of finding and creating beauty in the Lands of the Bible.  I stated that “the arts feed my spirit, connect me with God, and renew my passion for life and vocation.”  The folks at Lilly must have liked the arts theme, since they approved the application.

The grant has already paid for a camera (Olympus PEN E-PL2) that I am learning to use and is the perfect size for travel.  An Ipad, also funded by the grant, will be used for the blog entries that will be edited and fill extra pages in the self-published book.  The drawing supplies are also covered, but are rather inexpensive – just a pad of paper and some extra Rapidograph pen tips and black ink.  Cooking classes will likely be taken at the Sorrento Cooking School near Naples, Italy, and at the Malborghetto Restaurant in Lecchi, Tuscany.

I feel super-blessed to be able to focus on art for three months this year.  Just the opportunity to travel and see new places is an enormous gift; the time and tools to create art are an indescribably wonderful bonus.  I look forward to sharing some photos and reflections on this blog from April through June!

Our Sabbatical Travel Plan

Leroy being fitted for a backpack - we're traveling light!

On Easter afternoon, Leroy and I will finish our packing and fly to New York City so we can catch an early flight to Cyprus via London on April 1.  In Cyprus we will mostly relax following the activities of Holy Week.  We will be able to walk from our condo, with a terrace overlooking the Mediterranean, into the city of Paphos.  I will engage in a spiritual retreat while in Cyprus, probably at the Kykkos Monastery at a mountain-top location.

A plane will take us to southern Israel, via Tel Aviv, and we will cross into Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula.  We’ll climb Mt. Sinai (transported partway up by camels) and visit the oldest monastery in the world at St. Catherines.  Passing through Israel again quickly, we will continue to Petra where we will spend a couple days exploring the ancient city and stay at a Bedoin camp.  We will also stay with Bedoins (nomads) while touring and climbing in the Wadi Rum wilderness (of Lawrence of Arabia fame) for two days.

Back in Israel, we will settle into Jerusalem for several days, exploring the Old City and nearby Bethlehem.  We will participate in an archaeological dig and then head south to the Dead Sea region.  After climbing to Massada and floating in the Dead Sea, we will drive north to Galilee and spend a few days on a kibbutz while visiting sites associated with Jesus’ early ministry.  We’ll stay in Nazareth for one night and then head to the Mediterranean coast for several days by the beach in Tel Aviv.

At the start of May, we will fly to Istanbul and meet some dear friends from Canada.  We’ll have time to explore the city with them for a few days before arriving in Cappadocia in central Turkey.  We will stay in a cave hotel and fly over the other-worldly Cappadocian landscape in a hot air balloon at dawn.  In Izmir we will experience modern Turkey and travel to the ancient ruins of Ephesus.  If possible, we will visit Patmos, where John wrote the book of Revelation, and then spend several days in a rented house by the sea on the historic island of Rhodes.

View from our rented "cave house" on Santorini island.

From Rhodes we will fly to Santorini and stay in a cave house perched high above the Aegean Sea.  After a few days of exploration, we will travel by ferry to the island of Mykanos for several more days.  In Athens, we will stay downtown and tour the Acropolis, with a day trip into the mountains to the ruins of Delphi.

By the start of June, we will be in Italy, beginning with the Amalfi Coast (Sorrento/Naples/Pompeii/Positano/Isle of Capri.)  A train will take us to Rome to view the Coliseum and other ancient monuments (and perhaps the Pope on Sunday??)  We’ll continue on to Venice to a rented apartment on a canal near St. Mark’s Square.  After a gondola ride, we will travel by train to the many museums of Florence for a couple days before renting a car and driving to central Tuscany.  We will spend the final week in Italy at an “agriturismo” – an old village once owned by the Vatican that is now a working farm with vineyards and olive orchards.  We will take a week to tour Tuscany, take a cooking class or two, and sample the area wines.

On June 26, we’ll fly from Rome to Los Angeles where I will be a delegate to the UCC General Synod from June 28-July 2.  Arriving back in Buffalo on July 3, we will take some allotted vacation days (as urged by the Lilly Endowment for decompression and reconnecting with family before returning to work.)  We will likely rent a lakeside cottage in the Finger Lakes Region and then celebrate my father’s 90^th birthday on the last day before returning to the office at SSBUCC.

Whew! 

The blog entries during our journey will provide far more detail on our travels, along with reflections on life, ministry, and what we are learning and experiencing along the way.

What Makes Your Heart Sing?!

Late November roses... Miles Winery, Seneca Lake, New York

"What makes your heart sing?"  I had to answer that question in 2011.  At stake was a grant from the Lilly Endowment for Clergy Renewal.  I thought about it a lot and the only answer that came to mind was this: “Beauty.”  Everyone appreciates pretty things, right?  But for a long time I’ve known I need healthy doses of daily beauty to survive.  In 1993, I moved my family from suburban New York State to the coast of Maine so I could look at the ocean instead of strip malls on the way to work.  It wasn’t a wise career move, and it didn’t last long.  Since then, I have been finding other ways to fill my life and mind with beautiful things.

Beauty can be found pretty much anywhere, I think: a garden in an otherwise bleak city block; the colors and texture of a well-put-together meal; the faces of people of all varieties and ages.  I am living in the suburbs again, in a row of look-alike houses, yet even there I find beauty in the mid-century orange brick and the artwork I collect and arrange indoors.  My partner is a beautiful man, and I have two young adult children who delight me with their creative abilities.  I am surrounded by beauty, and it makes my heart sing.

My sabbatical theme is the same as the title of this blog: “With Eyes Wide Open; Finding and Creating Beauty in the Lands of the Bible.”  For three months I will travel with drawing supplies, camera, and Ipad, and will attempt to capture beauty in every form possible.  Cooking classes will supplement the artwork and writing.  The folks back home at St. Stephens-Bethlehem United Church of Christ will find their own beauty in Western New York and will share an art show with me on my return.  Together we will feast on foods I learn to make in Middle Eastern and Mediterranean countries.  A locally-published book will contain the drawings, photos, and journal entries produced in the Holy Lands.

The United Church of Christ encourages sabbaticals for clergy, and they are routinely included in work covenants.  The church I serve is the result of two congregations that merged in 2010. Because I had already served over four years in one of the prior churches, it was decided I would be eligible for a three-month sabbatical in 2013.  A hard-working and generous planning team applied for the coveted Lilly Grant.  We received word in September 2011 that the church would receive almost $50,000 to fund my sabbatical travels and cover staff expenses in my absence.  Thus began eighteen months of waiting. 

After counting down for so many months, it’s hard to believe the journey starts in just eleven weeks.  Planning has been like an extra full-time job for the past six months or so.  Most evenings when I’m not at church, I sit at the computer and research things like the best way to get from one desert location to another or where to stay in various cities at minimal cost.  The list of things to bring along keeps getting longer, and the amount of luggage I’m advised to bring keeps getter smaller.  There’s still much to figure out, but even the planning is an exciting adventure.

My partner, Leroy, a public school teacher, is fortunate to be able to take a leave of absence so we can experience three months of international travel together.  We’re good traveling companions, but we’ve never been together twenty-four hours a day for three months!  I look forward to sharing this experience with him.

The next blog entry will be a summary of travel plans.  I’ll probably write a few more before leaving on April 1, but mostly this blog will be a way for friends, family, colleagues, and church folks at SSBUCC to follow our journey after that date.  :-)