After serving 17 years as pastor at NSUMC, Susumu Ando reflects on the events and experiences that have culminated in a sabbatical leave and his departure at the end of June. He sees clearly that what seemed to be separate occurrences were actually very much interconnected.

“The theme is wholeness,” Susumu explained. “The Scripture that God gave me is the Great Commandment: Love God with your whole heart, whole mind, whole soul, and whole strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. This is why I strongly feel that God is calling me to a new ministry.”

In 2009, the first time that Susumu went to a Centering Prayer Retreat (in Snowmass, CO), his eyes were opened to the importance of not only praying to God, but listening to God, feeling God’s presence in silent meditation. “I began to practice centering prayer daily, and went back for a second retreat.”

At about the same time as his first retreat, the United Methodist Church offered its pastors the Virgin Health Miles program to encourage them in their physical fitness.

“We were given pedometers to carry in order to track our exercise. Until that time I had been exercising only once a week by playing golf and walking instead of taking a cart. I thought that was good enough, but the pedometer showed me, ‘No, that’s not enough,’ that I had to do something every day. I started running. I realized that body and mind can’t be separated. I started to do more every day, and I also resumed yoga, which I had done previously. Six years later, I still have a pedometer, an upgrade of several generations. I keep it in my pocket and it registers all my steps every day.

“On my vacation after Christmas 2011, Amazon Prime offered a free month. I was happy to take advantage because I like movies. By ‘accident’ I found the documentary Forks over Knives which opened my eyes about the importance of nutrition. I learned so much from it, and throughout 2012, I studied nutrition. I became a vegetarian (my wife was already), and the next year I found the courage to become vegan. Initially, I was scared to take that step, but when I went to Vegetarian Summerfest near Pittsburgh in July, I met many vegans, heard many personal testimonies about the positive impact on their health and overall wellness, and learned of many resources, including delicious recipes.

“A few months later in early 2014, Deborah Keller brought me information about The Daniel Plan with its five key elements—Faith, Focus, Food, Fitness, Friends—heart, mind, soul, strength, all related. We cannot separate them. The Daniel Plan seemed like an ‘amazing coincidence.’ It fit perfectly with what I was learning and realizing about body, mind, and spirit. Western culture separates heart, mind, body, and strength. We go to gym for fitness, for our spirituality or faith we go to church. No! We cannot separate them.

“Last summer we had a church movie night to watch Forks Over Knives. Having watched it several times and reading more about the science behind it, I felt that God was asking me, ‘What are you doing about it?’ I had thought I was on a spiritual journey, but looking back I see the theme of wholeness. When you talk about spirituality you cannot separate heart, mind, soul, and body. All are interconnected.

“The documentary Cowspiracy opened my eyes to the second commandment, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ My neighbors are not only people, but also animals and all of God’s creations. When I started learning about a plant-based diet, I was thinking mainly about my health. The more I learn about animal agriculture’s impact on climate change, I see how important it is for the environment too. I didn’t realize how interrelated everything is: global warming, the environment, pollution, many species becoming extinct, more dramatically than ever before. Now more than ever before we need good stewardship of what God created.

“I felt that God was calling to me to tell others. That’s why I wrote an article for The Vision (the monthly newsletter of the New York Annual Conference; Susumu’s article, Food Chain: We Are Comfortably Unaware, appeared in the February, 2015, issue).

“Some people are offended, or don’t like it. That’s okay. It’s imperative that I tell people. We have a responsibility to preserve this planet for the farmers in India or Bangladesh who are losing their land to the sea. That’s a reality. Whether people believe in climate change or not, that is happening. We also have to preserve the planet for our children and grandchildren, and all future generations. For the rest of my life I think I need to do this. In order to do this wholeness, God created us human beings to become stewards of the temple of the Holy Spirit.

“I don’t want to waste a moment. Requesting a sabbatical gives me one year for further study, to learn how to effectively put it all together, the gift that I have, and to tell people.”

What are Susumu’s specific plans for his sabbatical year and after?

“It is amazing how God has been guiding me. I am applying for the Green Faith Fellowship program, which is a perfect match for what I want to do. The Long Island Council of Churches will be my sponsor. If I am accepted I will be trained for 18 months to be a leader in religious environmentalism. Most of the training involves required reading and study that you do independently, but there are three three-day retreats to meet, discuss, learn, and bond with others in the program.”

Susumu will also take an online course for a certificate in plant-based nutrition through Cornell University. The six-week course is designed by T. Colin Campbell, author of The China Study, and has three parts, each two weeks in length.

Susumu has applied to attend another 10-day Centering Prayer Retreat and is on the waiting list. Father Richard Rohr of the Center of Action and Contemplation offers a seven-week online course, The Franciscan Way, that interests him. He has collected books and articles on plant-based nutrition, spirituality, and other pertinent topics that he wants to study; also websites, programs, and people to visit, and other sources of information and action. He plans to schedule two personal silent retreats, one month each time, when he will stay at their house in the Poconos, turn off his cell phone and other electronics and only speak with Yuri.

He would like to visit Save the Earth Foundation in California, a leader in environmental projects since the 1970s, and also the Sacramento Food Bank and Family Services, which is changing the way that food banks traditionally operate. By creating partnerships with local farmers, they offer clients a large amount of fresh vegetables like carrots, kale, squash, spinach, tomatoes, and whatever else is in season. The “family services” provided include clothing, health screening, education in parenting, finance, housing, and employment opportunities.
The very first thing that Susumu will do after his last sermon on June 14, and cleaning out his office, is to study more memorization tips and techniques by memory expert Ron White who provided the techniques that have helped him to memorize scripture. Of particular interest to Susumu are tips for memorizing people’s names, and how to read books faster while retaining what you are reading. “Those two things will help me with everything else I am planning.”

And after the year’s sabbatical, what’s next?

“I don’t know. It’s in God’s Hands. I’m a pastor. Will I be assigned to another church? Or will God open another door that enables me to reach more people with this message? Maybe doing something for ministers to help them take care of themselves, lower their blood pressure, eat healthily. I have no idea, but I’m trusting God so that’s the whole thing. Wholeness is God’s love. Everything’s bottom line is God’s love. Bishop Middleton read my sabbatical proposal, and responded encouragingly to my article, but her appointment as interim bishop is temporary and she will be leaving.

“I feel excited at the possibilities, and yes, I have fear too. Concerns about money, living on one salary with loans to pay back, what job I will have. It’s a similar situation to what I felt before I decided to go to seminary. But I focus on what’s exciting, more than on the worries. This one year is a good investment for all the other years that I might live. I’m trusting in God.”

by Diane Burkhardt