Last year, I was looking online for grant opportunities that might help the church finances when I found information about a “pastor renewal leave grant” through Christian Theological Seminary. Able to only be awarded once in a lifetime, the grant offered to provide funds for a pastor to take time to do “what makes their heart sing.” Intrigued, I read a bit more about it and talked with our Personnel Committee and we agreed it could be a wonderful opportunity.
I wrote the grant proposal and in being asked to share what I would do if I could do anything for three months, the answer surprised me (and it will likely surprise you as well.)
I have always enjoyed gardening and wanted to do more farming, but have never really had the space to care for more. However, in the past few years, I became interested in the idea of raising snails for food.
Yep, snails. 🐌
Why snails you ask? Well,I am a huge fan of escargot and I think there is room in Southern California for us to incorporate snails into our lives more often. They are wonderful creatures and I can easily raise them in a small space. And it’s weird enough to really interest me!
Soooo, I wrote this into a grant and sent it off. And waited, waited, waited…..
Until a few months ago, when I got an email from the Seminary which announced that I had received the grant! And so, from early May until mid-August 2025 I will be visiting and working at three different snail farms in Europe…one in Crete, one in France and one in Ireland. At each of these I will learn the local principles of raising snails so that someday (after I retire!) I can raise snails locally here in San Diego to provide restaurants and neighbors with escargot.
I will also use this time to slow down and build a more patient mode of living. Heather, who will come with me and I both feel that our lives have become frantic in some ways that can interfere with our ability to connect with others and to enjoy the goodness of life, and so some of this time will be spent for me and her to read, travel and make new choices on how our lives are structured in our free time.
Molly will be serving as Lead Pastor while I am gone and I know that our staff and leadership committees will do a fantastic job of keeping everything going in my time away. I am profoundly grateful to have received this grant and look forward to sharing my learnings with you when I return. We will share more about this time as it nears, but wanted to share with you the exciting news now.
Feel free to ask me any questions, and if you’d like to read more about the grant program you can read their press release.
Sincerely,
Brent