By Mary Owen
Retirement has come early for a local pastor.
“My original plan was to retire at 70, giving six years to the Stayton United Methodist Church,” said Janine DeLaunay. “However, I decided to retire two years early in order to move to the Portland metro area, primarily because they have public transit. While I love walking around Stayton, I need to be able to get to places and participate in education, culture, and events not available by foot alone. In Portland I will be able to move around easily, both in the day and in the evening, to participate more fully in the kinds of activities I enjoy.”
However, DeLaunay does not let her blindness get in the way of her calling, and although she plans to retire from formal church pastoring, she knows she will find “many opportunities to be in ministry with people.”
“I look forward to serving in new ways,” she said.
DeLaunay, who moved to Oregon in 1975 and raised two boys, has been a life-long United Methodist with a passion to help people experience and share the love of God, “heart to heart and soul to soul.” She holds degrees from the Iliff School of Theology in Denver, the University of Oregon, and Western Michigan University.
“Her worship style is warm, informal, inclusive and relevant to everyday life,” according to the Stayton UM web description.
DeLaunay said all the best highlights of her time at Stayton UMC involve getting to know people there.
“They are kind, generous, and they have embraced me and my new guide dog Tahiti,” she said of her congregation. “The challenges have been in getting around – no public transit. Every time I have a meeting, a home visit, a need to go anywhere, I have had to ask for a volunteer helper and in some cases pay a driver.”
With her deep love of music, DeLaunay said she also looks forward to joining at least one or two community choirs as
well as resume guitar lessons, audit classes at Portland State University, and “get active in issues of immigration and other justice issues.”
In leaving Stayton, DeLaunay said she will miss the people, leading the singing and all worship of Sunday mornings, and the weekly prayer group and other small groups that she has been a part of.
“There is so much about Stayton I will miss,” she said. “I have loved eating lunch at Moxieberry’s. The concerts sponsored by KYAC and Ken Cartwright at Trexler Farm and the meals Charlene provides are phenomenal!”
Stayton and the Santiam Canyon area are wonderful places for those who can drive, she said.
“It’s great that new people are opening businesses in the downtown core area, and I hope the revitalization continues to flourish,” she added. “Thank you, for treating this big city girl so well!”
The congregation honored DeLaunay’s departure with an open house on June 23 to say their good-byes and thank her for her four years of service.
Pastor David Madden from Idaho was chosen as DeLaunay’s replacement. He begins as Stayton UM’s new pastor on July 1.
