"You are the Christ, the Son of God." Martha spoke these words at the tomb of her brother Lazarus. She recognized Jesus as the Messiah and knew that if anyone could help her brother, he could. Martha was a woman whose life was changed by Christ, a woman who embraced change. She is a kindred sister to all of us.

As we look at women in the New Testament, we see that Christ changed their lives. Women who started out as quiet workers in their homes and communities became newsmakers, telling others of the impact Jesus Christ made on their lives. Women also played an important role in the early church. Lydia, a cloth merchant, was responsible for the church at Philippi that met in her home. Lydia seems to have been responsible not only for the beginning of the church, but its continuance after Paul left. Priscilla taught Apollos. He was a learned man, yet it was the example of Priscilla's piety that he needed in order to be a better preacher. The women who followed Jesus cared for him in life and death. If they had not been diligent about preparing his body for burial, they would not have been the first ones to proclaim that Jesus was alive.

For those of us called to ministry as a second career, Christ has changed our lives in much the same way as he did with Martha, Lydia, and other New Testament women. In order to embrace God's call to full time ministry, we have made major changes in our lives to become leaders in the church. We bring a variety of gifts that were developed in the secular world, while God slowly nurtured us into women God can use in the church. No matter what we did previously, the gifts we developed in our earlier careers in the marketplace enhance our ministry as pastors. For example:

• Administration, which can be a weak point in churches, is a gift brought by women who have worked in secular jobs. Those skills honed by organizing a business or corporate offices are well suited to work in the parish. Professional women have had to learn to organize and attend to detail without wasting time.


• Public speaking, a criterion for many secular careers, has been a great help to me as a preacher. Getting peoples' attention at a sales meeting is taught differently than connecting with your audience from the pulpit, but the goal is the same: We want our listeners to hear the message. When the two skills are combined, you have a preacher people want to hear. 


• Attention to the budget is another talent second-career clergy bring to the church. We learned how to balance a budget before becoming ministers. We ran businesses, homes, and volunteer organizations. Pastoral work puts these talents to work in the church. 


• Caring for volunteers in the church is another gift second-career clergy bring to ministry. We understand how to appreciate our volunteers, because many of us have spent years volunteering. We know how important a simple 'thank you' can be to let others know we appreciate their efforts. Whenever I moderate a session meeting, I remember that I was a ruling elder. I know what it is like to squeeze in ministry at church when my personal schedule is already full.

I have always felt that being called later in life brings me closer to women leaders in Scripture. When I graduated from high school, girls either got married or became secretaries, teachers, or nurses. I took the nurse route as that was the least expensive education. For a long time I believed that I was called to be an active layperson in the church. I did just about everything there was to do in the church - one of the joys of being Presbyterian. It was only after God challenged and nurtured me in volunteer work that God called me into the ministry of Word and Sacrament.

So much of my life's training has provided needed gifts for ministry - nurturing through motherhood and nursing; administration skills through nursing and volunteer work; preaching through a love of public speaking, but also a greater love for wanting to share how Christ has blessed my life; budgeting through service as treasurer and president of many organizations, not to mention managing a home; teaching children through being a mother and grandmother; counseling simply from many years of marriage and life experience and, of course, learning from courses and books.

I, at least, would not have been as good a pastor if I had been called in my twenties. I needed a "first career" to mold me into the person I am today. I am grateful that God waited until I was ready to call me into ministry.

Joyce Rife is a second career pastor. Her first career was in nursing. She spent many years doing volunteer work in the church. In 1979 she was called to the Ministry of Word and Sacrament. She has a BA from Thomas A. Edison College, Trenton, NJ; M. Div. from Princeton Theological Seminary; and a D. Min. from McCormick Theological Seminary. Joyce has served churches in New Jersey and Georgia. Now retired, she serves as the chairperson of the Committee on Ministry for the Northeast Georgia Presbytery. Joyce and her husband, David, a retired electrical engineer, have three children and eight grandchildren. Their son is a Presbyterian pastor in Waterville, Ohio. They love to travel, read, eat good food and just enjoy life.