Forming Faith

Where is faith formed? Hopefully, a faith community comes to mind when we ask this question. As a congregation, we work hard to offer experiences for people of all ages to learn and grow in their faith at Trinity. But do we limit our imagination that faith formation only happens at church? Sometimes we might fall in this trap. Faith isn’t formed just at church. The Holy Spirit is at work everywhere and in all places.

This summer I am grateful to receive the gift of a sabbatical from June 8-August 2. I am looking forward to extra time with my family, the chance to travel to see friends, and time to rest and renew gardening and exploring the bike trails of North Iowa.
During this time away, I will also be spending time in study.

My focus is exploring faith formation in the home, and wondering how we as the church can best equip parents and grandparents to model and form faith in their own homes and in the rhythms of their busy schedules. My study will be looking holistically at how both the church and home can work in tandem and are essential places where faith can be modeled and passed down. I am planning conversations with a variety of pastors and youth leaders from different denominations to learn best practices and philosophies around faith formation in the home. I am also participating in a yearlong youth ministry cohort at Grand View University called Faith Forward, exploring this same question. I am excited to see where this study leads over the next year and will report back this fall on my learnings from the summer.

I do not take Sabbatical for granted and am deeply grateful for this eight-week time of renewal Trinity offers its pastors every four years. I will be away from the office and contact during my sabbatical so will not be monitoring email until I return. This July marks the 10th Anniversary of my ordination. I am grateful for this time to rest and learn as I look ahead to the next 10 years of ministry.

Peace,

Pastor Daniel Hanson Sabbatical

Pastor Daniel will be on sabbatical from June 8–August 2 as part of Trinity’s commitment to renewal and ongoing learning for its pastors. Each pastor at Trinity is provided an 8-week sabbatical for every four years of service at TLC. During this time, he will spend time resting with family, traveling, and renewing through study focused on faith formation in the home—exploring how churches can better equip parents and grandparents to nurture faith in everyday life. Daniel will also connect with pastors and ministry leaders from various traditions as part of this learning journey. We give thanks for Daniel’s ministry and pray this will be a meaningful time of rest, renewal, and growth.

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