Blessed Earth, an educational nonprofit founded by Tyndale House Publishers authors Matthew and Nancy Sleeth, was recently awarded a nearly $1.5 million grant to work with churches and seminaries on Sabbath-living practices in the next three years. 

Awarded by the Duke Endowment, the grant will “help clergy and their congregations step back from the demands of our 24/7 world and begin adopting healthier, more balanced 24/6 lives,” said Matthew Sleeth, executive director of Blessed Earth and a former emergency room (ER) doctor.

The Blessed Earth grant will enable the organization to focus on partnering with the nearly 2000 United Methodist congregations in North Carolina, where the Duke Endowment is based. In addition, Blessed Earth will be hosting conferences, workshops and retreats in cooperation with seminaries in North Carolina and throughout the country.

Dr. Sleeth says that this three-year grant will “provide a unique opportunity to track how the weekly rhythm of work and rest impacts issues such as stress, depression and burnout.” One important goal of the program is to develop a model that can be shared with congregations throughout the country.

This message is consistent with Dr. Sleeth’s message in his book 24/6: A Prescription for a Healthier, Happier Life, wherein he uses his experience as an ER physician to identify the need to slow down and honor the Sabbath to counteract the physical, emotional, relational and spiritual toll of our 24/7 busyness. He contends that, in the U.S., we are slaves to technology and frenetic lifestyles and are suffering as a culture because of it. Sleeth shares how his family was transformed by adopting Sabbath practices and provides practical advice for readers who wish to do the same.

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