Author Tony Neal & Leslie J Francis (Eds.)
Publisher Sacristy Press £16.99
Format pbk
ISBN 9781789590852 2020
This collection of useful reflections on ministry in retirement by a group of Anglican clergy offers, as David Walker suggests in his endpiece, ‘a rich picture of what it means for a member of the clergy to move into retirement ministry’. The opening chapters of the book set the scene by describing the current landscape of clergy retirement from a statistical perspective, and then offer a profile of those clergy who are religiously engaged in retirement. The fourteen contributors come from diverse ministerial backgrounds and not all were engaged in parish ministry prior to retirement. Similarly, the circumstances in which these individuals retired from ministry were varied, but all seemed to find some satisfaction in ministry in retirement. Although I enjoyed reading these personal stories, and especially gaining an insight into retirement as a journey characterised by stages, I couldn’t help but be left with two questions: what will retirement mean when retired clergy significantly outnumber stipendiary clergy; and what about all those clergy who retire and who are not religiously engaged?
KEVIN MADDY
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