Heritage Column for September 29, 2005
By Fred Anderson
For a century or so the word “sabbatical” has meant “absence from duty for the purposes of study and travel.” Even earlier there was the connotation that it referred to an experience “of the nature of a Sabbath or personal rest.” Mosaic Law spoke of a seventh year to be observed “as a Sabbath.”
Sometimes churches grant sabbaticals to ministers. It certainly is a concept relished by academicians. As readers of this column know, this columnist was granted a three-month sabbatical in observance of his 25th anniversary with the Historical Society and his fifth as founding director of the Heritage Center. It has been a joy which will not soon vanish.
I could have spent the summer in a quiet corner of God's beautiful world doing nothing except twiddling thumbs. Instead with the help of many persons my wife and I planned a season of travel, new experiences, visits to libraries and time with valued friends.
We spent three weeks in Italy among the Baptists with whom Virginia Baptists are in a missions partnership. We visited in homes and established new friendships. At one church we arrived just as the membership was to go into an “assembly” or business meeting. The question regarded continuing the pastorate of our host. Among the Italian Baptists there is a general agreement that churches will rotate their pastors with a maximum tenure of about 15 years. The pastor would have moved to the largest Baptist church in Italy, but she also knew that it would disrupt the life of her teenage son. The membership was in favor of extending her pastorate, but they also were concerned about how the decision reflected upon the larger body within the Union.
We excused ourselves during the business session and sat in the courtyard. With no air-conditioning the windows were open and we could hear the animated conversation which extended for about two hours. Of course it was all in Italian; and although we could not understand a word, we recognized emotions. It was interesting to witness from the sidelines a Baptist democracy not too far different from the ones we know at home. In the end, the congregation voted for the pastor to remain.
It was an unusual congregation composed of about half native Italians and half Nigerians who had moved to Italy. Many of the Nigerian women wore African headdress. During the long business session, I watched as two Nigerian boys were struggling over which one would ride the one tricycle. Like children anywhere, the older boy kept pushing away the younger. I intervened and gave the younger boy the pleasure of a long ride.
Baptist life is similar. We have more diversity among the many churches and families of Baptists than one might think and occasionally someone needs to referee, keeping one from pushing away the other and enabling everyone to have a ride.
On our own (accompanied by good friends from Virginia) we spent several days in Salzburg and enjoyed the companionship of Erika and Graham Lange, who are known to many Virginia Baptists for their participation in the former Austrian missions partnership. Graham walked us about his beloved city. He showed us the site beside the Catholic cathedral where Anabaptists were put to death for their faith. The sabbatical was a time for remembering our faith heritage.
There were spiritual highlights. In Naples we were in a church guest house. One day some strangers were in the kitchen. I wondered who they were and why they were there and quite frankly I felt apprehensive. I remembered hearing the Italian Baptists singing, How Great Thou Art in their language and so I began humming that familiar tune. All of a sudden the strangers turned around and began singing the hymn in their language and with great operatic voices. They were Romanians who had come to Italy in search of a better life.
I looked into their worn faces and realized that these strangers whom I thought were to be feared were really fellow believers. We shared the same Lord. I also realized anew how appreciative I should be that I was born in a land of freedom and opportunity.
We learned a new word during the days in Italy. We were placed in “foresterias” which are guest quarters. I learned that the word was of ancient origin and referred to a place of refuge for strangers; and in the old days, these places usually were beyond the city walls. We were strangers in a foreign land. For a little while, we depended upon the hospitality of others.
It also was in Naples that we experienced a great blessing. My wife suddenly became ill and we needed to move from the foresteria. Anna Maffei, our host and the leader of Italian Baptists, came with medicine in hand and arranged for the Sisters of St. Bridgett to take us into their convent high atop a mountain overlooking Naples. Nancy soon recovered.
From beginning to end, the sabbatical was proof of those words: Jehovah provides!
Fred Anderson is executive director of the Virginia Baptist Historical Society and o the Center for Baptist Heritage and Studies. He may be reached at P.O. Box 34, University of Richmond, VA 23173.