On June 22, 2009, I begin a sabbatical from my duties at the Church of Our Father. The sabbatical begins with a month-long retreat at a Jesuit house in Gloucester, Massachusetts. Under the guidance of a Spiritual Director, I will be doing the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola.

The purpose of the Exercises is to discover God's will for one's life, and to remove obstacles that hinder one's progress in fulfilling God's will. One author has written of the Exercises that they "were designed to transform a man's life"-- with members of the Society of Jesus, male Jesuits, in mind. "They were used primarily to make missionaries... to bring men into conformity with God's will and to help men make decisions without reference to self-will."

From August 1 to September 30 I will be working with the Anglican Diocese of Tabora, Tanzania. The South American Missionary Society (SAMS) has accepted me into the Bridger program. Bridgers are interns serving on short-term missions of more than a month but less than one year.

What is a SAMS missionary doing in Africa (you might be asking)? SAMS's focus remains South and Central America. But there are SAMS missionaries serving in Spain; about 8 SAMS missionaries in Uganda; and the current Bishop of Madagascar is a SAMS missionary.

Why am I doing this? What am I looking for, and what led to this decision? People who have known me for any length of time have heard me say that the Church of Jesus Christ is by definition a missionary Church, and every member of the Church is called to be engaged in missions. By missions, I mean a marriage of service and evangelistic witness in obedient response to God's mission, his calling and sending.

The working definition used by the New Wineskins Missionary Network is "Any cross-cultural endeavor outside your local congregation to obey the Great Commission by proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ, making disciples, and gathering those disciples into local churches." In his autobiographical Unfinished Agenda (1985), the missionary bishop Lesslie Newbigin defined missions as "enterprises explicitly intended to cross the frontier between faith and no-faith."

Some of us are called to support missionaries with prayer and financial support. More of us than we suppose are called to serve as missionaries. I have "talked the talk," and by now I've tentatively "walked the walk" by participating in two 2-week medical missions. The gift of this sabbatical time allows me to participate for a longer time in the evangelistic mission of an East African diocese. I hope when I return to the parish I will be able to communicate more clearly how missions, so defined, is a part of the whole mission of the whole Church.

When my seminary classmate Sadock Makaya first invited me-- after he became Bishop of Tabora in 2005-- he said he wanted me to teach in the diocesan Bible college. Other than that, the answers to the question, "What will you do in Tanzania?" will have to wait until after I am there. My appointed Tanzanian mentor, Father Elias Chakupewa, writes, "We have plenty of work for you to do and you will be involved in many things including visiting churches in the villages."

My training with the South American Missionary Society (SAMS) has impressed upon me that, for a short-term mission of this kind, being is more important than doing. I will particicpate in the life of my host Church in Tanzania. I hope to gain an understanding of, and appreciation for, the local culture, and help African Christians understand ours. I will try to be attentive to signs of God's mighty, merciful hand at work in the midst of heartbreaking poverty, and to depend on the leading of the Holy Spirit.

I have been corresponding with a Church of England priest who is familiar with Tabora. He writes, "You'll need to be resilient [when going to the remote areas]... i.e., no electricity, running water, or recognizable furniture, but a brilliant way of engaging with the Gospel in an uncluttered context."

The lay leadership and members of the Church of Our Father in Hulls Cove, Maine, are supporting me in this endeavor. They have allowed me a four-month sabbatical from my duties as rector of the parish, including the mission itself. They have prayed with me for discernment before the decision to go on this 2-month mission, and they have contributed financially.

With their help I am well on my way to raising the money for this internship. I am contributing from my own funds (that is, God's money, entrusted to me). If you would like to make a contribution of any amount toward my ministry in Tabora, log on to http://www.sams-usa.org/, click on "Missionaries" and then "SAMS Missionary interns." Scroll down to my mug shot (The Rev. Chuck Bradshaw) and follow the prompts for contributing online.

I look forward to sharing God's love with the people I go to serve and I thank you very much for supporting this rare opportunity for me. Via this blog I will share this experience with interested readers.