Valued Service

“

So, what do you do now that you have retired?” I am often asked, which gives me the impression that at the heart of this question is the assumption that pastors who retire from the busy-ness of ministry, now fall into a vacuum of idleness and leisure. I am happy to say that this could not be further from the truth.

In the ACC we have just over 400 members in the Emeritus family which, in no way, indicates the diminishing of our ministry potential. Rather, this provides an amazing array of opportunities for our well-equipped and life-experienced senior ministers to become a valued resource base for a wide range of services both in the ACC, as well as the community in general.

Space does not allow for a complete list of areas where our 'retired' pastors serve but they include, Chaplaincy, Local Church Seniors, Pastoral Care, Mentoring, English language tutoring for migrants, Religious Instruction, Discipleship Training, Leadership Development, relief ministry in country churches and missions’ trips. It is abundantly evident that the passion for ministry and service for the Kingdom of God does not fade in retirement. The scope just gets wider and more focused.

The coordinating our Emeritus ministry at grassroots level is the responsibility of each our state leaders. Wendy Megschelse (Qld/NT); Ian & Doreen Bartley (NSW); Shane & Millie Lepp (Vic); Ron & Marilyn Wilson (Tas.); Pattie Hardy (WA.) and Trevor & Valmai Aurichts (SA.) who have now relinquished their leadership role. Thank you, Trevor and Valmai for your faithful service. Each of our State Coordinators have set up meaningful communication networks and fellowship opportunities, including morning teas, luncheons, zoom calls to name a few. It was encouraging to hear that most State Conferences this past year saw record numbers of our Emeritus Pastors in attendance. This creates an excellent environment for connection with our younger pastors on the frontlines.

I would like to thank our State Coordinators for the inspiration and support they provide for our pastors in their various ministry functions.

On a national level, the quarterly emails are being utilised to address some of the key issues relating to ministry retirement with the intent of creating conversations about the challenges facing our retirees. To date, these have included, Transitioning to Retirement with a Clear Mind, Doing Life in Retirement Together with Your Spouse, and Dealing with Declining Health. These will continue with other relevant topics.

It is a pleasure serving the ACC with such an awesome group of men and women who have not only contributed to the great heritage of the ACC but are still able to make a significant contribution to the Kingdom of God in their “retirement years”.

Laine WIllis National Co-ordinator

National Prayer Network

It’s been an honour and privilege to operate our ACC National Prayer-net, where we pray for our pastors and families around our nation and overseas. Currently we have 56 prayer warriors in operation ready to pray at any moment. Encouraging words come back from our intercessors like, “praying”, “have prayed”, “trusting God for a miracle” and “His a miracle working God”.

These people are ready to pray immediately and we have heard of some amazing miraculous results. We thank them so much for their heart of pray.

Remember we are here to pray for you!

David O'Keefe National Prayer Co-ordinator prayer@acc.org.au