I don't think I ever stayed at one job for more than three years prior to working with PAS. I went from tracking tugboats to a department store advertising department, from selling art prints to working in the hunting/fishing business, from activities assistant in a nursing home to a case worker with the elderly. And here's the amazing thing - the wide variety of jobs prior to PAS helped to prepare me for my work that has continued here for almost 25 years. (Okay, maybe not tracking tugboats, though in a way it did prepare me for the tedious work that sometimes has to be done to keep a database up to date and find errors).
In 1991, with some fear but more with excitement, I started visiting our retired clergy, their spouses and surviving spouses from the former Southern New England Conference who lived in the six New England states. After about ten years I was feeling called to something different and in working with our new Executive Director, Thom Gallen, in 2001 along with the Board, I set out to see how PAS might work with our active clergy. Starting programs with the Foundation and bringing Barb Lemmel (then with the Troy Conference) and Tending the Fire to New England were two major parts of my work as I gradually left behind the visiting.
As I reflected on completing my time with PAS I was hit with a thought - wouldn't it be nice to return to visiting retired clergy. However, we already have staff making the visits in the New England states, so I turned my focus to those we do not usually visit, our retirees who live outside the United States (other than FL where we have made visits from time to time). I put together a proposal which our Board approved early in November and I am now spending quite a bit of time with a U. S. map trying to see how I might make visits throughout our country.
I'm looking forward to making these connections in my final year. I'll start with parts of California and Arizona in January and move on from there. I'll share about my time on the road through this blog and I would ask for your prayers as I travel in unfamiliar places. I'm also hoping to get permission from those I visit to post pictures and greetings on the Preachers' Aid Society Facebook page.The Road to Retirement will be my 2016 pilgrimage to prepare for the next stage of my life. Unlike the Camino, instead of walking I'll be traveling by car, train and airplanes! May God be my guide as I embark on this journey.
