In the May 4 issue of the Herald there was an insert, Caring Times, from the Virginia Baptist Children's Homes and Family Services which I enjoyed very much. I am glad these homes exist for the children, both Baptist and non-Baptist, who need them.
However, this caused me to reflect on my own situation and experience. I began ministering to Virginia Baptists in 1970. I served several Virginia pastorates before I went to my last one in North Carolina, where I suffered a heart attack and a brain-stem stroke (from which I completely recovered) in 1992, when I retired.
I then applied to one of our Virginia Baptist retirement facilities for my wife and me. At that time I was told outright that I would need an estate of $200,000 before I would even be considered. Therefore one of the Virginia churches helped me with a down payment for a house in Tennessee (where my two sons resided at the time), where I lived before returning to Virginia in 2005.
After my daughter haggled with one of our retirement homes, we were told to come for a tour of the home and an interview, and they would try to get us financial help. The interview went well, and everyone there was exceedingly friendly and kind. However, we were rejected again because there was not enough financial help available. As a result, my wife and I are now on a waiting list for a Christian retirement facility in Florida.
I chose and loved pastoring to rural and smaller churches where I always had 10 percent of my salary paid into the annuity program — yet my retirement income, consisting of my annuity and Social Security, is not enough for me to qualify for a home here in Virginia.
Why do we call them Virginia Baptist retirement homes and yet let money be the determining factor in accepting residences? I understand that these facilities struggle to be self-sufficient financially. I know they accept non-Baptists as well as Baptists. I also know several Baptist people like myself who were denied entry due to finances.
However, I wonder why they and their trustees do not drop “Baptist” from their names. I also wonder how many Virginia Baptists are aware of this situation before they have a need for such things.
I cannot bring myself to be angry about the repeated rejections by the retirement homes, but I am surprised … and I am dismayed.
Many thanks for the ministry and information provided by the Herald.
David E. Brooks, Lynchburg