Thanks for these reflections, Todd. As you might know, I'm 75, in part-time ministry with Brentwood Presbyterian Church in Burnaby, BC, coordinating the congregation's connections with the jazz community as well as with our immediate neighbours is the rapidly-densifying neighbourhood of North Burnaby, and just feeling I'm hitting my stride in contributing to the missioning of the congregation through its connections to its expanding networks of inspiration and influence. So, let's get rid of the simplistic ageism that some of our presbytery colleagues want to impose on us and take a serious look at what configuration of leadership serves the congregation's flourishing best. Thanks for presenting the issue for consideration.
Whenever I see ads for retirement I see a marketing ploy aimed at a chapter of society that is often making difficult choices. What to do after retirement can be a very difficult decision and retirement ads can offer solutions to a questioning client…for a price.
Seeing our working years as a vocation is a much healthier perspective.
Whether we are serving hamburgers or building skyscrapers we can see our work as a contribution. I looked on all three of my careers as a contribution and in my mind I never did “retire”. If our vocation is to spread love there is no need to retire!
Well put. The retirement industry has contributed to the idea that we ought to aim for a kind of self-focussed leisure. Your comment is a reminder that vocation contributes to wellness and to society as a whole.
A very dear spiritual teacher of mine who has since passed on used to say, "Never retire!" What he meant is what you point out about vocation versus a job. Once we know our vocation, it is our work of love and we don't want to stop. We might change our schedule or how we provide our service, but we don't stop doing it. And isn't it funny that society has it set up that just when a person attains wisdom and seniority, we put them out to pasture and rely on the young ones to handle things while they go through the process of learning what the older folks already learned.
Thanks for these reflections, Todd. As you might know, I'm 75, in part-time ministry with Brentwood Presbyterian Church in Burnaby, BC, coordinating the congregation's connections with the jazz community as well as with our immediate neighbours is the rapidly-densifying neighbourhood of North Burnaby, and just feeling I'm hitting my stride in contributing to the missioning of the congregation through its connections to its expanding networks of inspiration and influence. So, let's get rid of the simplistic ageism that some of our presbytery colleagues want to impose on us and take a serious look at what configuration of leadership serves the congregation's flourishing best. Thanks for presenting the issue for consideration.
Whenever I see ads for retirement I see a marketing ploy aimed at a chapter of society that is often making difficult choices. What to do after retirement can be a very difficult decision and retirement ads can offer solutions to a questioning client…for a price.
Seeing our working years as a vocation is a much healthier perspective.
Whether we are serving hamburgers or building skyscrapers we can see our work as a contribution. I looked on all three of my careers as a contribution and in my mind I never did “retire”. If our vocation is to spread love there is no need to retire!
Well put. The retirement industry has contributed to the idea that we ought to aim for a kind of self-focussed leisure. Your comment is a reminder that vocation contributes to wellness and to society as a whole.
A very dear spiritual teacher of mine who has since passed on used to say, "Never retire!" What he meant is what you point out about vocation versus a job. Once we know our vocation, it is our work of love and we don't want to stop. We might change our schedule or how we provide our service, but we don't stop doing it. And isn't it funny that society has it set up that just when a person attains wisdom and seniority, we put them out to pasture and rely on the young ones to handle things while they go through the process of learning what the older folks already learned.