Retired Ministers’ Survey

the free methodist church in canada

Retired Ministers

RETIRED MINISTERS TEAM 2025 SURVEY

The Retired Ministers Team (RMT) is mandated by the FMCIC to help ministers at three stages: in their preparation for retirement (during their final 10 years before officially retiring), during their transition, and then during their retirement years. Our mandated support is to take the forms of (i) connectional activities among retirees, (ii) information-sharing (e.g. webinars on retirement planning), and (iii) advocating to FMCIC leadership about key issues / challenges / shortfalls in denominational support systems.

In 2021, soon after RMT’s creation, we circulated a survey to better learn of the interests and concerns of you, our constituency. Now five years later, we are offering another opportunity to express your views about RMT’s efforts to date on your behalf and your continuing concerns. Your time is valuable and we would appreciate just a bit of it to respond to the survey items below.

Please complete the survey by November 30, 2025.

Name(Required)

First Last

Gender

Male

Female

Email(Required)

Please provide your phone number

Please provide your full address

Street Address Address Line 2 City State / Province / Region ZIP / Postal Code Country

SECTION A: TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF

1. Please check the box for your current status, below(Required)

an active pre-retired minister expecting to retire within ten (10) years

an active pre-retired minister expecting to retire within five (5) years

a spouse of a Retiree/Pre-Retiree

a Retired minister

a widow of a deceased retired minister

Other

2. If officially retired, check the box below for your pastoral leadership role at the time of your retirement:(Required)

Lead Pastor

Associate Pastor

Assistant Pastor

Part-Time Pastor

Missionary

Chaplain

Release for Service

Other

3. Are you attending or serving with a Free Methodist Church?(Required)

Yes

4. Describe any assigned ministry role(s) in which you have served:(Required)

5. Are you regularly involved in ministry for remuneration outside of the FMCIC?(Required)

Yes

6. Comment

7. Are you involved in non-ministry work to supplement your income?(Required)

Yes

8. Comment

SECTION B: CONNECTIONS AND INFORMATION-SHARING BY RMT

Click here to visit the Retired Ministers FMCIC webpage: fmcic.ca/retiredministers

NOTES: RMT uses emails and occasionally letter mail to communicate with our constituency. Below please rate the clarity and content of RMT’s communications :

1. Have you visited the Retired Ministers webpage during 2025?(Required)

Yes

2. Is information clearly presented?(Required)

1 (Poor)

5 (Excellent)

3. Is the content usually helpful & interesting?(Required)

1 (Poor)

5 (Excellent)

4. Check the box(es) below to indicate your most preferred means for RMT to communicate with you(Required)

Letter Mail

Facebook

Phone

Other

Connectional gatherings

Over the past several years, RMT has arranged face-to-face events for retired ministers, spouses and widows, held mostly at FMC campgrounds and General Conference.

5. Do you recall receiving RMT’s messages about such gatherings?(Required)

Yes

6. If you have not attended any such gathering, kindly indicate the main reason(s) below:(Required)

Distance to venue

Physical/Health Limitation

I no longer drive

Inconvenient time

Too busy

I forgot to attend

Disinterest in the topics

No longer connected with FMCIC

Other

7. In the future, are you interested in meeting with other retired ministers by means of:(Required)

Zoom

Facebook

In-Person Event - Regional Gatherings

In Person Events - General Conference

In-Person Events - Camps

Not interested

Webinars online via Zoom

RMT has arranged and promoted the following webinars via Zoom – Five Most Common Mistakes in Wills; Grief and Mourning; Navigating your Finances in later Years; Medical Assistance n Dying (MAID); Uncommon Retirement (with author Jeff Haanen); Setting Boundaries with Adult Children. The three webinar titles above in BLUE can be accessed by clicking on them, or throught the RMT webpage: fmcic.ca/retiredministers
These videos can be watched at your convenience- please do so!

8. Do you recall attending live on Zoom or watching any of these webinars live on the above link?(Required)

Yes

9. Please indicate which webinars were personally helpful / beneficial for you?

10. Was there a particular reason(s) you did not join any of these webinars?

Inconvenient Time

Too Busy

I forgot to attend

Disinterest in the topics

I lack a computer / I don’t understand how to access Zoom

Other

11. In 2025 RMT emailed to you a copy of a book by Jeff Haanen, “An Uncommon Guide to Retirement”. Did you find this book helpful?

1 (Very little)

5 (Very Much)

I don't recall receiving this book

Your Ministry Stories

We now are equipped to video record the ministry stories of retired ministers. Several have already been recorded, and the FMCIC has created a Vimeo showcase that contains all the videos that have been published to date. You can access it through this link: vimeo.com/showcase/11938791 Going forward we’d love to similarly cover every retired minister, as agreeable.

12. Do you have a ministry story you’re willing to share?

Yes

13. Are you willing to provide a story by:

Video Interview

In Writing

SECTION C: ADVOCACY

In 2025, with some encouragement by RMT, the denomination undertook a review of the long-standing policy that a retiring minister and spouse are to separate themselves from their ending congregation for a minimum of six (6) months after a new permanent pastor is installed. Certain aspects of the policy have been amended this year-- see page 9 of the Church Transitions Handbook here: Church Transitions Handbook

1. What is your view of the changes to the amended policy?

2. Notes on Questions A to H

RMT has identified a number of specific issues or challenges which retirees or pre-retirees may experience, as itemized in (a) to (h) below. RMT is already in constructive discussions and advocacy with denominational leaders about remedial options.RMT wishes to learn the importance of each issue to you personally. For each item below, select a number between “1” (very low importance to you) and “5” (high importance to you). N/A means not applicable or no answer.

(A) How important is it to you for RMT to seek to establish volunteer positions of Regional Retired Minister Chaplains, each assigned to a specific geographic region, to provide spiritual care and emotional support to retired ministers and their families, and a consistent pastoral presence for them?(Required)

1 (Low)

5 (High)

N/A

(A.1) Would YOU be open to contacts by such a Chaplain for care and prayer?

Yes

(A.2) RMT is recruiting for these positions of Retired Minister Chaplains. Would you possibly consider serving in this capacity and like to read the job description?(Required)

Yes

(B) How important is it to you for RMT to continue to encourage the denomination to arrange for qualifying retirees to be eligible for medical insurance which (for a monthly fee) covers a portion of selected expenses that are not covered by your provincial Healthcare plan(Required)

1 (Low)

5 (High)

N/A

(C) How important is it to you for RMT to continue to encourage the denomination to prepare a “Planning for Retirement Handbook” that covers a broad range of measures which an active minister and spouse need to consider and act on during their final years before retirement?(Required)

1 (Poor)

5 (Excellent)

(D) How important is it to you for RMT to encourage the denomination to give to retirees free or subsidized access to the financial planning services of the advisory firm “More Than Enough”, as is already given annually to a limited number of active pastors?

1 (Low)

5 (High)

N/A

(E) Canada Life is the pension provider for ministerial retirees of FMCIC. How important is it to you for RMT / FMCIC to ensure that Canada Life provides to each pre-retiree, at least six months before their retirement date, a statement of their probable level of pension upon retiring?(Required)

1 (Low)

5 (High)

N/A

(F) How important is it to you for RMT / FMCIC to encourage Canada Life to offer to pre-retirees at least annually an online orientation session on “How to Prepare for and Live in Retirement” including key pension decisions which retirees need to make before or upon retiring?

1 (Low)

5 (High)

N/A

(G) How important is it to you for RMT / FMCIC to encourage Canada Life to assign to a soon-to-retire pastor one of their representatives with whom the pastor can ask to speak whenever calling with a question?(Required)

1 (Low)

5 (High)

N/A

(H) How important is it to you for RMT to encourage the denomination to Invite retirees to attend, as able, the regional pastors’ retreats and also to underwrite the retirees’ expenses to attend these gatherings and General Conference?(Required)

1 (Low)

5 (High)

N/A

3. In your opinion, which TWO of the above eight matters (A to H) should have the greatest priority for advocacy by the RMT?(Required)

4. If you have any other questions or comments, please respond below.

Thank you for taking the time to fill out this survey.
Your Retired Ministers Team appreciates your input.

the free methodist church in canada