Father Lawrence Johnson said he received as much as he gave as administrator at Stella Maris

TIMONIUM – As an avid outdoorsman, Father Lawrence M. Johnson said he gets as much enjoyment from taking in a grand vista as he does from glancing at a bush. He just revels in the simple pleasure of solitude that comes with connecting with the outdoors.

It is a fitting reflection as he ponders retirement from his full-time position as director of pastoral care and chaplain at Stella Maris in Timonium.

Father Johnson, 70, said he has received as much as he has given from those he’s connected with in long-term or hospice care. In addition to Stella Maris, he serves those at Mercy Ridge Retirement Community and St. Elizabeth Hall assisted living.

It might seem like a contradiction, but the Timonium native and Dulaney High School graduate says working with younger staff members who minister to those in the latter stages of life and their family members has “really enlivened” him. 

He has served the Archdiocese of Baltimore for 40 years. Ordained at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in 1983, he has worked at Stella Maris for the past 29 years.

The Bridgewater College (Va.) graduate started work in employee development for a company in Wyoming. His love for the outdoors and skiing in Grand Teton National Park eventually gave way to a desire to be closer to home and family. Back in Maryland, his work with the Boy Scouts of America and the subtle guidance of Sulpician Father Gerry McBrearity led him to his calling and enrollment at St. Mary’s Seminary in Roland Park.

He served as a deacon at St. Mark in Fallston and then as an associate pastor at St. Mark in Catonsville, Immaculate Heart of Mary in Baynesville and Our Lady of Victory in Arbutus before starting as chaplain at Stella Maris. He credits Father Larry Frazier and the late Father Joseph McManus as being major influences on his ministry.

For nearly three decades, he has worked with patients and families in long-term care, rehab and hospice settings.

“I like connecting with the people I serve,” he said. “The job comes with a bit of intensity. I’ve always been attracted to working with the elderly. It was as if I found my vocation when I came here. I’ve developed some long-term relationships that I cherish. I also like the multidisciplinary work of long-term care, rehab, hospice, independent living and assisted living.

“It’s really been a great environment for me,” he said. “It’s very rewarding to have people who are close to seeing God open up to me and to have their family members share everything about their life with me. It blows my mind to be able to walk that path with them when they are so close to walking with God.”

Crystal Hickey, Stella Maris’ executive director, said the organization feels blessed to have had the services of Father Johnson.

“We are so incredibly blessed at Stella Maris to have services including pastoral ministries and grief counseling that help us care holistically for each individual,” she said. “Father Larry Johnson has been ministering to the aging, sick and dying for three decades at Stella Maris and he has been a tremendous resource for all those we service, including families and staff. 

“Father Larry’s presence in our community will be greatly missed as he enters into retirement, but we wish him all the best and thank him for all his tremendous work over the years. “

For his part, Father Johnson said another unexpected pleasure of working in bereavement and at Stella Maris is to see how many people are drawn back to the church.

“It’s very rewarding to see so many family members come back to Stella Maris for Mass,” he said. “Whether it’s the intimacy of the service in the chapel here or that they just like what we do, it’s amazing how many people return who have been away from the church for so long.

“I express my gratitude to the people who have opened their lives to me. I’m always humbled and grateful for the trust they’ve placed in me by sharing their life events – happy times and end-of-life moments.”

Father Johnson said one of the best parts of his ministry is serving at baptisms or weddings of families to whom he has ministered over the years in neighboring parishes. 

“I did my longest stint as a pastoral associate at Immaculate Heart of Mary (seven years),” he said, “and it’s very ingratiating to see how many people I baptized years ago that I’m now marrying or baptizing their kids.”

He has also remained connected closely to his only sibling, Linda Schuerholz, and with his alma mater, Bridgewater College, where he has been active on several boards and with fundraising. 

And, he’s remained connected to the outdoors, still traveling for hikes, rafting and zip-lining in his favorite national parks in Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming.

“I’m very excited about retiring, but the closer I get the more apprehensive I become,” said Father Johnson, who attended Immaculate Conception Church in Towson while growing up. “I really thrive on the daily interactions with co-workers, staff, patients and families. It’s a very stimulating environment and I’m going to miss it.” 

He said, in retirement, he plans to step up his support at St. Isaac Jogues in Carney and St. John the Evangelist in Hydes. He also plans to continue to be on call for funeral directors to conduct liturgies.

He does have some pertinent advice for newly ordained priests.

“One of your greatest gifts is your self-awareness,” he said. “Never lose your sense of self. That’s what people see, and that’s what they want to connect with.”

Email Gerry Jackson at gjackson@CatholicReview.org

Also see

Father William Au, pastor of the Shrine of the Sacred Heart, is set to retire

Father Demek retires after nearly 50 years as a priest

Father Gills retires after a ministry that took him around the world and around the Archdiocese of Baltimore

Father Foley, pastor to retired priests, set to retire himself

‘Unflappable’ pastor who shepherded major parish projects ready to retire

Approaching retirement, Monsignor Barker reflects on shepherding one of the largest parishes in the Archdiocese of Baltimore

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