No More Call Lists

For about 15 years, people have been putting Gary's name on call lists. In the last year, friends have done so even more than before. We are SO thankful for that help and encouragement! Our new district president (the one we've had for the last 1½ years) has done what he could to circulate Gary's name and to encourage congregations to issue him a call. Nevertheless, there have been no calls to consider.

Now Gary is in a position where he can no longer consider a call.

When he first started applying for jobs, nobody was interested in hiring a guy who'd been a pastor for 20 years. 1) They figured he had no business sense -- definitely not true of Gary! 2) A few naughty Roman Catholic priests have given pastors a bad reputation, so people wonder about guys who are no longer going to be serving a parish full-time. 3) Apparently some people are uncomfortable with the idea of being around a pastor (eeeuuuwww!) all day because he might hear them cuss or talk about things in their lives that he might disapprove of.

So when he applied for the job where somebody helped him get an "in" (where the personnel dept didn't just toss his resume in the trash immediately), the interviewer was concerned that the salary would be too low for a middle-aged guy. She figured that he would up and leave as soon as some congregation somewhere offered him a position. The ONLY way they would consider keeping him in the pool for consideration for the job was if he would promise them to stick around for at least 12-18 months. Since this job seemed like the only chance to make more than $10/hour, he told them he'd stay put in the area and make it worth their while to train him and give him a chance.

So that's where we are. We're here in this locale. And if his name should continue to be circulated, he would not be able to give a call due consideration at this time as it would make him renege on his promise to his new employer.