Personal news

[Jane Ellingwood]

Dear friends and colleagues and lurkers and all,

I have some personal news for you, which I am very excited to share with you, and which does relate to you in a way.

Some of you may recall that I still work full-time, while I am in a PhD program half-time. On June 4, which is not long from now, I will have worked for IBM for 33 years, since 3 weeks out of undergrad school back in 1979. All my subsequent education (first MA at Duke in the 80s, MA in Theology and Ethics from Hartford Seminary in 2009, and now my PhD) has been done part-time, while working full-time at IBM. I did my seminary internship at a church part-time too, completing it at the same time I graduated from seminary in 2009.

Well, I get tired at times, which is no doubt because I will be turning 55 this year. And so a couple of months ago, I decided that I would retire from IBM on June 30 and work full-time on the PhD, but that decision had not been setting well with my stomach or mind or heart, not to mention my pocket book. I was really feeling a great deal of stress, and it was not helping me with my writing!

And then on May 1st a wonderful thing happened. IBM announced a first-of-a-kind program, called the Transition to Retirement program. It is not a layoff or golden parachute. It's an opportunity for people like me, who are seeking to pursue second careers after retirement, to begin working part-time. Starting July 1, those of us who take the program will be working 60% of the time (the equivalent of three days a week, but done in any configuration), and paid 70% of our salary. We will also receive all of our benefits including medical. The only restriction is that we have to commit to retire on or before Dec. 31, 2013 (next year).

So, it is with great joy that I share with you that after I had a thorough consultation with my PhD advisor from Exeter, it has been decided that I will work part-time for IBM for a year, beginning July 1, and then retire next summer, and go to Exeter in the fall of 2013. The only negative is that my residency has to be moved out a year, as I was trying to pull of getting to Exeter this September. But the huge up-side is that I'll get more of my dissertation done, more quickly, while I am here. I will work 3 days per week for IBM and 3 days on the dissertation, and take one day off for God and me!

And you are part of this, because when I made the original decision to retire, I was thinking that I wanted more time to engage in dialogue with you about things that matter to you, and not to have to ignore you for long periods, and then pop in. And I'll meet some of you in-person at the Craigville Colloquy this summer, which is very enticing. I'll also have time to read more theology that is not directly related to my dissertation, so I can really bone up for some good discussions / arguments! :-)) I suppose I could even go out to South Dakota myself, with that little group of adults from my church, but that might be stretching me a bit too far!

Also, just a side note, I am flying to Chicago next week for the NAPS (North America Patristics Society) conference, and my PhD advisor will be there, both as a presenter and as a co-host of a session. And Lewis Ayres, Michel Barnes, and Khaled Anatolios are all on the agenda, and I am using many of their writings for my work. This will be my first theological conference, and I am excited, not to mention that I used to live in Chicago, and it will be fun to be back in the city again.

So, that's my news, and I hope that having more daylight hours and more days per week to work on my research and writing will end up producing more fruits!

Blessings,
Jane

[Rev. Linda Gruber]

A huge thumbs up for you, Jane! God's blessings!

T-Mobile. America's First Nationwide 4G Network

[wind...@gmail.com]

Sounds perfect for you Jane....and a plus for us as well!!! Many blessings on a wonderful journey. Seems God is mapping it out nicely for you...and it sure doesn't get any better than that!

Wanda Lester

[Rev. AWKovacs]

"God works in mysterious ways his wonders to perform ...."
The hand of Providence!
God has blessed you, Jane, with the fruits of your labors.
Shalom!
AL

[Jean Easland]

Dear Jane: Oh yes South Dakota is ready for you. Stay at our house.
Wonderful depth of call! Love with a hug if allowed+++Roger+++Dakota
Association is looking for help, you have all the gifts, check it out. You
could work part time at it! Lets talk+++

----- Original Message -----
From: "Jane Ellingwood" <Bct...@aol.com>
To: <confessi...@googlegroups.com>

[Willis E. Elliott]

....& just think, you'll have more time to read long posts such as the one I
sent you today!

Seriously, Jane: it's a joy in God to see your life opening flower-like, in
freedoms few human being ever have.

Grace and peace--
Willis

----- Original Message -----
From: "Jane Ellingwood" <Bct...@aol.com>
To: <confessi...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Wednesday, May 16, 2012 12:53 PM
Subject: Personal news

[Herb Davis]

Dear Jane, Do you mean you will have more time to fine all the flaws in my
theology? Sometime I wonder about election! You are a blessed gift to us.
Should we thank IBM? Herb

[Jane Ellingwood]

Dear Linda, Wanda, Al, Roger, Willis, and Herb,

You have no idea how good your responses made me feel. You are wonderful! And I even heard from the two ladies first --- that shows that there are women "out there" in our forum, which I know is true. :-)) That made me feel really good!

Here are my personal replies to you:

1) Linda, thank you, you made my day with your "thumbs up" and gave me encouragement to plow forward!

2) Wanda, yes, it's amazing how God has mapped things out for me, in this situation and a few others that came earlier. Even my IBM manager said to me that "Someone" was looking out for me, as my next door neighbor also said to me today, when I told her my news.

3) Al, I should say "ditto" to what I just wrote to Wanda, but I agree with you on God's providence. I was incredibly moved the day that IBM made this announcement, and the timing was such that I could only see the "hand of God" in this, given that the announcement of this new program came on May 1, and I was supposed to sign and return the pension papers by May 17. I am glad I did not sign the papers!

4) Roger, I was actually quite seriously enticed by your suggestion about the Dakota Conference and staying at your house for my visit. Then later that day, I went to our Church Cabinet meeting and asked if anyone else could join the Simply Smiles expedition. Even though the answer is yes, I found out that the only bath that folks are going to get in an entire week is a dip in some river each night. That pretty much wrapped it up for me. And yes, hugs are allowed, as long as one's hands do not have any manure on them!

5) Willis, yes, I have often thought, over the past many, many years, that I have more freedoms than almost anyone, and especially almost any woman! I will use my freedom wisely, and will pray for assistance if I ever feel like squandering it. But given how much I have enjoyed my last few days of working on my chapter, I don't think I'll get too sidetracked.

6) Herb, yes, you should thank IBM, as I do all the time. Say what we will about corporations, they are not all bad. And IBM has given me many gifts over the years. They paid for my first MA at Duke at night, when I lived in North Carolina. They gave me Tuesday afternoons free and clear, to do the PhD seminar (two semesters) and some of my final weeks for my fourth semester of Greek. And now they will pay me to have two days off each week! So yes, I am grateful to IBM. Given that my father also worked for IBM, since the time I was 7 years old, I can pretty much thank IBM for my financial support for most of my life.

Thanks to all of you, whether you are named here or not.

Jane

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