Virginia Episcopalian Magazine Fall 2012 Issue | Page 28

Parallel Journeys in Wellness for Pastor and Parish
Maude Hales
In January of 2011, the vestry of Church of the Holy Cross,
Dunn Loring approved a sabbatical for its rector, the Rev. Wes
Smedley. Smedley, ordained in 2002, applied for and received
a prestigious Lilly Endowment clergy renewal grant to fund
what he called a program of “Feasting on Health and Joy: A
Sabbath Discipline.” The sabbatical plan focused on physical,
emotional and spiritual health and included a combination of
education, training and travel.

Smedley began his sabbatical time focusing on his
physical wellbeing by embarking on a program of fasting and
nutrition counseling at TrueNorth Health Center in Santa Rosa,
Calif., and through a series of classes on nutrition and physical
training near his home in Fairfax County.

The sabbatical program included time to connect with
his family and friends during two weeks of travel with his wife
and two daughters to the Pacific Northwest and Hawaii.
Smedley also consulted with a spiritual advisor and practiced
yoga, meditation and a discipline of daily prayer and reading.
He concluded his 14-week program with five nights in
Richmond Hill, an urban monastic retreat center in Richmond.

“The renewal program was a gift of time not simply to
rest, but to practice wholeheartedness in the crucial elements
of daily life that I tend to neglect the most: food, family
relationships, body and prayer,” said Smedley. “The deeper I
engaged with the spirituality of food and the care of the body,
the more I began to realize how disembodied my own faith in
God had become.”

But the focus on wellness wasn’t limited to just the rector.
As Smedley embarked on his sabbatical, the congregation
of Holy Cross also entered a time of physical and spiritual
renewal. The sabbatical plan approved by the Lilly Endowment
provided funding for a series of programs for the parish that
paralleled Smedley’s activities. The congregation participated

in cooking and nutrition classes led by the nutritionist with
whom their rector was working. Three sets of yoga classes,
including family yoga, were offered, allowing the broadest
range of church members to participate, and spiritual
discernment and meditation classes were held at the church.
All of these programs were free to anyone in the congregation
who chose to participate.

The parish also held a “One Parish, One Book” program
using Practicing Our Faith by Dorothy Bass, hosting book
club meetings in members’ homes and discussions on
Sunday mornings between services. A two-part program on
labyrinths, which included field trips to walk nearby labyrinths,
rounded out the congregational offerings.

A special feature of the sabbatical events was the
celebration of leave-taking and return. The parish held a
farewell picnic to send their rector off and a slightly more
formal welcome back celebration. In addition, Smedley hosted
a special gathering of staff and church leaders in his home,
preparing a fabulous meal with his new healthy cooking skills.

“We weren’t sitting around waiting for Wes to return,”
said Cynthia Anthony, a parishioner who participated in yoga
and meditation classes. “We were moving forward with our
own renewal programs.” Smedley returned to a parish that
was energized and engaged, and had a common language
with which to discuss the experiences of sabbatical.

“The sabbatical routine of down-to-earth practices
that grounded me in the care of the body – my own and my
family’s – opened me to a new understanding of the church as
a body that requires similar practices that ground us, and that
we neglect at our own peril,” said Smedley. “And to know my
church community was receiving a similar care of body and
soul gave great joy.” t

Dominique Hoffman of Zizania Nutrition Education and Coaching
teaches Holy Cross parishioners knife skills and new recipes during
a cooking class offered at the church.
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Virginia Episcopalian / Fall 2012