NEXT Steps: Redefining Retirement as Jubilee
Discover Purpose. Embrace Possibility. Reimagine What’s Next.
NEXT Steps is a transformative 16-week program that redefines retirement—not as an ending, but as a jubilee season of renewal, growth, and profound opportunity. Whether you’re preparing to step away from full-time work, are in the midst of that transition, or recently retired, this experience offers guidance, clarity, and community.
What Is NEXT Steps?
Rooted in the belief that life after full-time employment can be the most meaningful chapter yet, NEXT Steps explores:
- The deeper, non-financial dimensions of retirement
- Spiritual, theological, psychological, and gerontological insights
- A practical framework for personal reflection and discernment
Participants engage with dynamic presentations, small group dialogue, and individual exploration to envision and articulate their next chapter.
How It Works
Each cohort journey includes:
- 16 weeks of engaging, self-reflective content
- Weekly evening Zoom sessions
- Thought-provoking readings, podcasts, and videos
- A culminating celebration and personal presentation
The program is co-led by Eden Theological Seminary and The Center for Abundant Aging with United Church Homes, combining deep expertise with compassionate guidance.
NEXT Steps is for you if:
- You’re nearing retirement and want more than just financial planning
- You’ve recently left a career and feel uncertain about what comes next
- You feel unmoored or adrift and are searching for purpose
- You’re curious, open, and ready to explore a life of deeper meaning
No matter your starting point, you’ll finish the program with a renewed sense of purpose and a personal roadmap for your next season of life.
What Participants Are Saying
“I thought I knew what I wanted in retirement, but NEXT Steps opened up possibilities I never considered.”
“This isn’t our parents’ retirement. It’s a reawakening.”
“I now see this next phase of life as a calling, not a question mark.”
Ready to Reimagine What’s Next?
Join a growing community of individuals choosing to begin their retirement with clarity, confidence, and joy.
Program Facilitators
Rev. Beth Long-Higgins is VP of Engagement and director of The Center for Abundant Aging at United Church Homes and joined the NEXT Steps team in 2020. She is a trained facilitator with the National Center to Reframe Aging with the Gerontological Society of America and is a member of the American Society on Aging, where she sits on the Ageism and Culture Advisory Council and the Religion, Spirituality, and Aging Collaborative. Prior to her call with United Church Homes, she served as co-pastor with her spouse, Dave, for 25 years in two United Church of Christ congregations in Ohio and Kentucky.
Rev. Steve Lawler has been a part of the Next Steps team since 2019. He was the founding director of the Walker Leadership Institute at Eden Theological Seminary, retiring at the end of 2024. An ordained Episcopal priest, he led St. Stephens & The Vine in Ferguson, Missouri, from 2001 to 2019, transforming it into a vibrant parish and community collaboration hub. From 1990 to 2016, he was a part of Washington University’s University College as a faculty member and a program coordinator, teaching and developing programs in leadership, organizational development, and systems thinking.
Jill Schantz, coordinator of NEXT Steps, served as Director of LIFE Programs and International Student support from 2012 until May of 2023. She has been the director of NEXT Steps since 2021. A graduate of Eden seminary’s Master of Theological Studies program, she has directed programs focusing on Children, Civil Rights and Social Action, Economic Empowerment, Education, Environment, Human Rights, Poverty Alleviation, Social Services including as director of the American Youth Foundation’s Summer Women’s Leadership Seminars. She has served as director of Christian Education and the Hunger Outreach Program for Pilgrim UCC in St. Louis.
Questions? Please contact Steve Lawler at [email protected] or Jill Schantz at [email protected].
Visit the Eden Theological Seminary’s NEXT Steps page for more information and to register.
About the Author: UCH Team
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