Saturday’s mail included a letter from our church pastor
announcing her decision to retire effective mid June. One month away. After
that she will be gone! Gone!
We have attended this church for 10 years. This is the first
time I’ve had a woman pastor. This experience has been magical. She is down to
earth, fully human, humble and fully able to express herself honestly to all
who will listen.
Her faith and theology is accessible and she doesn’t judge
others in their faith journey either. She knows each of us slogs the path at
different paces and with varying results of intellectual analysis and
acceptance. I’m stuck in a rudimentary stage and that’s OK with her. She
respects each of our journeys. She is there – or has been there – to assist us
as we encounter rocks and ditches along the path.
And laughter has been rich and frequent. Nothing soothes the
way as well as a good laugh.
Pastor came to her calling and seminary late in life. She
was ordained at 50, came to our church at 53 and has served us for
12 years. That makes her 65 later this year and as she contemplated downsizing
her home and buying a small condo until she wrestled with her retirement plans,
someone came through the door and bought her house quickly.
So she had to either buy or rent another place or
make the break and retire now.
She is at a natural point in life to make this decision and
opted for retirement. After a few months of rest and relaxation – and
meditation – she will decide on whether to re-engage the ministry part time, or be a temporary pastor for other churches while they are searching
for a new minister. Most likely she will be a visitation pastor part time
ministering to shut ins, elderly and the sick. Those are the quiet folk of each
congregation who require a lot of time and energy from church staff. How our
minister has done all of that, managed the church, and served as officiate and
preacher on Sundays is a mystery to me.
I’ve heard people complain about her absence on some Sundays
thinking she is resting or taking a vacation. No; she was attending to family
business, taking church youth on a retreat, traveling with the confirmation
class on a mission trip, or at a conference/retreat that trained her to better
handle our congregational needs. I’ve never observed a more demanding job as
hers. 24/7/365 is fully defined by today’s modern pastorship. How anyone can
survive the onslaught of need of others is a marvel to me. Exhausting, truly.
Rewarding, very.
She is someone you love very much for just who she is. A
person of love and caring that sometimes takes your breath away. Meaning,
depth, insight, caring. All wrapped up in one package. What a delight. I’ve
actually looked forward to church meetings knowing she would be there. And that
just got me more involved in the church and its work.
Funny thing is the work wasn’t work; the effort was not
labored; the laughter and sense of forward progress was real and refreshing.
I know she ministered to our needs acutely. I just wonder if
we ministered to hers?
I hope so. Even so, I miss her already and wonder how we
will cope. Her time with us surely has trained us to cope with her absence. And
maybe it is our time to learn that truth and relish in it. For her ministry to
us has been successful. I think we are up to her standards of truth, caring,
and serving each other. So I know we shall manage this critical change very well. She has taught us well to do so!
Shalom Pastor Wende. Shalom!
May 17, 2016
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