By Rev. Bruce G. Epperly, Ph.D.
Despite the fact that many of us haven’t been in seminary for forty years and our children are grown up, September still signals “back to school.” If we were congregational pastors, university chaplains, or campus ministers, we can recall the mad rush of late August and early September, getting ready for “Rally Day,” planning the faith formation program, and readying ourselves for the beginning of the “church year,” not in Advent but practically speaking in September. It’s not as if we were off duty all summer, but with the coming of September, we need to gather our wits and inspiration, plan our fall sermons, ensure a consistent group of teachers for church school, or children’s faith formation, and get the new year underway.
As both a university chaplain and congregational minister, I always greeted September with a mix of excitement and anxiety. I think the tension of the new year has only increased in the wake of Covid for congregational pastors and those of us “retired” or “flexibly-employed” ministers, who are still involved in the ministries of the church. In my own professional life of over forty-five years joining pulpit and classroom, the anticipation of the new year was always in invitation to continue my professional and theology education and explore new ideas and activities.
Jimmy Carter once said that the two most creative times in a person’s life were the first year of college and the first years of retirement. In both cases, the future is wide open. Novel vistas beckon. We can explore and experiment with new ways of life and self-definition. In describing his spiritual guide Francis of Assisi, Thomas of Celano asserted that Francis was “always new, always fresh, always beginning again.” That description lures us forward toward our own visions of new life in retirement. While issues of health can set limits on the shape of our creativity, retirement is often a truly creative time for pastors. We can stay fresh as we begin new projects and embark on new journeys of geography and generativity. Without the responsibilities of church administration, weekly preaching, and congregational politics, we can chart new courses that will energize what has been described as the “third act” of our lives.
Singer songwriter Jimmy Buffet is known for the phrase, “changes in attitudes, changes in latitudes.” While not suggesting “wasting away in Margaritaville” as the antidote to aging, medical scientists have identified the connection between physical and intellectual activity, including travel, study, reading, exercise, volunteerism, and continuing creativity, with healthy aging and enhanced recovery from illness. Created in the image of God, we are made for creativity. We are created for movement and activity, even if our physical condition is limited.
I have found that the happiest and most fulfilled members of the Medicare generation, my contemporaries, are people committed to being “always new, always fresh, always beginning again.” Life holds new horizons and possibilities. Speaking in his own time, the apostle Paul affirms, “So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day.” (2 Corinthians 4:16) Paul’s words are true for us. God is quietly moving in our lives, calling us forward with new possibilities for growth and service, appropriate to our life circumstances. God is inviting us to be new creations, for God’s mercies are new every morning. (Lamentations 3:22-23) The limits of aging are real, and so are the possibilities.
While I have found retired United Church of Christ pastors to be an intellectually lively and activist community, I think it is important as a matter of spiritual adventuring to reflect on questions such as:
On my morning walks near our home in Potomac, Maryland, I occasionally run into other predawn walkers, most of whom are my contemporaries in age. I often have a ritualized greeting. When asked how I’m doing, I respond, “I woke up. Who knows what will happen next?” That is a good motto as we look ahead open to growth and experimentation. Let us move forward, guided by new horizons, committed to learning and exploring, always open to the call, “Back to School.”
