While Father Nigel Taber-Hamilton traces the roots of Christianity and the Anglican Church through five countries this fall, his parishioners at St. Augustine’s-in-the-Woods Episcopal Church in Freeland will take a virtual tour along with their pastor through e-mails, lectures and discussion groups.

Taber-Hamilton is taking a unique sabbatical that will include the folks back home.

Called “Reclaiming the Past,” the sabbatical period is from August through October.

Taber-Hamilton embarked this week on the seven-week pilgrimage to Great Britain, Israel, Greece, Turkey and Italy.

“The program is a time of renewal that has the potential for growth as pilgrims journeying together toward a common future,” Taber-Hamilton said.

During this period, the congregation will be taking a virtual trip, covering the same ground and topics through a series of Sunday sermons and forums as well as weekly lectures.

The congregation and Taber-Hamilton will make the spiritual journey hand in hand, aided by Web blogs, digital photos, e-mails and resource materials. Through frequent e-mail communication with him, parishioners will have many opportunities to ask questions or to send comments.

The congregation will retrace its Anglican roots by studying ancient and medieval foundations, examining the Reformation and its consequences, and reflecting on today’s global Anglican Church.

“We are seeking to re-imagine who we are as an Episcopal congregation and plan for who we want to be as a gathered community of Christians,” Taber-Hamilton said.

The second phase of the sabbatical involves Taber-Hamilton’s two-week retreat at a Benedictine monastery, where he will reflect on the experiences of the previous seven weeks.

At that same time, retreat leaders will lead the St. Augustine’s congregation through two Saturday retreats, followed by Sunday sermons and forums that focus on New Testament biblical themes related to their own seven-week journey.

In the sabbatical’s final stage, the pastor will spend two weeks in the Washington D.C. area for independent study on congregational development — a time echoed at St. Augustine’s by two Saturday workshops and sermons on the topic of congregational systems and development.

Episcopal Bishop Nedi Rivera joined the congregation for a celebratory “commissioning” of the sabbatical program on Aug. 1.

At the sabbatical’s conclusion in November, another commissioning will take place as the congregation moves into the second part of the sabbatical’s title: “Remaking the Future.” In this post-sabbatical period, the congregation’s ongoing mission will be to continue to root itself in the liturgical and spiritual past, improve its ability to function as a supportive — and inclusive — South Whidbey congregation.

The sabbatical is funded with a $45,000 grant from the National Clergy Renewal Program, which is supported by the Indianapolis-based Lilly Endowment, Inc.

This year, St. Augustine’s is one of 124 congregations across the country that will support their clergy in the program, which allows pastors to step back from their busy parish lives and renew their spirits for the sake of their ongoing ministries.

Each congregation is eligible to apply for a grant of up to $45,000. As much as $15,000 of that amount can be used to fulfill pastoral duties during the clergy’s absence and for expenses related to the congregation’s own renewal.

This year, the Lilly Endowment’s recipient congregations come from 37 states and the District of Columbia (the Endowment administers a separate program for Indiana congregations), that represent 16 Christian denominations. There have been 631 previous grantees.

Gayle Saran can be reached at 221-5300 or gsaran@southwhidbeyrecord.com.