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BY HILLARY VIDERS
SPECIAL TO NORTHERN VALLEY PRESS
On Sept. 9, a huge following of parishioners and staff at the Presbyterian Church of Tenafly gave the Rev. Dr. Eileen W. Lindner a spirited “farewell” dinner.
Lindner is retiring from ministry and from the congregation after 18 years of service, the last eight as a senior pastor.
Lindner’s retirement caps a career that includes a wide range of service to the church at the international, national and local levels; championing civil rights and ecumenical causes; and serving the local community at home in Englewood.
When recently asked about some of her fondest moments in the Presbyterian Church in TenaflyLindner replied, “There are so many! For example, Jerad Bortz, the longest running cast member of the Broadway show, ‘Wicked,’ has been a constant supporter of our programs for many years. Six months ago, Jared was in a car accident that left him a paraplegic. In just 10 days, we raised $20,000 to buy him a wheelchair. That was really memorable.
“We also mounted a similar response to Hurricane Irma when it hit Puerto Rico. We collected money and sent $30,000 to the National Presbyterian Aid Agency to help with the recovery. Here in our community, we are blessed with inner faith and generosity.”
During her tenure as pastor at Tenafly, the church continued to raise tens of thousands of dollars for mission causes locally and around the world and sponsored a Field of Flags commemorating each fallen American soldier in Iraq and Afghanistan.
A proponent of civil rights in her youth (which led to a lifelong friendship with Andrew Young and his wife), Rev. Lindner has long been active in justice causes.
A child advocate, she continues to serve the Children’s Defense Fund, the nation’s preeminent organization advocating for justice for children, as their theologian in residence. She was invited by President Jimmy Carter to serve in the area of child welfare policy on the United States Commission on the Year of the Child (1976).
For more than three decades, Lindner was a leader in the ecumenical movement serving the National Council of Churches as deputy general secretary. In that capacity she traveled throughout the world where her duties included a variety of national and international ministries including child advocacy, research studies and planning. She served as editor of the Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches—the nation’s largest database on the American religious landscape.
Lindner also served as director of the Child Advocacy Office and during her tenure established a network that serves 18,000 preschool programs housed in churches of all denominations nationwide. She also conducted the first systematic study of health services by the National Council of Churches to determine the level of health care education, delivery and advocacy being offered.
Lindner is also recognized as a leader within the National Presbyterian Church USA. Frequently called upon to serve on the national level, most recently she was part of a 12-member commission charged with recommending structural directions for the denomination’s presence in the 21st century. The group’s recommendations were approved by the Presbyterian Church General Assembly in June 2018.
Lindner has served as an overseas mission associate in Egypt and Lebanon assigned to the Middle East Council of Churches. She also serves as Dean of the Chapel at the Children’s Defense Fund’s Annual Proctor Institute for Child Advocacy Ministry, and as a member of the Committee on the General Assembly for the PCUSA.
Lindner is also the author of numerous books and articles on a variety of child advocacy subjects, including “Thus Far on the Way: Toward a Theology of Child Advocacy” (2006) and “When Churches Mind Children,” the latter reporting on the nation’s most extensive child care study.
Lindner has lectured at seminaries throughout the country which include: Harvard Divinity School, Yale Divinity School, Louisville Presbyterian Seminary and Andover Newton Seminary.
In addition to her national and international commitments, Lindner has been deeply engaged in the life of the Tenafly community where she has lived since 1984.
She served two terms on the Tenafly Board of Education and as its president. In town, she has twice served on municipal groups at the request if Mayor Peter Rustin. As minister of the Presbyterian Church she has been an active leader in the Tenafly Interfaith Association and its many activities.
Lindner’s farewell dinner on Sept. 9, attended by 130 congregants, family members and friends, was a testament to her popularity in the church as well as the Tenafly community. Rustin read and presented Lindner with a proclamation for her outstanding service.
During the evening, Lindner was given a memory scrapbook by Mary Jane Eimer, the chair of the Farewell Dinner Committee. She was also presented with a check and a gold necklace with a charm bearing the symbols Alpha and Omega (the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet used by Christians to signify “The beginning and the end,” an appellation to Jesus in Revelation 21:6, 22:13).
A highlight of the dinner took place when Bortz, the former Broadway actor now living with paraplegia, came to the microphone. Haltingly at times, he sang “The Impossible Dream” from the Broadway show, “Man of La Mancha.” His delivery was so poignant that it brought tears to many people’s eyes.
In between enjoying a fish and chips dinner and a huge inscribed cake, Lindner was toasted by several church elders and serenaded by church cantors with beautiful songs, such as “Where is Love?” and “Perhaps Love.”
These pieces were fitting to the theme of Lindner’s acceptance speech—love.
“I’ve loved every minute of my time here. In my life, I’ve had many jobs, but I’ve never loved any job as much as I’ve loved being your pastor!”
“It has been an honor to be your pastor,” she continued. “I will think of you often and I will walk away from here knowing that I have sojourned with people who proclaim the gospel in word and deed.
“I thank you for your friendship, for your unconditional support and for all the wonderful times that we have had. Most of all, when I think of you, I will think of love,” said Lindner. “Like the song says, ‘Love, Love Love.’ Love is all!”
Looking back on 18 wonderful years, Lindner remembers when she first realized her religious calling.
“As a teenager, I loved the church, and I knew that I wanted to serve God,” she said.
Previously, Lindner served parishes in Illinois, New York, and elsewhere in New Jersey, and she served a long term as associate general secretary of the National Council of Churches.
Lindner plans to continue to work on selected projects for the Presbyterian Church USA until she officially steps down as pastor. After 48 years of ministry at home and abroad, she is looking forward to leisure time with grandchildren and opportunities to travel for fun.
Although Lindner will soon be living in Brick Township, she plans to come back to visit Tenafly.
“Whether to attend a funeral or one of the church’s shows where I’ll be in the front row clapping,” she said. “I love these people and they are my friends. I will always have them in my prayers and in my heart.”