When I joined the Canadian Bible Society in 2002 it was with the feeling that I would never return to pastoral ministry. I felt wounded and wasn’t sure I would ever again be able to minister in a local church. But around 2010 some changes began to take place in my heart – I felt that God might be telling me that He had begun a healing process that would allow me to return to pastoral ministry. I can’t say that I felt a distinct call to return to pastoral ministry, rather it was more like God was telling me that I could. Whether I remained with the Canadian Bible Society or returned to the pastorate, He would continue to bless me. I was approaching my 65th birthday and few churches would be interested in calling a pastor that would soon be a senior citizen. What were my options?
I had heard about a training program to prepare pastors for an interim role with a church that was seeking a full-time pastor, but wanted someone to fill in till they could call their next full-time pastor. I thought this might be what I was looking for. With my training and almost 30 years of full-time vocational ministry, this could possibly be the answer to my dilemma. As soon as my training was completed, I received a couple inquiries about taking a transitional pastoral role. I wasn’t quite ready for that step. I wanted to complete 10 years with the Bible Society so I could qualify for some post-retirement benefits. Shortly after my 10 years was completed the Bible Society asked me to retire because they were downsizing. I took advantage of their offer and began to actively seek a new ministry assignment. I wasn’t completely sure that I wanted to take on an interim role, so I approached 3 churches to see if they would be interested in calling me to their staff on a part time basis.
Two might be interested, but my gifting and skill set didn’t match with their needs. Then I spoke with a pastor that I liked and greatly admired to see if his church, Cornerstone, would be interested. After a few minutes of conversation, he asked when I would be ready to start. He would like me join Cornerstone as their pastor to seniors. It seemed like a match made in heaven. There were formalities that needed to be completed – I had to be interviewed by a search team and after their recommendation, my name would be presented to the church’s Annual General Meeting for their approval. A unanimous vote confirmed the call, which I accepted.
We had begun putting down roots at West Portal Mennonite Brethren Church and Iona was somewhat reluctant to have to begin again in another church. She finally agreed that we should accept the call. We decided to join the staff on May 1, 2014. This was the beginning of February of that same year. What should we do during the intervening 3 months? We made that decision to begin attending Cornerstone to begin to get to know our new congregation. On our first Sunday, a delightful, dimpled young woman came to introduce herself to us, along with her daughter, whose name was Iona. On meeting this little girl, Iona felt that God was confirming that Cornerstone was indeed the church where we belonged and an 8-year adventure began.
What was a pastor to seniors? I had never done this sort of thing before. I had a lot to learn and God graciously opened doors for me to begin this learning. I was introduced to a man from St. Louis, Missouri named Richard Johnson, whose specialty was spiritual gerontology, this is really just a fancy way of saying ministry to seniors. I took a number of classes from him, some in person and some online. Through him I began to formulate a philosophy of ministry. There was a “55+ Committee” in operation and I told them that I would help in planning social activities, but I wanted them to take on the major responsibilities in that sort of planning. This, they readily agreed to. I made the commitment to visit each of our seniors to get to know them.
When I visited, I would bring out a note pad and told them I would ask some questions and record their answers so I wouldn’t ask them the same questions the next time we met, and I took a picture of them to keep with my files to help me recognize their faces. From Richard Johnson, I began to realize that as whole people we are all composed of physical, social, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual dimensions. I wanted our people to move toward whole, healthy lives as followers of Jesus. That meant that any activities we planned had to address one or more of those dimensions. I would like to illustrate what this meant on a practical level.
Shortly after beginning I decided I wanted to start a prayer calendar. Every month I would publish a calendar with the name of one of our seniors and encourage the entire group to take time to pray for them. That, of course, helped our people grow spiritually, but it had another benefit as well – each day I phoned the person whose name was on the calendar that day, and through that call I was able to address a social need they had of wanting to feel connected. Because I am so committed to staying in touch with the seniors of our congregation, it is a practice that I have continued after my retirement.
A friend in the congregation asked me what I was planning to do with all the pictures I had taken, and I had no answer, other than it helped me get to know who our people were. She suggested that I print a directory for the 55+ group. We found our group was growing and it was very helpful when a new person’s name was on the calendar for them to look at the directory to find out who they were praying for. I discovered that others were also making phone calls, when I would receive a call saying that Iona and I were being prayed for when our names were on the calendar. It was a concept that our entire planning committee understood and accepted. As our people were moving toward the ultimate goal of being whole, healthy followers of Jesus, I was again learning how to keep the Son in my eyes.