Retired Ministers
“By faith they set out in ministry not knowing where the journey would lead them – by faith they lived in homes not their own – by faith they offered up their wives and children in the service of God – by faith they climbed the mountains , but also plumbed the depths of human experience – by faith they preached the good news and lived out the life of the kingdom – by faith they saw their churches grow, but they also saw their churches decline –by faith they experienced the love of their people, and by faith they experienced rejection and misunderstanding……” (Paul Beasley-Murray)
Welcome to this section of our website dedicated to ministers who have served faithfully in Baptist churches and other roles and have now retired from full-time ministry.
We recognise that you have been and still are God’s gift to his church. All of you will have made significant sacrifices and have given yourselves in the service of others. Although retirement can be a challenge for anybody, we realise that it can be a particular challenge for retired ministers. Many of you will have had to move and start life afresh in a new community as soon as you retired losing not only your role and status, but also in many cases your home and friends. Retirement can also be a great opportunity to try new things, and to find new ways of serving free without the day to day demands of pastoral responsibility.
We want to agree with the foreword to a document produced by the Committee of the Archbishops’ Council where it says
“Ordination [to the Priesthood, in the Church of England,] is understood as a life-long vocation… Ordained ministers are called, without any limit of time, as long as they live, to proclaim the glory of God in every part of their lives, not just in the exercise of celebrating public services…. This advice has been produced … to assist bishops and archdeacons in supporting retired clergy and enabling them to continue to contribute towards the Church’s mission and ministry in a way that is beneficial both for them and for the Church.”
We know that everyone is different – some of you will prefer to explore new avenues of serving God in your local community, but others will be looking for opportunities to preach or to help with pastoral care. Some of you will be content to be part of a local church and find support from other church members, others may wish to connect with other retired ministers in their area or get involved with the work of the Association. However you want to spend your retirement we want to welcome you as part of the SEBA family and to help you to continue to serve in whatever way you feel called.
To that end we would like to make sure we have your contact details current so please complete the form below and if you would like to keep in touch with other ministers we can provide you with a login to our website where you’ll be able to see the details of other retired ministers.
If you don't have any plans to take on a pastoral role or to act as an interim minister or moderator, you may also want to consider filling out a Not in Regulated Activity declaration (available from this link), so that the Ministry Team at the Baptist Union are aware.
If you have recently moved in to the area, or you are not sure that we have your correct contact details, please also let us have your address and phone numbers.
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Is there anything else you like to say to us, anything we can help you with or any ways in which you would like to get more involved with the Association? |
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