It’s been six years since Geoffrey Piper and his family came to Marion to minister to the St. Gabriel’s Episcopal Church family. Altogether, Reverend Piper has spent 26 years doing pastoral work. His wife, Leslie, is the organist and choir director at the church. They have three children: Benjamin, Nathaniel and Katherine.
“Part of the initial contract was for a sabbatical to renew and refresh, not just for our family, but also for the congregants. It is a cohesive effort to renew both the cleric and the congregation,” said Piper.
The sabbatical will happen from Monday, May 12 through Monday, August 18 and is supported by the Eli Lilly Grant of Indiana Fund.
The sabbatical is twofold.
For the Piper family, time will be spent doing something the whole family enjoys – arranging and rehearsing a family choral repertoire, including worship music, table graces and lullabies. All of the Piper family enjoy singing, and all of the pieces on which they will work will be for five voices. The family will record these arrangements to share with the parish and the community.
The Pipers will also attend the Elsteddfod choral festival in Wales, an international event of amateur choral music.
“After World War II, the people of Elsteddfod knew that the nations were shattered and they decided that they would rebuild whatever unity they could among the nations through music,” said Piper, “and they invited choruses from Italy, Finland and across Europe … This little town in Wales sponsored this effort and now it is a global thing, with amateur choruses coming in from all over the world and we want to be there,” said Piper.
“This will make our hearts sing,” he said.
“All of my children are singers … We are a playful Von Trapp-type family. We are mostly altos and tenors, so we lack and fake the other ends of the tonal spectrum … We growl like bears to hit the low notes,” says Rev. Piper. Piper says that some of the compositions will be rewritten so they can sing it with great harmony at the coffee hour, known as ‘java jive’ at the church.
In thinking about the Bible verse ‘You prepare a table before me,’ father Geoffrey and son Nathaniel will collaborate to build a cherry shaker-design family dining table, with the intention that future Piper family members throughout the generations will sit and enjoy family time there.
Geoffrey and Leslie also plan to spend a week together in a monastic retreat and after that, just spend time together enjoying each other’s company. “This is a dream come true, being with my wife and family, together, thinking long deep thoughts, salmon fishing, journaling and exhaling … this is a dream come true sabbatical,” said Piper.
For the congregation, a parish renewal will occur during the sabbatical, with members coming together to create a ‘best spiritual practices at home’ to be distributed as a parish resource.
According to Piper, it’s like homework for the parishioners who can share how they share faith individually and with family, so others can adopt or learn from others. The focus is on how to deepen faith, hope and love in the home in the wake of soccer games and other activities that take children away from church. “This is our biggest challenge,” said Piper regarding the lower population of younger families with young children enjoying spiritual input.
Inspirational ideas for the parish families during the sabbatical include: thinking about bedtime prayers with children; special times with grandparents; marriage enrichment steps; saying grace; and taking in ‘strays’ on holidays. Also included are holiday traditions and cooking with a spiritual bent.
During the time Reverend Piper is away, visiting summer ministers include Rev. Margaret Arnold, Rev. Mark Anschutz and Rev. Ernest Cockrell. Deacon Rev. Cathy Harper will assist in the regular worship services and parish events. Parishioners are encouraged to listen, hear and be open to these accomplished ministers who will give different, individual takes on spiritual issues. Hearing and digesting these different sermons are a big part of the sabbatical. Attendees are encouraged to take notes and participate in the ‘coming together’ at the end of the sabbatical regarding the interim change taking place.
In the fall, there will be multiple gatherings to share what was learned during the sabbatical and renewal.
“We will do a ‘show and tell’ in the fall to show off our choral repertoire and all the great work the parish has done. It will be a re-gathering to celebrate where we are and where we go from here,” said Piper.
By Joan Hartnett-Barry
