My name is Gary Russell. There are many areas of service at CCC, and therefore there are many of you I have not yet had the privilege of meeting. I wanted to introduce myself and make sure you know that you are valued as part of the body of Christ and part of CCC.

Part of my responsibility at CCC is to engage with the specific generational issues and needs that exist in the larger population of 55–70-year-olds in our congregation. I, myself, am part of this demographic and can attest that many of us don’t recognize these needs in our life, and yet most of us are dealing with some or all of these unique issues:

• ·You are retired or contemplating retirement and trying to discern the proper timing and the types of service/ministry you can be part of with greater time availability.

• You are becoming grandparents and want to be engaged with those grandchildren in an effective way despite many of them being at a remote location.

• You have become empty nesters or are nearing that time in life. This brings many changes in purpose and even some fear and trepidation, not to mention the possible loss of some relationships that were connected to your children.

• You may have adult children who have moved out and then back in or never moved out. This creates many areas of contemplation as to how that relationship continues. Are you still the parent or are you a peer? Is there a balance?

• You are ready to finish your career but desire to continue to work, maybe in a different field or different career or even as a volunteer.

• You now have aging parents that need help and care. You are feeling like you are becoming a parent all over again, but this time with a whole new set of issues that you have never dealt with before.

These are just a few of the questions that arise in this new phase of life, especially in an era of people living longer than ever with greater health and wellbeing. We are not “seniors,” but we would love to have some biblical guidance in facing these new challenges. We are in Phase 3 of life, but we have far more to learn and do.

This is why I am writing. Over the past few months, we have lead some groups of people in our congregation through the process of understanding and developing ministry to address the specifics of this stage of life. We have dealt with discipleship, intergenerational ministry, appropriate fellowship opportunities, and community service. I have also begun writing articles occasionally that deal with some of the unique challenges facing our stage of life. We will send them out electronically and post them to a special blog page for review. You can reach this blog by going to cccomaha.org/phase3 where you will also find coming opportunities to engage in the various ministry and relation building offerings.

I hope you will find value in this information and explore what this ministry can look like for you. I also want to invite you to connect with me and share ideas, needs, prayer requests and your desire to apply your giftedness to the leadership of this great ministry area.

If you are not interested in receiving these in the future, let me know and we will take you off our list.

I look forward to meeting you and serving alongside you as this exciting ministry goes forward.

Be Blessed,
Gary
402-938-1574
garyr@cccomaha.org