Surprised by... Sabbath?
Professor Dan Allender threw me for a loop when he suggested that Sabbath is meant to be both a day of delight and a day of rest.
A day of delight*?
I grew up in a church denomination where Sundays were strictly intended for going to church and “resting”. I heard stories of my great grandfather secretly washing his car in the garage on Sunday with the door closed. Grandpa feared someone might see him “working” on the Sabbath.
Sabbath, a day of delight! I couldn’t imagine what that might be like. In his book, Sabbath, Allender builds a case for beauty, delight and play instead of forced ritual. He describes Sabbath as an invitation from God to imagine what life will be like together in the coming Kingdom. Allender encourages us to explore creative ways to feast together, play together, and bless one another. How can we give and receive delight?
And, lest we forget, honoring Sabbath is one of the 10 commandments. Yet, it is the one commandment that we – and by “we” I mean “I” – literally brag about breaking. I wouldn’t think of standing around the water cooler, talking proudly about all of the things I stole in the past week or the murders I perpetrated. But my schedule? I’ll gladly elaborate about how busy I am (I have t-shirts and mugs to tell you all about it).
Sabbath delight.
What a beautiful concept to transform how we think about our relationship with God, one another and ourselves. Jewish tradition instructs us to build the foundation of our week around Sabbath, beginning three days prior to Sabbath when we think about what we are dreaming of and planning on doing together. The three days following Sabbath we simply remember, ponder, and reflect on our experience. Every day of the week is marked by Sabbath. Every day.
How does this relate to our work as fundraisers? Allow me to share the beginning of a not-so-restful story…
I remember well the day my colleagues, Cathy, Dan, and I hatched a plan to offer our major givers a special weekend to learn about Dan Allender’s teaching on Sabbath. We weren’t entirely sure how to flesh out the idea, however the categories of feast, play and blessing were already a vital part of our relationship with givers. It seemed natural to invite them to a weekend of Sabbath Delight. Our planning began with a wonderful sense of anticipation and curiosity that often comes with trying something new.
Ideas began to emerge: What if we sent everyone a simple survey ahead of time with ten questions, such as:
✍️ What author brings you delight?
🎶 What song brings you delight?
🌳 What in nature brings you delight?
‘Buried’ in those questions we asked, What food brings you delight? What dessert brings you delight? We dared to wonder, what if we could surprise each of our friends with their food delights for our final Saturday evening meal together?
I promise to share the results of our Sabbath Delight weekend in my next post.
In the meantime, consider this. We spend a lot of time learning about the people in our portfolio. Do you know what brings them delight? Oftentimes they are simple and profound. See if you can surprise them with delight from time to time.
I am praying for you as year-end fundraising efforts continue!
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I look forward to hearing about your good work.
Blessings,
