Sabbath in the Suburbs: A Review – Cynthia Holder Rich
MaryAnn McKibben Dana’s Sabbath in the Suburbs is, by now, more than a year from its publication date, a popular and oft- read and quoted book. McKibben Dana, a PCUSA pastor, recounts a year-long experiment which she and her husband embarked on with three young children to savor life, discern a healthy pace, and have times that were set aside for Sabbath. She offers word of both joys and challenges and does not ignore those times that Sabbath either did not work or proved problematic. Her experiments and discoveries of strategies that fit into the family’s life in a major US city are celebrated and enjoyed by all. After a year, McKibben Dana has ample evidence of both the GOOD and the NEED for her family – and all families – to experience and maintain some sense of Sabbath as a requisite part of healthy and spiritually meaningful life together.
There is much to commend this book. In the life we all lead, and particularly in the season that falls on us here in US in December, being mindful about life, time, and meaning and the use of all three of these – this is a lesson that I need to learn, relearn, and rehearse time and again. It isn’t surprising that this short volume has won awards; McKibben Dana has put her finger on something that many people instinctively know is missing, something that they and their families need.
Although many experience this as a need, not many people find ways to squeeze out—or squeeze in—Sabbath. Part of this for many is laziness or a lack of imagination, surely – we are all in the routines we are in, and the changes McKibben Dana and her family undertook required work, and, at times, struggle. All change includes loss, and the McKibben Dana has pointed out, both in this book and elsewhere, that to make Sabbath a priority, some other things that are truly good will be lost. This makes for an ongoing process of visiting and revisiting the decision-making and reflective processes concerning key questions: what is Sabbath? What constitutes a Sabbath activity? What isn’t Sabbath? What is, after all, important about Sabbath, and what does this priority imply about other issues, activities, and priorities? These questions do not have easy answers, and McKibben Dana does not shy from them, turning each this way and that to find meaning and reflection that makes relevant sense for her and those she loves.
A significant obstacle for some to including Sabbath in their family schedule is the economic pressure that leads to parents working multiple low-paying jobs. The recent opening of stores on Thanksgiving meant that many people were not able to have what has been an automatic day with family devoted to rest. Those who worked that day in retail are, in the majority, those who could not afford to take a day off that offered a chance at overtime. In our discussion over the next days, I pose these kinds of challenges to MaryAnn and she offers perspective on what it means to try to keep Sabbath in a society and economy that does not value Sabbath, particularly for low-wage workers.
I highly recommend this book for individual study and reflection and for use with groups in congregations or community settings. MaryAnn has published a variety of study helps for groups – videos, study guides, and other materials, can be found at http://www.chalicepress.com/Sabbath-in-the-Suburbs-P1016C7.aspx or at www.sabbathinthesuburbs.com. Reading this book moved me to reflect on my own family’s journey and the importance of the times we set aside for rest, reflection, intentional slowing down, worship, devotions…and time away from the busyness of life. I encourage readers to get a copy of Sabbath in the Suburbs and see what it moves in you.
The Rev. MaryAnn McKibben Dana is pastor of Idylwood Presbyterian Church, a small and growing congregation in Falls Church, VA. She is a writer of numerous articles and essays, and the author of Sabbath in the Suburbs: A Family’s Experiment with Holy Time through Chalice Press. The book has been featured on PBS’s Religion & Ethics Newsweekly and in Publishers Weekly, and was named a “must read for 2013″ by Ministry Matters.
She is a frequent speaker and workshop leader around issues of spiritual formation, church leadership, and congregational transformation. She is also co-chair of NEXT Church (nextchurch.net), a movement that seeks to call forth and nurture vibrant and creative ministry in the PC(USA).
She is a proud native Texan and graduate of Rice University in Houston. She received her M.Div. in 2003 from Columbia Theological Seminary, where she received the top awards for preaching and academics. She is married to Robert Dana and has three children, Caroline, 10; Margaret, 7; and James, 5. Connect with her at her blog, The Blue Room. (theblueroomblog.org )