Sabbath Leave Program
- Application Packet*
- Example Proposal and Budgets
- Example Informational Brochure for Congregations*
- Budget, Lodging, and Other Planning Helps
- Policies and Procedures
View an informational video on the Sabbath Leave Program (Windows Media Player required): Full version (222 Mb), Shorter version for broadband (16.5 Mb), Shorter version for dial-up (5.21 Mb)
The Sabbath Leave Program provides pastors with opportunities for spiritual, emotional, physical and intellectual renewal while spending time on Samford University's campus.
Participating ministers work with Resource Center staff to craft regenerative, self-directed programs of Sabbath leave. Academic resources include undergraduate, liberal arts, business and physical and teacher education programs, as well as courses offered by Beeson Divinity School.
Pastors complete a Sabbath Leave Project of their own choosing, from research and writing to artistic composition. Ministers may apply for study leaves as short as two weeks or sabbaticals as long as three months. Sabbath leave stipends up to $6,000 are available, and matching financial or in-kind support is required of sponsoring congregations.
To facilitate and learn from the Sabbath Leave Program, collaborative covenants between pastors, congregations and the Resource Center for Pastoral Excellence are necessary. To this end, designated lay liaisons are an important part of the Sabbath leave process.
Sabbath leaves are open to ministers of any age, race, sex or denomination.
Deadlines for submission of Sabbath Leave Proposals in 2008 are February 1, June 1, and October 1.
If you would like to invest in the life of a minister through a donation to the Sabbath Leave Program, it
is easy to do through Samford's on-line donation page. Simply enter your information in the spaces provided, and choose "Other, please specify," next to the line that states, "Apply my contribution to this Fund, and type "RCPE Sabbath Leave Program," in the "Other Fund" box.
Selection Committee Members
J. Thompson Brown, Canon Emeritus, Cathedral Church of the Advent
and RCPE Pastoral Consultant
Sondra Coleman, Pastor, St. Luke AME Zion Church
Rodney Franklin, Pastor, First Congregational United Church of Christ
Denise Mullaney, Assistant to the Bishop,
North Alabama Conference of the United Methodist Church
Michael Wilson, Program Director, Resource Center for Pastoral Excellence
*This document is in Adobe Acrobat format. The Adobe Acrobat Reader is available as a free download. If you experience problems, please e-mail support@samford.edu.
