NEW YORK-Last Thursday, while walking a trail in Central Park, I felt so free and easy that I decided to run, rather than walk. I only ran a mile, but it was a revelation to discover that, after a 10-year vacation from running, I could still do it. On Friday, I added a second mile to my run and made a connection with faith. Many people are taking a vacation from faith. By any measure we can reasonably make-church attendance, signs of piety, strong personal ethics and workplace ethics, tithing-many people are trying to make it through life without God. I don’t believe this vacation from God will ever be sustainable or satisfying. The question is how to come home from vacation.

(Tom Ehrich is a writer, church consultant and Episcopal priest based in New York. He is the author of “Just Wondering, Jesus,” and the founder of the Church Wellness Project, http://www.churchwellness.com. His Web site is http://www.morningwalkmedia.com.)