Being “spiritual” doesn’t necessarily mean being quiet and reflective. In my twenty years of ministry in exclusively white (my first two churches) and predominately white churches (my current church, St. Andrews Presbyterian Church) I have always found my spiritual batteries recharged by shared work and worship with neighboring African-American churches. I would like to spend my sabbatical immersed in both the African American church and in the African church. My intention is to spend time listening to and learning from friends in three places – at sister churches in my own community (Mt. Moriah Baptist and Hillside Presbyterian, two churches with which St. Andrews has ongoing partnerships); at one of Charlotte, North Carolina’s largest African American churches, St Paul Baptist, where I would live with and “shadow” their pastor my good friend, Greg Moss, for a week; and in South Africa where my family and I could reconnect with a Maake Masongo who was sponsored by St Andrews while he was in the US pursuing his degree. Maake served as the moderator of the Presbyterian Church in South Africa and has numerous contacts throughout the country. This experience will help me serve a church that is looking to better reflect its own diverse community.