I have been around long enough to have preached from this pulpit as a comparatively young priest and now to return to it, yet again, as one who has reached a different stage in his life and ministry. As I was preparing for this service, I came to the startling realization the other day that most, if not all, of my long-time friends in the ordained ministry of the Church are at one of three stages: 1) they have retired already; 2) they are contemplating retirement; or 3) like Canon Golden they are actively in the process of retiring.
Actively in the process: cleaning out, reorganizing life and preparing for new chapters yet to be written. Actively in the process: preparing to lay down the not inconsiderable burdens of spiritual leader and pastor after twenty years of faithful service here at St. Paul's and for more than twenty years in the Diocese of Long Island. Actively in the process: of bidding farewell to you and urging you to begin to look to a future life and ministry while recognizing that his fingerprints and his footsteps will not indelibly vanish from this place for many years to come. Retirement and transition are truly an active process for him but also for you, the members of the community of faith here at St. Paul's Church In the Village of Flatbush.
But before he slips away from you, turns in his keys and changes his telephone number, and learns, perhaps, to keep a more selfish and leisurely schedule after a life-time of belonging to others, it is good that we are here to reflect on his ministry and to give thanks for his priesthood.
I will tell you something about Peter Golden that I have much admired since our paths first crossed at St. Paul's Church, Clinton and Carroll Streets, almost twenty-five years ago. Being a priest is not "all about him" as it is with a surprising number of our colleagues. It has not been about how much he can get for himself: a huge salary, a luxurious rectory, receptions in honor of every anniversary, or public adulation. The hand has not been extended in search of honoraria or stole fees. He has not thrust himself forward as a candidate for "higher office" or treated his work in this parish as if he were simply waiting for something better to come along. It has not been primarily "about him" but more about his vows of discipline and obedience to our Lord. It has also been about you: about being here with you and for you in so many different seasons of your parish life and your individual lives. Through these days of heat and after a long winter of cold, he has remained constant. And whether you know
it or not, or fully appreciate it or not, you have been singularly blessed.
In today's church twenty years' service from any priest in any parish is simply a long haul. It's tough enough just keeping the roof from leaking, the insurance paid, and the staff employed and reasonably content in the best of times. But we are not living in the best of times for many people. When you add in the human element, the sheer need of the folks who enter this place of worship weekly, the age and demand of this physical plant, and the pressing social and economic concerns of this community, well, any priest who takes this as seriously as Peter Golden has, has done remarkable work.
These demands alone are enough, it would seem, for any member of the clergy to concentrate mostly on his own parish at the exclusion of all else. But that has not been Canon Golden's way, either in the Diocese of Long Island or in the Diocese of Chicago or when serving at the national church headquarters or elsewhere. He has always taken on additional responsibility when called by his bishops to do so. And often, most often especially in this Diocese, he has served as an archdeacon without financial compensation. (I know something about that reality, too, and the personal sacrifice it can entail. But we won't "go there" as they say.)
While he could have stayed here justifiably and worked exclusively on the challenges confronting St. Paul's Church, he spread himself thin for the Gospel. Through his leadership the Brooklyn archdeaconry enjoyed active programs. He visited parishes. He challenged the clergy and the laity to do more than they were doing and to be what they were capable of being. He asked for the same level of accountability from them that he was giving to the larger Church. And, surprise, surprise, it did not always make him popular! Imagine that: a priest-archdeacon, active in the trenches of the day-to-day ministry of the Church who lived what he preached! He was not – and is not – the consummate ecclesiastical bureaucrat who sits in an office, shuffles papers, and demands that others do what he cannot or will not do himself. You see, it has not been "just about Peter Golden." It has been about service in our Lord's Name to the people of God.
And that still wasn't enough, although it seems enough on the surface of things for any busy priest. Peter has remained deeply involved with and committed to the Church's presence in central Brooklyn. He served for a period of time on the Board of Episcopal Health Services, although his principle love and place of most devoted service has been as a member of the Board of Interfaith Medical Center, where he has served as the voice of conscience, the voice of the Church and the Diocese of Long Island, and, in many instances, the voice of Christ himself. He is no token, window-dressing board member, but one who interacts with staff members, the administration, and patients and family members. He is the one consistent authoritative figure who has kept the spirit of St. John's Episcopal Hospital alive in what could have been an otherwise non-descript, non-religious place where dollars can matter more than human life. And for that reason, I say that he must not retire – must not be allowed to retire – from that great responsibility any time soon.
And if that still wasn't enough, there is his great commitment to the inter-relationship between the Flatbush community and the New York City Police Department. Many clergy simply make a residence in the communities they ostensibly serve without really making any tangible impact. But it has not been so with Canon Golden, who been not only a friend to the men and women in blue who serve the community, but a friend to the community in helping to promote closer relationships and understanding between various cultures, various religious traditions, which find sometimes themselves at odds with one another. While he might not describe himself this way, he has often served as a reconciler and a peace-maker where it counts most: in his own community.
And if that still isn't enough, he has travelled frequently in the not so distant past representing the Episcopal Church and this Diocese and its bishops in other parts of the world. In a real and active sense, he has been a "missionary priest" in the best sense of the word, seeking to share the best our western Anglican tradition has to offer while also learning from other cultures have to teach us about the saving ways of the Gospel.
It would have been so easy to simply stay here at St. Paul's and to worry about the roof, the insurance payments, and making certain that there were flowers on the altar for Sundays. But Canon Golden has chosen a broader ministry, a more demanding one, and has lived a better priesthood with you and for you as a result of his diocesan, community, and larger Church involvement.
He has showed you, over the years, and in countless ways, by his own involvement that true Christian community is always outward-looking, always searching for new ways of service, is never self-satisfied with things as they are now. I have never heard him say, "We've never done it that way before."
It is not been "all about Peter Golden", that's for certain. Similar to most of the rest of us in ordained ministry, he has suffered his disappointments. At times he has been disappointed by the behavior of others toward him even when he has tried to serve faithfully and sacrificially. But it is a true mark of the man, a true sign that he is a committed follower of Christ, that he has not returned evil for evil, but has gone on about Christ's work with patience and trust in the belief that a good example is the best proof of character. Maybe it's also the best revenge? That, my friend, makes you unique in the annals of the clergy we have known. I pay special tribute for the example you have set for all of your colleagues.
Retirement is a process. Let it be so for you. Let is now be a bit more about Peter Golden. You won't have as many sermons to write or carry a heavy schedule. You won't have to worry about the roof or the heating system or who gets elected to what. You won't have to spend your life in the car going to one meeting or another as you did for years. But do remember that your priesthood his hardly ended, that your friends still need you, and that God isn't even close to being finished with you.
Retirement is a process. For selfish reasons, I want you to be a very good example in retirement for the some of the rest of us who will follow you eventually. But do enjoy these days, months, and years ahead that God has given you. And do remember our Lord's welcome to you, which all of us hope to hear, "Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your Master."
You've earned that joy. May you have many happy, healthy, and productive years in our midst. We are a better church and a better diocese for your presence. Thank you for your ministry among us.
The Very Rev. Theodore W. Bean, Jr.
Dean of the Cathedral of the Incarnation
Garden City, New York
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