By JULIE CARLE
BG Independent News
Pastor Peter Johnston has been a minister for more than 40 years. He’s served small rural communities, urban neighborhoods, hospitals and retirement communities.
His sermon on Sunday (June 22) will be the final time he preaches at Faith United Methodist Church in Luckey, where, at 26 years, is the longest time of his career that he has served at one church.
He won’t be stepping away entirely from the ministry, as he will continue serving as chaplain for three area Otterbein senior living communities. However, the decision to retire from preaching at a church is a monumental move.
Growing up, Johnston was a “PK – preachers kid for a long time,” he said. Because his stepfather was a minister, he had thought off and on about the ministry. The idea was cemented after he heard a sermon on ministry Sunday.
“From the end of that sermon, I knew that was where my life was going to go,” he said. “That’s what God had in mind for me.”
He worked as a phone solicitor selling products over the phone to make enough money to pay for his first term in the seminary at the Methodist Theological School in Delaware, Ohio.
After his first term, he was called to be an assistant pastor at a small church in Grove City for about a year before he was appointed to two “little-bitty churches near Peebles, Ohio,” more than two hours away from the seminary.
One of the churches was said to be the oldest Methodist church west of the Allegheny with beautiful frescoes on the ceiling. “I think the biggest thing we did was put in new outhouses,” he recalled.
After he graduated from the seminary, he served five churches for a few years in southeast Ohio, about 20 miles from the West Virginia border, before moving to an urban neighborhood church in Dayton, which he said “was very different from the rural communities” where he had served.
Then Johnston was an assistant pastor in Findlay for six years before being appointed to minister at Pemberville and Faith United Methodist churches in 1998. He worked at both churches for 10 years before accepting a part-time chaplain position at Otterbein (Portage Valley, at the time) and giving up the Pemberville church.
From the very beginning he saw his role as a pastor to be one of helping people make sense of difficult times and crises, and even more importantly to be a steady presence for his congregations.
“I always say there are times when a pastor earns his keep, and normally it is just what you do, but there are times when everybody is looking to you for answers. When you go on Sunday morning, and everybody wants to know what you have to say about it,” he said.
He has ministered through family deaths and tragic losses. Two of the most memorable times that his congregation depended on his strength and faithfulness were 9-11 and COVID-19.
“Both of these events required me to provide spiritual leadership and comfort,” he recalled. “You pray a lot and just realize that it’s an important time. You have to be aas honest as you can because you are grieving along with them. But those are the times you have to step up.”
Otterbein becomes ‘’most-fulfilling ministry’
The path to serving older individuals happened when the district superintendent suggested Johnston apply to the retirement community chaplain position because he was known for “having a heart for old folks.”
It was there that he found “the most fulfilling ministry,” Johnston said. So, when a full-time chaplain position for the Pemberville, Perrysburg and Monclova Otterbein facilities opened in 2013, he applied and was hired.
For 17 years, he has relished being able to sit with Otterbein residents, “hear their stories and help them through their rehabilitations, transitions, and leaving this world,” he said.
He also ministers to the Otterbein staff, whether daily affirmations or officiating at memorial services for colleagues or residents.
“It’s really been the full gamut for the elders and the folks that work there,” he said.
Dealing with the repercussions of COVID-19 was one of the hardest times he had as a minister. Moving from in-person to video sermons emailed out to everyone in the church was not easy, but he did it.
Even more difficult was working with the residents at Otterbein.
“What those folks went through was terrible. We literally sealed them behind plastic for the better part of a year,” he said.
They would hold worship services and some activities in the hallway. Residents would come out of their doors to listen, or other connections were through Zoom.
“It was just a terrible time that was kind of Ground Zero” for the senior community, he said. “I think we realized that there are things that are worse than getting sick, and that is loneliness. And while the rest of the world has moved on a little bit, we haven’t been able to get beyond COVID completely.”
He will continue to serve the Otterbein communities for at least a few more years before fully retiring
“I think they have a lot of wisdom to share, but they also have a lot of need that can be a very scary time as they lose their independence and, frankly, their faculties,” he explained. “Growing old is a very daunting task, and to have somebody there that can pray with them and listen to them is really important.”
It doesn’t hurt that he is starting to go through much of the same changes as they are, he added.
Ministering to a wonderful community
“I’ve been around a long time. Twenty-seven years is a long time to be in a church,” he said. The benefit of ministering in a small community church for that long has definite advantages. The parishioners have the security of knowing their minister, and he has had the opportunity to develop wonderful relationships.
One of the things the congregation will miss most when he’s done is his ability to provide sermons that resonate with the parishioners.
“Many people have commented that it feels like he’s speaking directly to them when he gives a sermon,” said John Selzer, president of the church council.
“There are wonderful people at the church who are real pillars in the community and real examples of faith, compassion, and reaching out in Christ’s love to one another,” Johnston said.
Though the congregation is not large, it comprises families and friends who have gone through so much together. “It’s very inspiring to see the congregation come together and love each other through some of the difficult times,” Johnston said. “They support their community and beyond.”
There are people with a passion for going into the larger mission field, beyond the local community.
“Of course, that is what the church is. It is not a club for us. It’s a place where we can reach out and launch into the world,” he said.
Church hosts Retirement open house Sunday
His final sermon is at 9:30 a.m. Sunday in the church at 111 Main St., Luckey. The church hopes to “Pack the Pews” for his farewell sermon.
At the time of the interview, he had not yet decided what message he would share, but it will include one of thanks and the request for people to continue their faith in Christ. Even with his departure, his legacy of compassionate, empathetic pastoral care will be felt for years to come.
The congregation and the public will also have the opportunity to honor Pastor Johnston and his wife, Mariko, during a retirement open house Sunday from 1 to 3 p.m. at the church. Remarks by District Superintendent Rev. Amy Haines, Lay Leader Brian Myers, and Church Council President John Selzer will begin at 1:30 p.m. The afternoon will include music, refreshments and fellowship.
