Paul C. Clayton, Called for Life: Finding Meaning in Retirement. Alban Institute, 2008.
Referenced in: Minister Self-Care
LifeandLeadership.com Summary
This is one of only a handful of books written on minister retirement. Gwen Halaas in Clergy, Retirement, and Wholeness, offers the wisdom of a medical doctor. Clayton, on the other hand, writes as a retired minister himself. He brings the unique perspective ministers have about their usefulness in the last third of their lives. As one who is very active in his own retirement, Clayton draws from considerable research and his own experience to suggest healthy pathways.
Clayton describes retirement as the last of three phases of life: preparation, production and retirement. There are also three phases of retirement, which he borrows from Robert G. Kemper: footloose, or go-go; settled or slow-go; and sheltered, or no-go. During this time, three basic human needs (McClelland) are accentuated: affiliation, power, and achievement.
Clayton suggests the major work of this period is to redefine one’s life calling. This involves three factors, each of which is entertained at all phases of our lives, and which should not be forgotten in retirement: Identity – who am I?; gifts – what am I capable of doing?; and occupation – what role and place will I fulfill my call?
From the Publisher
Called for Life reflects on our calling to serve God and neighbor in the context of retirement. People facing retirement ask a variety of questions, each framed by a different perspective. “Will I ever be interested in retiring?” some baby boomers ask. “Who am I now?” newly retired clergy ask. “What, if anything, is God calling me to do and be after retirement?” all inquire.
This book is built on the assumption that most people don’t want to spend the last third of their lives doing nothing. What they want is a life that is worth living, an occupation that will help others, and a retirement in which they can continue to exercise their calling. Clayton uses examples from his own experience and from others, laity and clergy, to explore retirement and the three components of our calling: our identity, our gifts, and our occupation. He also examines the role of community in our calling and retirement, the challenges of the transition into retirement, options for meaningful activity, the importance of identifying our purpose, doing and being in retirement, and the final call to death. Readers will be encouraged to see retirement as an opportunity to do what they have always wanted to do and to become the kind of person they have wanted to be.
About the Author
Paul C. Clayton is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ, past director of the City Mission Society in Boston, and past director of the United Church Board for World Ministries. His previous publications include Letters to Lee: Mentoring the New Minister (Alban, 1999), and Add Salt to Season: God’s People in a New Time.
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