It was 20 years ago today…
(Oh no, not another Beatles’ lyric!)

Twenty years ago today I was “feebing” about the rapid approach of July 25, 1995… my 40th birthday. No, I don’t remember this specific date, but I know all too well what my prevailing mood was in the summer of ’95. As Debbie will gladly tell you, I shared my trepidations with anyone who would listen. In retrospect, I’m not sure what I feared. My health was good. Our marriage was strong and, while the kids were experiencing some traumas of adolescence, our relationship with them was very good. The congregation I served was attracting new people as it continued to minister to “old” members. I had completed most of the course work for an advanced degree, a Master of Sacred Theology (STM) at Gettysburg Seminary. I was well-respected in the Southwestern Pennsylvania Synod of the ELCA and chaired their Division for Church in Society. Besides, I had sold an article to my all-time favorite publication, Model Railroader magazine, which was scheduled to appear in an upcoming issue. What could the matter be with me?

I suppose I was experiencing my first midlife crisis, brought about by a sort of pastoral wanderlust. My mother had recently been widowed for the second time, she had a history of ill health, and we were living five hours away from her. My in-laws were healthy, but their house was seven hours away. Chris and Betsy were nearing the end of their respective educational levels, middle and elementary school, and they were themselves looking for change. Debbie was ready to reenter the workforce after years at home with the kids, and I was ready for a new pastoral challenge. I had anticipated a longer run at St. Matthias, but somehow things had become comfortably uncomfortable (or uncomfortably comfortable?). The congregation had begun to shift their leadership from first to second generation during my tenure. I didn’t push that transition through; in fact, I got along very well with the first generation members. Lay leadership seemed to sense that change would be a good thing, and, initially, they welcomed and facilitated it. Five years into my pastorate things began to change subtly. Those who had voluntarily retired from council membership began competing with (and beating!) younger members in council elections. As they resumed their roles in congregational leadership, they seemed to care less for growing the church than for finding new sources of income (church visitors can always sense when they’re seen only as money in the plate). I began to feel like an interim pastor whose work was nearing its completion.

Bishop McCoid of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Synod was eager to keep me in the area. He gladly shared profiles of several large, vacant congregations with me, and I interviewed a several. I began to realize that I really was ready to move, but I wasn’t sure that it was to be in the Pittsburgh area. As much as I loved the bishop, his staff, the ministerium, and the lay people with whom I worked, a voice in my head kept saying, “Go east, middle aged man!” I withdrew my name from the call process at a large suburban congregation and asked the bishop if he’d write a recommendation to accompany my mobility papers, which I hope to share with several eastern synods. He reluctantly agreed.

I send my papers to three synods, Northeast Penn, my native Southeast Penn, and New Jersey. My expectations were low: ten years earlier I had tried to move east, but, as a young pastor with only three or four years in the parish, I had nary a nibble. Much to my surprise (and delight!), this time was different. Thanks to the recommendation of the well-respected Bishop McCoid, and maybe my fourteen years of parish experience, I heard from all three synods in a relatively short time. The first of these was New Jersey!

Debbie had grown up in South Jersey, but she never expected to return to the Garden State. Pennsylvania, my home state, was “lousy with Lutherans,” so prospects of a call in the Keystone State were always good, whereas, in New Jersey, where less than 1% of the population is Lutheran, promised fewer opportunities. Yet, thanks be to God, Bishop Riley responded quickly to my inquiry. I scheduled an appointment in Trenton (Hamilton Township, actually), I received St. Timothy’s profile, expressed an interest to interview, received a call from Herb Veit of the call committee, and the rest is history.

With the call to St. Timothy, my mid-life crisis ended! Suddenly 40 felt pretty darn good. The kids were happy in the Wayne School system, Debbie got a great job, and St. Timothy exceeded expectations! The past 19.25 years have been marked with sorrows, as well as joys, but the good far outweighs the bad. I’ve been convinced from the beginning of the process that God has been at work in this marvelous relationship of pastor and people. Truly ours is a marriage made in heaven! I approach my 60th birthday with the usual fear and trepidation, but, thanks to God’s actions in our shared history, I look to the future with faith, hope, and confidence in God’s remarkable grace! God bless us one and all.

In Jesus’ name,

Pastor Robert M. Mountenay