GUILDERLAND CENTER — The Rev. Allen Jager said goodbye to his flock of 28 years on Sunday, as he led his final worship service at the Helderberg Reformed Church in Guilderland Center.

“I’ve been a minister for 40 years,” Jager told The Enterprise. “I just turned 65 last year. I decided it was time to enter a new stage in my life.”

His wife, Barbara, will continue working for at least another year as a secretary to the administrator for human resources in the Guilderland school district, Rev. Jager said.

Jager is unsure of what he’ll do in the future.

“We bought a house in Glenmont,” he said. He plans to spend time setting up the house, he said.

After he has had time to consider his options, he will make decisions about how to fill his time, he said.

“I will still continue to preach, to fill in for other ministers, after six months,” he said.

Jager studied at the New Brunswick Theological Seminary in the state of New Jersey, where he grew up. After seminary, he preached in West Copake (Columbia Co.), then moved to a church in Englewood, New Jersey, before arriving in Guilderland Center.

Jager said that he has ideas of trying new activities like playing golf.

“Between ministry, the fire department, and my family,” they have “kept me very busy,” he said.

Jager has been active in the Guilderland Center Volunteer Fire Department for 25 years, he said. He served as a lieutenant, and as a chaplain, and now serves as part of the fire police, he said. Jager is now a life member, a designation granted after 25 years of service, and he will continue to serve as chaplain, even with his move to Glenmont.

He may even join his closest fire department, once he has settled in to his new area, he said.

The Jagers’ grown children live locally, he said. Matthew lives in Albany, and Christina is moving to Glenmont with them, he said.

“Everything went beautifully,” he said of his final service in Guilderland. “It was hard. I’m looking forward to retirement, but saying goodbye was very difficult, I could tell, from both sides.

“I really enjoyed my time in the Guilderland community,” Jager continued, “and all the friends I’ve known. It will always be a very important part of my life.”

Helderberg’s future

One of Helderberg’s deacons, Bev Harrington, agreed that the church members did not want to bid Rev. Jager farewell.

“We knew this day would come, but, of course, we were in denial, even after he announced his retirement set for June 30,” Harrington wrote in an email to The Enterprise. “We are very happy for him, a bit sad for us, but it is great to still have him as a friend!”

The church plans to hire an interim pastor while it looks for a full-time pastor, she wrote.

“We have a number of speakers, known as supply, for the time before we have an interim minister in place, for whom we are currently searching,” Harrington said.  “This Sunday, Clara LaSalle will be in the pulpit.

“We won't be searching for a new minister until we complete the time with our interim — it could be a year, two years, somewhere in between, or more. An interim will guide us through the process of searching for a permanent pastor, with a committee that has already been established,” she wrote.

“Helderberg will be fine. We learned through the fire that destroyed our old building that it is the people, not the building, who are the church. Now we are learning that the church is not a pastor, either. Allen has given us the skills in his 28 years with us to work together,” Harrington wrote. “Thus, we will work together to accomplish this new chapter without him as the leader.”