By Nicole Falco
"It was over a month later and I walked over to Pastor [Robert] Howard to say hello. He said, 'Hello Lainie, how have you been." It just blew my mind that he remembered me," Spencer recalled of her first experience at Grace.
Pastor Robert Howard has given 28 years of service to the congregants of Grace Church in the same manner in which he welcomed Spencer and her family - with a personal touch - according to numerous church goers, community leaders and residents. Besides ministering to the church's community, Pastor Howard is a well known and well received face in the whole Valley Stream community.
On Dec. 21, 2001, Pastor Howard celebrated his 70th birthday, but the day came with mixed emotions. While he reached the milestone year with good health and vibrancy, Howard also reached the mandatory retirement age as stipulated in the United Methodist Church's Book of Discipline.
"My health is good [and] I still have vitality. I can still lead the congregation," Howard said in an interview with the Herald. "I feel I have more good years to give."
As one long-time congregant, Tom Wagner, put it, "Mandatory retirement went out with high-button shoes."
According to church law, "Every clergy member of an annual conference who will have attained age 70 on or before July 1 in the year in which the conference is held shall automatically be retired."
While the mandatory retirement rule has not changed, at the 2000 General Conference the Book of Discipline "now allows for the reappointment of a retired clergy member to the same charge from which he or she was retired; this applies to both ordained clergy and local pastors," according to Vicki Wallace, Information Specialist, United Methodist Information Service.
Letter after letter had been sent to Bishop Ernest S. Lyght at the United Methodist Conference Center in White Plains requesting that Pastor Howard be allowed to stay on as minister. Hundreds of signatures have been collected on his behalf, but the desires of Pastor Howard, the Grace congregation and the Valley Stream community have fallen on the ears of someone who many in the Grace congregation feel is "aloof" to their concerns.
At Grace's Annual Charge Conference held in December, more than 300 people attended and many spoke on behalf of Pastor Howard's reappointment. The meeting was also attended by Rev. Gunshik Shim, district superintendent, United Methodist Church. The Rev. Shim heard the reasoning of the congregation, but many present have since said their sentiments were heard by "deaf ears."
"A meeting with the district superintendent really amounted to nothing. He turned a deaf ear to our pleas," said Bert Keller, 86, a lifetime member of the church.
In a letter dated Nov. 21, 2001, Bishop Lyght responded to a previous letter sent by Marie White, Grace's former chairperson of Pastor-Parish Relations, regarding Howard's possible reappointment to Grace as a "retired pastor."
Bishop Lyght wrote, "When a pastor reaches mandatory retirement age, my policy and practice is not to appoint the pastor to continue his/her same pastoral appointment. A pastor in this situation can request an appointment as a retired pastor and be considered for a different appointment. This policy I believe will facilitate best the pastoral ministry of all our congregations in the New York Annual Conference in the short term and the long term."
At press time, Bishop Lyght could not be reached for comment. Rev. Shim was contacted, but did not feel it was his place to comment on the situation and added that it was his understanding that the situation was resolved following a meeting between Pastor Howard and Bishop Lyght that took place in early January. Pastor Howard noted Bishop Lyght to be both "holy" and "articulate."
Howard has indeed resolved himself to retirement, but despite a meeting with the Bishop, there are still unanswered questions.
"I felt I had more good years to give. In a way I thought I was offering the Methodist Church a favor...seasoned leadership to probably the strongest church on Long Island," Howard said. "[Bishop Lyght] has not explained himself. ... That's part of the frustration. I'm quite certain he knows very little about the church other then what others have told him and what I have told him."
What's next?
While the congregation of Grace United Methodist Church is still eager to carry on its campaign to have Howard remain in Valley Stream, he has begun plans to ready himself for a life beyond Valley Stream.
"I have to get on with my life. I have to buy a house. I'm 70 years old and have never owned my own house," Howard said. He is considering moving his family, which includes his wife, Barbara, his daughter, Betsy, and grandsons Robert and Henry, to Connecticut. Howard hopes to combine his two passions, religion and computers, during his retirement. He said he would like to start a Website, which would include a column similar to the one he writes for his weekly newsletter as well as other information.
Since 1973, Pastor Howard has been appointed one year at a time to Grace Church. Before that he spent 17 and 1/2 years as pastor of the Sunset Park Methodist Church in Brooklyn. A minister generally spends less then 10 years in a parish, according to Howard.
Since he's unable to remain in Valley Stream, he will probably also have to give up his many volunteer works within the community.
For over 25 years, Howard has been the chaplain for the Valley Stream Fire Department, handling memorial services, funerals and other official functions as well as offering guidance to department members.
"He's been a vital part of the department for so many years. Being that they are making him retire, it's a huge loss to the fire department," said Chief Rob Petry. "Anytime we call him, he's there. I can't think of any one specific instance, it's every time."
Howard has also been president of the Board of Directors for Monica Village. According to Lucille Moran, executive director of Monica Village, "He always knows exactly what's going on here. He's very hands on.
"It would be a great loss for us. He's an integral part of the ongoings of Monica Village."
Howard sits on the Advisory Council of the Wayside Home for Girls, he is president of the Board of Directors of the Brooklyn Methodist Home, he's an honorary member of Valley Stream Central High School Alumni Association because of his constant help to them, and has worked in conjunction with Sister Margie of Holy Name of Mary Church's Outreach Program to provide food at the holidays.
"When we have people in this community who are well liked by all we should keep them in Valley Stream," said Joe Bergen, who has worked with Howard on the Wayside Advisory Council. "This is not a man who sits in the back seat; he's up in the front driving the car."
In need of a transition
Aside from being well liked, Grace's congregation and Pastor Howard, himself, has an even more important reason for wanting him to continue. According to many, Grace Church is currently in a period of growth, both in the number of congregants, many of whom travel from beyond Valley Stream, and in diversity.
"We have become a much more family-oriented church during the last five years," Howard said. "We are also...becoming more culturally diverse. Proven leadership is needed to integrate new families in the life of the church."
Howard feels his experience, knowledge of the community and his having the community's trust has been and is integral to the church's growth.
He and others attribute the infusion of young families into the church to the arrival of his 9-year-old grandsons and daughter, Betsy, into his home about five years ago.
"The arrival of his daughter Betsy and her sons has helped spark new life into him as a person and as a pastor. There is nothing he won't do for anyone who asks and he inspires others to do the same," said Bob DeSalvo, the new Lay Leader of Grace, who as a family man is reflective of the direction of the church community.
To cater to the youth in his parish, Howard offers them a children's sermon, during which they gather close to his pulpit, before going off to Sunday school. Grace's nursery school is also a thriving asset of the church as are the numerous musical choirs and ensembles in the church. Both Pastor Howard and his wife are members of the adult chorus.
"We'd like to at least have more time for a proper transition," said Eric Bjorneby of Malverne, chairman of Pastor-Parish Relations at Grace, who will be instrumental in finding Howard's replacement, "We feel Bob's retirement should be timed when he and the personnel committee of the church has decided."
Ann Mahoney, chairman of the Church Board of Trustees, said, "We've been attracting new families with children and of different ethnic backgrounds. Things seem to be coming together...this next year we looked forward to cementing it."
Howard does have one piece of advice to offer his successor. As someone once told him, he said, "Get so close to your people that when they kick it won't hurt."
