Taber welcomed back, with love, to Salisbury church

LAKEVILLE — The Rev. Richard Taber was honored at the Salisbury Congregational Church Sunday, Sept. 18.Taber was the pastor there for 27 years. Two and a half years later, he is now (officially) the pastor emeritus.“It’s an honorary position,” he said. As a member of the congregation his “primary function is to support the pastor.”Taber has been largely absent from the Salisbury church during this period — by design. It is established practice that a retired pastor leave for a period of time, in order for the new pastor to get established.And between the terms of interim pastor Steve Austin, and the Rev. Diane Monti-Catania, who was selected by the congregation, that meant that Taber and wife Joanne worshipped at the Norfolk Congregational Church for the two-and-a-half year period.He’s glad to be back.The service Sunday “symbolically welcomes me and my family back to the church,” he explained.Taber, who has a master’s degree in social work and a private counseling practice with an office in Sharon, kept his hand in, filling in at the Falls Village, Norfolk and Cornwall churches for pastors on vacation or sabbatical.Asked if he missed the daily pastoral routine, Taber replied, “Oh, yeah. Definitely.”But he was quick to note the advantages of official retirement. “The freedom to see the kids, to not be tied down on Sundays.”Looking back on his time at Salisbury Congregational, Taber said a major focus of his ministry was building ties between the congregation and the community. “I was supported by the congregation in addressing social problems,” he said, citing his involvement over the years with the Housatonic Youth Service Bureau, Habitat for Humanity, and the Northwest Center for Family Service and Mental Health (now part of Community Mental Health Affiliates).“It was about alleviating suffering and providing opportunity” for those in need or distress.Taber’s goal for the church was to make it “a place where people from different walks of life would feel comfortable and welcomed.”And his model for his ministry was “to be supportive, to facilitate. The best things that happened were initiated by other people.”He had nothing but praise for Monti-Catania. “I can’t say enough positive things about her — her faith, her authenticity and her desire to be a colleague.”At the service Sunday, the Rev. Charles Wildman, United Church of Christ interim conference minister, said of those who become clergy, “the call is mystical, irrational and deeply spiritual.“God leaves the light on for us, but it is up to us to find the path. Dick Taber’s one of those pastors who light the path.”And he lightheartedly warned the new pastor emeritus that there is still plenty of work for him.“You may flunk retirement royally — many of us have.”Taber thanked the Falls Village, Norfolk and Cornwall congregations for welcoming him in their churches during the last two and a half years.“And I thank the Holy Spirit, whose presence was at work when the search committee chose Diane.”Addressing the congregation he went to Isaiah: “You are precious in my sight, and honored, and I love you.”