NEXT Steps invites you to embark on a powerful journey of purpose and transformation—one that redefines the traditional concept of retirement. Rather than viewing this life stage as an end, NEXT Steps reframes it as a season of jubilee: a time for renewal, growth, and exciting possibility.
Designed for those approaching, navigating, or newly entering life beyond full-time employment, this unique program explores the often-overlooked non-financial dimensions of retirement. Through the integrated lenses of spirituality, gerontology, theology, and psychology, participants engage in a deeply personal process of reflection and discernment.
Over the course of a 16-week semester, you’ll participate in thought-provoking presentations, enriching small group conversations, and meaningful self-exploration. Through curated readings, podcasts, and videos, followed by interactive weekly evening Zoom sessions, you’ll gain the tools and insight to shape a life of intention and joy. The program culminates in a celebratory presentation where each participant shares their personal vision for the journey ahead.
Developed and led in partnership by Eden Theological Seminary and The Center for Abundant Aging with United Church Homes, this program is more than a course—it’s a community, a movement, and a call to live fully into the next chapter of your life.
Whether you come into the program with a clear plan, a few questions, or no idea what’s next, NEXT Steps meets you where you are. Past participants have discovered new paths they hadn’t imagined, affirmed and refined long-held dreams, or simply found clarity and peace through a supportive framework for discernment. No matter where you begin, you will finish with a renewed sense of purpose and a personalized roadmap for your later-life jubilee.
Are you ready to reimagine what’s next?
Let’s redefine retirement—together.
Discover Purpose. Embrace Possibility. Reimagine What’s Next.
NEXT Steps is a transformative 16-week program that redefines retirement—not as an ending, but as a jubilee season of renewal, growth, and profound opportunity. Whether you’re preparing to step away from full-time work, are in the midst of that transition, or recently retired, this experience offers guidance, clarity, and community.
Rooted in the belief that life after full-time employment can be the most meaningful chapter yet, NEXT Steps explores:
- The deeper, non-financial dimensions of retirement
- Spiritual, theological, psychological, and gerontological insights
- A practical framework for personal reflection and discernment
Participants engage with dynamic presentations, small group dialogue, and individual exploration to envision and articulate their next chapter.
Each cohort journey includes:
- 16 weeks of engaging, self-reflective content
- Weekly evening Zoom sessions
- Thought-provoking readings, podcasts, and videos
- A culminating celebration and personal presentation
The program is co-led by Eden Theological Seminary and The Center for Abundant Aging with United Church Homes, combining deep expertise with compassionate guidance.
NEXT Steps is for you if:
- You’re nearing retirement and want more than just financial planning
- You’ve recently left a career and feel uncertain about what comes next
- You feel unmoored or adrift and are searching for purpose
- You’re curious, open, and ready to explore a life of deeper meaning
No matter your starting point, you’ll finish the program with a renewed sense of purpose and a personal roadmap for your next season of life.
Join a growing community of individuals choosing to enter retirement with clarity, confidence, and joy.
Rev. Beth Long-Higgins is VP of Engagement and director of The Center for Abundant Aging at United Church Homes and joined the NEXT Steps team in 2020. She is a trained facilitator with the National Center to Reframe Aging with the Gerontological Society of America and is a member of the American Society on Aging, where she sits on the Ageism and Culture Advisory Council and the Religion, Spirituality, and Aging Collaborative. Prior to her call with United Church Homes, she served as co-pastor with her spouse, Dave, for 25 years in two United Church of Christ congregations in Ohio and Kentucky.
Rev. Steve Lawler has been a part of the Next Steps team since 2019. He was the founding director of the Walker Leadership Institute at Eden Theological Seminary, retiring at the end of 2024. An ordained Episcopal priest, he led St. Stephens & The Vine in Ferguson, Missouri, from 2001 to 2019, transforming it into a vibrant parish and community collaboration hub. From 1990 to 2016, he was a part of Washington University’s University College as a faculty member and a program coordinator, teaching and developing programs in leadership, organizational development, and systems thinking.
Jill Schantz, coordinator of NEXT Steps, served as Director of LIFE Programs and International Student support from 2012 until May of 2023. She has been the director of NEXT Steps since 2021. A graduate of Eden seminary’s Master of Theological Studies program, she has directed programs focusing on Children, Civil Rights and Social Action, Economic Empowerment, Education, Environment, Human Rights, Poverty Alleviation, Social Services including as director of the American Youth Foundation’s Summer Women’s Leadership Seminars. She has served as director of Christian Education and the Hunger Outreach Program for Pilgrim UCC in St. Louis.
Fall 2025:
August 26: Welcome, Introductions and Orientation
September 2: How We Engage with Age
September 16: Death and the Meaning of Life
September 30: Call, Vocation and Identity
October 14: Creativity, Curiosity and Seeing Possibilities
October 28: Generativity: The Dance of Giving and Receiving
November 11: A Spirituality to Sustain and Connect
November 25: Making Hope Happen
December 9: Celebration of your Next Steps
Winter/Spring 2026:
January 13: Welcome, Introductions and Orientation
January 20: How We Engage with Age
February 3: Death and the Meaning of Life
February 17: Call, Vocation and Identity
March 3: Creativity, Curiosity and Seeing Possibilities
March 17: Generativity: The Dance of Giving and Receiving
March 31: A Spirituality to Sustain and Connect
April 14: Making Hope Happen
April 28: Celebration of your Next Steps
