When I was in my early twenties, I had a teacher who was a little more than 50 years older than I. I admired this teacher and looked at his books and other publications as signs of a life that was well-lived. In many ways I aspired to be like this teacher. In some ways we were alike. We both were early risers and enjoyed the predawn and sunrise hours. We both were intensely interested in other people and found the church to be a great place to explore life’s meaning. There are a lot of phrases from his writing that have stuck with me for the nearly 50 years that have passed since those days. About seeking justice he wrote, “I have but one life to live, and the timing is fast and short.” As I approach the age he was when he wrote those words, I think I understand them better than I did at the time.

When he was 74, there was institutional pressure for him to retire. Theological seminaries were undergoing a transition in their approach to Christian Education and there was a desire to move away from some of the old and traditional professors to younger teachers with different academic pursuits. I know nothing of his financial situation, except that he had been a minister and a teacher for all of his career and had no independent wealth. He lived modestly, but he had never been in a position to acquire financial assets. Still, I assumed that he had some kind of pension and that retirement would be his next career choice.

I was surprised, and delighted, when I learned that he decided to move on to another theological seminary. He and his wife moved across the United States, from Chicago to the San Francisco Bay area and he continued to teach seminary students. We continued to remain in contact for the rest of his life.

I have thought of him a lot during the last year. He was such a strong mentor that I have approached my retirement with a sense of “what next?” As I have missed the people of the congregation we served, I also have missed the work.

Knowing that my time on this earth is limited, that we are all mortal, I want to live the time that I have with as much energy and joy as possible. I know that one’s value is not measured only in productivity and in counting how much work one accomplishes. I know that joy comes from learning to appreciate with gratitude the life one is given. And I also know that work begets work. The harder you work, the more work you will discover.

There was a time in my life when I tried to solve nearly every problem by working harder. If there was conflict in the church, I put in more hours. If our children were facing struggles at home, I slept less in order to be present more. I discovered that I am capable of pushing myself to the point where I am less productive and that simply putting in more hours is not the key to getting more done.

In all of that, today is a kind of a milestone for me. I’m starting a new job. Together with Susan, which is the way I’ve faced all of my professional career, I will begin as Interim Minister of Faith Formation at 1st Congregational Church of Bellingham, Washington. It is a single full-time job that we will share, each working half time. It is an interim position. We will serve for 18 to 24 months as the congregation evaluates its staffing needs and engages in the search for new staff. The work is something that I love deeply. Working in the teaching ministries of the church, helping children and adults explore faith development, has always been an aspect of my career. As we join a team of ministers with excellent pastoral care and worship leadership members, we will be focusing our attention on how faith is caught and how to engage people in sharing their faith in meaningful ways. The church already has successful programs in place. We follow an excellent minister who did very good work. Part of our job will be to continue to administer those programs. But we also will be working with the congregation to allow new programs to emerge and to ask the big questions of how the church wants to proceed with its educational ministries.

Like other new callings of our career, the work begins with meetings. We’ve got three scheduled for this week already. And there are the usual steps of getting our paperwork in order, receiving keys to the building, learning where our office is located, and the like. There are a lot of people to meet and some new things to learn about how this particular congregation engages in its ministries. There are other team members to observe and learn how we can contribute without spreading ourselves into the work and ministry of others.

I have been happy during our year off from work. There has been other work - sorting our possessions, moving our household, and helping at our son’s farm. We have traveled and explored this new place where we are living.

However, I am also very happy about returning to work. This particular job will have less stress than previous ministries in which we have been engaged. I worked part-time as a student, but for most of my life I have worked full-time. Learning the limits of a half-time job and enjoying the other activities that such work enables will be part of the process. I am already dreaming about the things we will be doing. Within a month we will be facilitating a welcome back to fall programming after summer breaks. There will be volunteers to recruit and events to plan. Children’s moments in worship will be a new challenge with part of the congregation and some of the children in the room with us and others at home participating through social media. I’ll have to learn a bit about the software used for hybrid meetings with some people face-to-face and others online.

Today, I’m reveling in the sense of starting a new adventure and the feeling of being called to serve once again. And I’m grateful to have had a teacher and mentor who showed me what wonderful possibilities lie ahead. “I have but one life to live, and the timing is fast and short.” May I live it in service to others.