This
is the second in a two-part series.
Part one looked at how the increase in the average age of clergy
in the Massachusetts Conference is creating a clergy shortage. Part
two looks at who is entering the ministry today.
By
Tiffany Vail
Peggy
Derick was a partner in a high-powered Seattle law firm and a single
mother of two when she quit her practice, sold her house and moved into
the dormitory at Andover Newton Theological School to study for the
ministry.
“It
was frightening during the decision-making time, but the day after the
decision was final, I had a dream that left me absolutely, positively
knowing that this was what I needed to do,” said Derick, who was ordained
in 1996 and is pastor of the United Church of Christ Congregational
in Burlington.
Derick,
56, had been going through some personal problems when, during a trip
to Israel, she sat on a beach and made a deal with God: tell her what
to do, and she would do it. Almost immediately, she began seeing images.
“When
I took it to my pastor, he told me I was seeing a clear picture of clinical
pastoral education. I didn’t even know what that was. But I had a sabbatical
coming, so I took a CPE course at Andover Newton. By the end, I had
a clear picture of what I needed to do,” she said.
Derick’s
dramatic story is becoming more and more common, as an ever-growing
number of second- and third-career ministers are ordained. The average
age of seminarians at Andover Newton Theological School today is 40.
And
while many of these second-career ministers threaten the financial stability
of themselves and their families to enter the ministry, those interviewed
for this article say they have no regrets about answering their calls
to ministry.
When
Derick gave up her practice, she had one son in college, whom she could
still help financially, and one who had already graduated. Jerry Alan
Smith, pastor of the Trinitarian Congregational Church, UCC, in Scituate,
took a much riskier leap of faith when he left his job as a manager
with Xerox: he had three young children in school.
Smith,
56, entered Colgate Rochester Divinity School in 1980 _ the same year
his oldest child entered high school. At times, he worked as many as
five part-time jobs _ from computer consulting to teaching adult education
to working at a church _ to help support his family.
“Many
of the practical things have been really hard. Between my and my children’s
education loans, I owe more than I can ever hope to make,” he said.
“But I remain convinced that this is what I’m supposed to be doing.
That’s the thing that keeps you going.”
“I
boil it down to this: if you think you’re making a choice, don’t do
it,” Smith said. “I can’t not do this. It’s like getting married,
in a way. If you think you’ve got wiggle room, then it’s not going to
work.”
While
Smith and Derick felt their calls to ministry later in life, other second-career
pastors heard them much earlier on; they just didn’t respond right away.
Andrew
Burr, 37, was active in the First Congregational Church of Shrewsbury
as a youth, enjoyed doing ministry and was encouraged toward becoming
a pastor. But he felt that his family would expect him to go into business,
so he did.
“I’d
thought about this ministry thing from the eighth grade. But all through
school I knew two things _ I should be a minister and would be an accountant,”
Burr said.
Burr,
pastor of the First Congregational Church in Worcester, said part of
his resistance to the ministry was that he was “hung up” on the idea
of being called.
“I
expected it to be like the heavens opening up, but none of that happened,”
he said. Instead, he found himself increasingly unhappy in his work,
and he went through several bouts with depression before deciding to
enter seminary. He was ordained last year.
“I
look back and see the depression as a gift,” he said. “I needed to get
to that point where I was willing to do some serious introspection.”
Mary
Giles, 52, also felt a pull toward the ministry early on, but she didn’t
think following it was an option.
“I
had a sneaking hunch in high school about ministry, but I had never
seen a woman minister,” she said. “Growing up in Michigan, I went to
a program for high school students looking at ministry as a vocation.
I got the encouragement to go to seminary, but to become a Christian
Education director. I wasn’t encouraged toward becoming a pastor. It
wasn’t ever presented as an option.”
Instead,
Giles drifted from one major to another in college, finally landing
in biology, and she went on to teach for eight years. She went through
some difficult personal times, and decided she needed time to sort things
out. So she left teaching, and took to the open road _ literally.
“People
are so surprised when I tell them I was a truck driver for three years,”
she said. “They always ask how it happened. I tell them that it was
a tough time, and I needed time with God, and I found a way to do it.”
After
a brief return to teaching and a failed marriage, Giles decided she
could ignore her calling no longer. She was ordained in 1992.
“I
went full-time to Andover Newton and worked three jobs while I was in
school. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done and the most wonderful,”
she said. “I knew it was right and there was no looking back.”
Like
all those interviewed for this article, Giles, the interim pastor at
Athol Congregational Church, UCC, said her experiences before entering
the ministry help her as a pastor.
“The
kids relate to me more, because of the experiences I’ve had as a teacher,”
she said. “And when people realize that I was a driver, they know that
I know the blue collar scene. They know that I know what it is to live
that kind of life, and they’re able to relate to me a little more quickly.”
Linda
Nicholas-Whitney, 60, who was ordained last year and who is the pastor
of the Lake View Congregational Church in Worcester, said her experience
as business owner, mother and grandmother helps her to be a bit more
patient in her ministry.
“I
remember having young pastors come into a church, and they were going
to change the world. Sometimes people can’t keep up with that and they
get discouraged,” she said. “I get impatient sometimes, too, but I know
that even seeing small bits of growth are so exciting.”
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