A SENIOR'S MINISTRY !!

It's that time of the year again.

Senior's Week, where the aged challenged,pensioners and the silver surfers, gather together for free food,dancing and travel, has just concluded. It's now the turn of politicians with pensioners being bowled over with truck loads of dollars.

It set me thinking, about the church and the elderly. Care for the aged makes the church one of the largest employers in the nation. Remove the seniors from the pew, and many congregations would disappear. And ministries for seniors are to be found in most denominations. The Melbourne Anglicans, for example, have just held a special service for "retired clergy and their spouses.....a wonderful group of people who radiated energy,enthusiasm and a positive outlook on life".

The way churches describe the aged challenged, shapes their ministry with them. Not to be found in denominations will there be descriptions of seniors as members of grey power, pensioner activists or the third age universities.

In Churches of Christ, my own denomination, the word "seniors"is used in intriguing ways.

It's usually used by men and it unusually describes two distinct and almost contradictory types of people.

First, there are those who call themselves,"senior ministers". I think that means they're the ones who speak with authority, they are certainly the ones who control and coordinate, and they're the ones with the biggest car and biggest office. There's not many of them; on the other hand,there's more and more of us, the ordinary seniors i.e..pensioners,retirees,and the elderly.

Senior ministers, due to evolution, or some other mysterious process, are all men; they get to meet and play golf together every Monday. Calling themselves senior ministers seems to be one sure way of keeping women off their turf. A senior ordinary male on the other hand, is a threatened species. Attend COUFFS ("Christians for the Under and Over 55s) and you'll be out voted,o ut maneuvered every time, by you know who. Yep, one has to admire those senior ministers.

And what do these seniors do with their time? Well, if you're a senior minister you're up for fully escorted (by other senior ministers, of course), company sponsored, trips to America. Seniors and pensioners more generally, on the other hand, can't even score a discount to attend their denominational seminars and conferences.

Senior ministers write profound articles on the future of the church, while other seniors struggle with their Centrelink forms.

Senior ministers get to sit on councils and important committees; they lead cohorts; they inspire, and people listen when they rise to speak. They dialogue on outcomes, and missional re-calibration; always re-envisioning in leading-edge networks. Ordinary seniors, on the other hand, get to "sing the old favorite hymns" (according to some of the church programs that I googled, which reminds me, how come, if I google "seniors and churches" I'm confronted with a couple of hundred thousand hits, while there's more than a million, if seniors, is replaced by youth!),"go on outings",or meet for "a meal, fun, fellowship and a game of scrabble".

Senior ministers drink an espresso, affogato or a creamy macchiato; ordinary seniors line up for a cup of tea.

Oh to be a senior minister, and not just an ordinary senior! They're clever men those senior ministers and greatly to be admired. I hope politicians don't find out about them, for that could mean the end of our usual pension increase at election time!

Alan Matheson

Pensioner card holder (CRN) issued by Centrelink on behalf of the Australian Government Department of Families,Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, and retired Churches of Christ minister.