Referencing popular verses from the Book of Ecclesiastes, the Rev. Jeff O’Grady has announced that he will retire next year after serving for 15 years as pastor of San Marino Community Church.
“For everything there is a season,” O’Grady said in a video presentation to parishioners earlier this month. “It’s been an unusual season. I’ve turned 65 this year and I have decided it’s time to retire.”
O’Grady said that his retirement will be effective “on or before June 1, 2021” and that he and his wife, Lynn, have purchased a home in Nashville, Tennessee, where they will be closer to their three children and five grandchildren.
“We need to get through this particular season of the pandemic together before that happens,” O’Grady added.
O’Grady also said he was making the announcement now “so there is a long runway for the church to be able to plan accordingly for the transition of leadership.”
The Rev. Jeff O’Grady (left), who announced he will be retiring as San Marino Community Church’s pastor in 2021, is pictured with local residents Richard Ward and C. Joseph Chang.
Minnesota native O’Grady graduated from the University of Minnesota, Luther Seminary and Princeton Theological Seminary and is ordained in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), according to SMCC’s website. After serving congregations in Minnesota and California, he returned to Princeton Seminary, where for 11 years he worked primarily as the dean of student affairs, before receiving the call to become pastor of SMCC in 2006. O’Grady is a member of the board of trustees of Princeton Seminary and enjoys riding his Harley-Davidson, playing handball and golfing. Lynn O’Grady is the director of college counseling at Westridge School.
Jeff O’Grady said he leaves the church “in a strong place.”
“What things will look like post-COVID are yet to be determined, but we have a strong ministry team,” he said. “They are talented young people and you will be in great hands.”
He said that the pandemic has revealed further opportunities for ministry and that San Marino Community Church has invested in technical resources to livestream services in the future.
“These past 15 years have been some of the best of my life,” said O’Grady, pausing with emotion. “It has been one of the greatest privileges of my life. Lynn and I look forward to investing in our children and our grandchildren’s future.”
He ended the presentation on an uplifting note.
“We have much more to worship,” he said. “I look forward to being able to greet you personally in the coming months.”
