This sabbatical is proposed to enable the applicant to become an effective bridge builder, at a time when polarization is increasing in our culture, the church, and in the particular region where he ministers that is experiencing a decrease in population and institutional restructuring. The sabbatical is designed to provide theological study, spiritual reflection, and opportunities to experience different forms of church and communion.

The plan is to attend the 12-week Institute for Continuing Theological Education at the Pontifical North American College in Rome, Italy. The Institute will offer 10-weeks of lectures on a broad range of theological subjects by Roman-based university professors, a directed retreat in Assisi, and a nine-day travel opportunity to the Holy Land midway through the Institute.

The location of the sabbatical in Rome offers the opportunity to visit and witness early sites of the Christian Church before institutional divisions were formed. The Institute itself offers the applicant an environment to dialogue on the experience of church with other attendees from English-speaking countries throughout the world. The combination of studies at the Institute, retreat in Assisi, and experiences of the church in Rome and Jerusalem will provide new perspectives for the applicant's future ministry that will require positive efforts at renewing and creating new models of communion.