Thank you for your supportive thoughts. Millions of people have been touched by good ministers. As @sueinmn points out, retired pastors are still normal human beings, and the pastoral habits often don't end at retirement. I enjoyed a number of years serving as a volunteer visitor with hospice. Sitting with people near the end of their lives was a pleasure. I had spent many years of hours visiting people in their homes or a local coffee shop where retired ranchers hung out every morning. My father was my mentor in ministry, as I'm sure his father was for him. House calls were a regular part of his day. When I got my learners permit I started driving him to homes all around the county we lived in in New York, and I discovered one of the reasons he had gained weight. Tables were spread with an array of delicious goodies!

Because we were a family of 8, we didn't have many invitations to dinner, but we lived in an apartment above the church and every Sunday there were more than 8 at the dinner table after church. Oven fried chicken and apple pie was the norm, and the scents of the baking leaked from our apartment to the church area.

The problem with having close friendships with church members sometimes causes jealousy or thoughts of favoritism. Unfortunate but true. So, we made an effort to be friendly with everyone. As is true in any group of people, not just the church, it's wise not to appear to pander to members of wealth, for pretty obvious reasons.

It's sad to read the statistics of men and women leaving the ministry because of burnout, isolation, loneliness, inadequate income, disenchantment and other reasons. Mental health issues plague, including suicide.

While I'm saddened to read those reports, I know that they represent a small minority of people in ministry. I can't quote the numbers, but most are happy with their vocations.

Some denominations provide retirement plans and pay ministers adequately. Others have no retirement plans. Many churches make their own decisions as to compensation. These arrangements have a big impact on aging. In the denomination I serve, retirement plans are available but optional, at the discretion of individual churches and pastors. I opted to have part of my salary invested with a safe, high yield program through the denomination, but it only amounts to a couple of years of income. We worked for more than 40 years well below the poverty level, with no health insurance for the first 30.

So, aging in place or in any kind of facility is a very real concern for me. Having lived in poverty has prepared us for our present reality, living on our Social Security. We are blessed to get $23/month EBT. That doesn't sound like much, but it qualifies us for other assistance. We receive energy assistance for heating, which is a huge deal. A local organization inspected our house and recommended a number of improvements - out with carpet, in with Pergo, new front door, new windows, metal roof, insulation in the attic and under the house, a new Toyo stove - and they financed all of it with a 1% interest loan payable when we sell our home. Things like this are making it possible for us to live in our home comfortably longer than we might have.

One thing I thought of the other day as I was washing the dishes - it would be very helpful to have the faucet on the side of the sink instead of at the back. It could be awkward moving dishes from the counter next to the sink with a faucet in the way. Surely there's a solution out there.

I've addressed some of the issues faced by aging ministers, but many of them are faced by people of all walks of life.

BTW, I'm not having a pity party - just facing realities of my chosen vocation. I'd make the same choice again, though I hope I'd do some things differently by virtue of experience.

Jim