She was 57, and after 20 years as an administrative assistant and manager for Pittsburgh environmental engineering firms, Sylvia J. Baker felt the call to do something else with her life.
Another 20 years has passed, and Sylvia — the Rev. Sylvia, actually — has been pastor of the Assembly of God Church in tiny Shanksville, Pa., since 1999. The fact that she describes her career transformation as “easy to do” makes it no less remarkable.
Although she had spent many years as an active church member, Sunday school teacher and lay leader, “I decided that I knew there was something else that God wanted me to do.” So she began taking distance education courses to become licensed as an Assemblies of God pastor.
She started the process in 1991, when distance learning meant mail delivery of textbooks and assignments returned the same way. She kept her full-time job and studied evenings and Saturdays. “I traveled a lot, so I was on airplanes a lot. I would often take my studies and use that three-hour period to and from on the airplane to study as well,” she recalled.
She didn’t remember exactly how much the courses cost, but she had the full support of her husband, Roy, and they were able to cover the cost without dipping into their savings. Roy died in February 1993. “If anything, it confirmed that I needed to answer the call that I felt God had put in my heart to do this something else,” Sylvia said.
“I believe that it was all God-ordained because it was easy. It was easy to do, and I didn’t find studying burdensome at all.”
Now she has a career and work life that she could only imagine when she started. “It was a totally different focus. It gave me the opportunity to make my daily focus to be on sharing the Word of God and helping people to understand the love of God by what He was encouraging me to do,” she said.
Although she had the support of her family and close friends, there were a few challenges with her new job. Her first position was at her home church, and she needed to establish herself as a leader with a congregation that had known in her in so many other roles. And, she said, she was already used to working in a career traditionally dominated by men. “I almost had to kind of prove … that I wasn’t just a glorified Sunday school teacher,” she said.
There were income-related challenges as well, but she’s managed. Now, just a month away from 78, she has enough from her pastoral salary, Social Security and minimal withdrawals from her retirement accounts to cover her needs. “I’m fine! God has blessed me. God has taken care of me.”
Not that money had anything to do with her career change. “I cannot imagine now doing anything else. It has its own challenges of course. But when you know you’re doing what you’re supposed to be doing, no matter what that is, there’s a comfort level. There’s a peace. Not that everything comes up roses all the time, but you know that you’re doing what you’re supposed to be doing. That’s a great feeling, and that’s where I am.”
Another life transformation
Sylvia’s career change is not the whole story, however. In the last three years, she’s transformed her health and physical appearance. She broke her wrist in a fall, and when her physical therapy was complete she decided to continue with an exercise program in nearby Somerset, Pa. Around the same time, her daughter Debbie was planning a Caribbean cruise that would include zip-lining among several shore excursions. Sylvia decided to do some strength training to prepare.
The workouts built up her strength, and she lost 20 pounds in six months. She’s now developed a fondness for running and participates in several 5K and 10K races in western Pennsylvania. “I always come in first in my age group. Then again, I’m the only one in my age group,” she jokes. In truth, she placed first in Pittsburgh’s Great Race 10K, in which there were other competitors her age.
“I go to the gym three days a week. It’s a great life. I can’t imagine living any other way. I’ve now lost a total of 50 pounds,” she said, adding that the only regular medication she takes is for low thyroid levels.
To people considering their own transformations, Sylvia has only encouragement. She recalled someone once saying that no matter how long it might take to accomplish something, you may as well try because that time is going to pass whether you do it or not.
“When it first occurred to me that I needed to get these credentials, yes, that was going to be a long haul, but the time was going to go by whether I did it or not,” Sylvia said. “It is worth the commitment. Don’t hold back. Follow your dream. Follow your vision. Let God help you. He will, and you’ll achieve things you never thought possible in your life, just because you did it.”
(Disclosure: I married Sylvia Baker’s daughter Susan in September 2011. It’s a happy coincidence that my mother-in-law also is a perfect example of someone who changed careers later in life.)
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