Making the Most of Retirement 2012
Tuesday, October 23rd – Thursday, October 25th, 2012
at Crieff Hills Community, R.R. #2 Puslinch ON, N0B 2J0
Co-facilitated by Mary Helen Garvin and Peter Scott
This event is for people in Ministry approaching retirement (in 10 years or less) or recently retired (within 5 years) and their partners.
This event will address the following questions:
- What spiritual, psychological and emotional work is required to make the transition from ‘active ministry’ into retirement?
- How do the roles and responsibilities of ‘active ministry’ differ from vocation to ministry?
- How may our spiritual and vocational experiences of life shape this next stage of our lives?
- How do we discover our ‘greater work’ by which we may continue to live out our vocation to Christian ministry?
- What possibilities and potential do the retirement years hold?
Learning activities will include small and large group discussions, worship, personal reflection, body movement, imagery exercises, journaling and music.
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Mary Helen, a former nurse, attended Ewart College after which she and husband Murray served in Taiwan for 14 years. Returning to Canada, she completed her B.A. in Psychology, an M.Ed in Applied Psychology and Adult Education, a Specialist Certificate in Pastoral Counselling from C.A.P.P.E., and the Advanced Training in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy program of the Toronto Psychoanalytic Society. Mary Helen retired in August 2003 after working as a psychotherapist for 20 years. She has also worked as a transition consultant, a workshop leader, and on the staff of the Toronto Institute for Human Relations.
She is a life-long member of the Presbyterian Church in Canada and has served as an elder, on Theological Guidance Conference teams, and for 10 years consulted for the Churches Forum for Global Ministries on staying mentally healthy in another culture. She has a particular interest in the psychological and emotional processes of retirement. Mary Helen is the mother of 5 adult children and is currently involved with Hospice Simcoe as a volunteer. |
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Peter was born and raised on a farm near Leamington. A graduate of the University of Western Ontario, Peter went on to pursue his Master of Divinity at Emmanuel College. He was ordained by the United Church of Canada in 1972 and served in Tobermory for 3 years followed by 17 years at St. David’s United Church in Woodstock. Peter has been Executive Secretary of the London Conference of the UCC for 14 years. He retired in May 2006. He has two children and two step-children, three grandchildren and two step-grandchildren. His hobbies are organic gardening and farming, writing, reading, hosting tours, doing volunteer work in several places, restoring old tractors, renovating houses, and feeding and watching birds. He hopes with this event to help people think about what retirement will be like for them and to get in touch with their hopes and fears about it in the context of their faith. |