Father Jim Kelly discusses the diary of Father William Howard Bishop, Glenmary’s founder, with archivist Lucy Putnam.

The word retire isn’t part of the lexicon of Glenmary priests and brothers. They don’t “retire,” they become “senior members” by age 75 as required by the society’s Constitution and Directory.

Glenmary’s 27 senior members, although not in assigned ministry, continue to play an important role in home mission ministry—assisting with sacramental ministry and outreach, providing the prayer support vital to Glenmary’s work in the missions. Here’s a look at three senior members:

Brother Larry Jochim lives in the Glenmary residence in Nashville, Tenn., which he has called home for about two years. He made his transition to senior membership while a parish brother at the former Glenmary mission in Hugo, Okla.

Since moving to Nashville he has assumed the duties of maintaining the Glenmary residence as well as the Robert C. Berson Center, home to the Glenmary Research Center and the Department of Pastoral Ministers and Pastoral Services.

A longtime member of the Brothers’ Building Crew, Brother Larry admits that the decision to assume senior membership wasn’t difficult. “But giving up the building crew, that was tough!” he says of that earlier decision. “I noticed that the ladders were getting higher and I asked myself, ‘What good can you do if you break your neck?’ There are other things I can do for the Lord.”

Father Jim Kelly lives at Glenmary’s Headquarters in Cincinnati with other senior members as well as those Glenmarians who work in leadership and administration. Father Jim became a senior member in 1984 after 35 years of service in missions in Virginia and North Carolina.

He also participated in Glenmary leadership and administration, serving as the first treasurer and as secretary to founder Father William Howard Bishop. This connection to the earliest days of the society’s founding makes Father Jim an invaluable asset to archivist Lucy Putnam who often calls on him to identify people and places in vintage photographs.

Since becoming a senior member three years ago, Father Ed Gorny has shared his ministerial gifts in Glenmary’s mission in Claxton and Pembroke, Ga., saying daily and weekday Masses, and helping with hospital visits and adult education.

Father Ed served 20 of his 40-plus years of ministry in Georgia. At one time, he says, many Catholics in Georgia had to travel 50 to 60 miles to go to Mass. “But that driving time has been reduced because there are more churches now, the majority of which have been started by Glenmary,” Father Ed says with justifiable pride.

“The positive side of being a senior member is that I don’t have the responsibility of meetings and reports,” he says. “I don’t have the parish council meetings and the other things that a pastor is responsible for; it frees me for the opportunity to participate in ‘people ministries.’”

Although Father Ed finds more time to spend with parishioners, Brother Larry misses moving around and the contact with parishioners that he had with the Brothers Building Crew. In total, he lived in 45 different locations over his 32 years with the Brothers Building Crew. “It was a grace to be able to pick up and move,” he says. “It was hard to say goodbye; there were nice people in all those places, but I knew there would be nice people in the next place.”

In Cincinnati Father Jim keeps busy with personal projects, most of which deal with Glenmary’s history in one way or another. He also takes his turn, usually about once a week, as principal celebrant and homilist at daily and weekend Masses held in the chapel.

“I pass on the history of the society to the younger men,” he says, “especially to those men currently in Glenmary formation.” He remembers being part of the first Council for the society and being part of the founding of the Glenmary Research Center. “Senior membership gives me time to spend on homilies,” he says, and to study Scripture and theology.

Father Ed is involved in study and education in Claxton. He moderated a Catholic apologetics class during Advent 2005 and hopes to continue the class during Lent.

“We dealt with questions that Catholics here in the Bible Belt get about the Church,” Father Ed says. “For instance, they are often asked ‘Have you been saved?’ We talked about faith as an on-going process, not something that happens once in a lifetime. We wanted to expose people to a better understanding of the Bible and how it works with tradition to express our faith.”

Fewer administrative responsibilities also give Father Ed more leisure time, which he has used to become computer literate, enabling him to use e-mail to stay in touch with family and friends. He visits with fellow senior Glenmarians Father Bill Smith and Brother Charlie Kennedy who live nearby.

Father Jim has little time for leisure, he says. He recently got a television that he rarely turns on. But he participates in a weekly penny-poker game with other Glenmarians in Cincinnati. Asked if he’s a good player, Father Jim assumes a poker face and says, “Sometimes I win, sometimes I lose, but I started with $5 two years ago, and I haven’t had to put in any more.”

Father Jim’s only complaint about senior membership: “Not enough time to do all the things I think I should do.”