The program invites congregations and ministers to consider and plan a period of "intentional reflection and renewal." It provides a time for ministers to step away from their daily obligations and gain the fresh perspective and renewed energy that a carefully considered "sabbatical time" of travel, study, rest, and prayer can provide.
The objective of Pastor Nelson's sabbatical is two-fold. Pastor and Mrs. Nelson will tour Europe for two months visiting sites significant to their Lutheran Christian heritage, as well as their family roots. This will include visiting cathedrals, museums and galleries of several European cities, as well as sites of their family roots in the countryside of Sweden and Germany's Black Forest. Pastor Nelson will also further his informal study of hate groups, past and present, by touring museums and sites related to the holocaust, and seeking opportunities to visit informally with a rapidly diminishing population of those who lived under the Third Reich. He will also use the opportunity to observe some movements in contemporary Europe of groups who spread their message of hate among youth through "White Power" music, a movement that is gaining a foothold in the United States as well.
Their itinerary will take them to Germany, Switzerland, Italy, France, England, Poland and Scandinavia.
The proposed travel will provide renewal for Pastor and Mrs. Nelson and also equip him as a valuable resource for Christ Lutheran Church, the Libby community and other congregations and communities of the Northwest.
