Doug Gallager and Celia Thurston serve as Ministers in Residence during J-Term

Retired Ministers seek "new ways to be useful" 

January 30, 2009

Meadville Lombard Theological School hosted the Rev. Drs. Doug Gallager, DMin '71 and Celia Thurston (talking with DMin student John Saxon after a lunch-time presentation, right) as Ministers in Residence for the January Term. Doug and Celia recently retired from their ministries--Doug from his position as Senior Minister at the Birmingham (Michigan) Unitarian Church, and Celia from her work as Chaplain at Children's Hospital of Michigan--and bring a wealth of insight for our students.

"We didn't have the Minister in Residence (MIR) program when I was a student here," said Doug, "but I remember that some of my best experiences of learning happened in informal discussions around the coffee table in the Curtis Room." Doug says the MIR program offers a similar experience for students today, if only slightly more formal.

"We had originally applied for a longer term as MIRs," said Celia, "and were hoping to have settled into retirement a little more. But Lee (President Lee Barker) suggested that we might really enjoy the J-Term because of the amount of activity packed into one short month." Celia says that, although they have enjoyed leading a worship service and sitting in on classes this month, "the students have been the best thing. They have such energy and we've had some really great conversations."

Since graduating from Meadville Lombard in 1971, Doug has held positions at three congregations of different sizes. As a part of their stay as Ministers in Residence, Doug and Celia have sat in on classes, including 'Tools for Overcoming Your First Congregational Hurdles,' taught by Lee Barker. Doug said he was glad to see the seminary offering classes like this one where students are introduced to the administrative skills they will need in order to serve and lead congregations.

Celia has also been able to share her insights as a community minister through one of the many 'bring your own lunch' events planned for the month of January. Having spent the last 18 years as a hospital chaplain, Celia says there is so much that Unitarian Universalists can offer in public ministry. "It's the point of view of the minister that makes the difference," she says. Ministers trained in the UU tradition have the ability to be present for people without imposing their theological or moral point of view on those they are serving.  In the 'bring your own lunch' talk, Celia says she used the opportunity to urge students to get out there and "do ministry."

This time spent as the Ministers in Residence is part of what Doug says is a process of discernment of how he and Celia can be "useful in new ways" during their retirement. Toward this end, Doug is deepening his involvement in the Unitarian Universalist Association, currently representing the Heartland District as a member of the UUA Board. Additionally he chairs the Board Growth Working Group and sits on the Panel for Theological Education. This builds on the volunteer positions he has held in the UUMA, and in the Mountain-Desert, Joseph Priestley, and Heartland districts of the UUA, as well as his former position as a member of the Midwest Regional Subcommittee on Candidacy.

Celia will continue working on research she has been doing with a team to better understand what parents need after the death of a child. The research team includes an intensivist physician, a medical anthropologist and a professor of nursing. "The research and the reporting, continues to be important to me," Celia says. By collecting the data over the last several years, she has been able to be part of a multi-disciplinary approach to changing procedures to meet the needs not only of the patients, but of their survivors. Through the research, Celia said the team found that it takes on average three hours for parents to get to a point of understanding that their child has died. This research then led to policy changes at the hospital where she worked so that children's bodies were not removed right away and parents had the time to begin grieving without the intrusion of hospital routines. "This is ministry," she says, "when you impact systems for healthy relationships."

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Contact:
Tina Porter tporter@meadville.edu
(773) 256-3000 ext. 236