Looking up at the pulpit of the Church of the Red Rocks, one can see the splendor of scenery during worship. For one man, the view is reversed, but no less wondrous.
The Rev. George Ault will be retiring Tuesday, June 30, 30 years after he came from Michigan to begin his ministry at the Church of the Red Rocks just south of Uptown.
“I decided I was tired of the cold weather and looked for a church in a warmer climate, so I shotgunned my profile to Florida, Texas, California and Arizona,” Ault said.
Ault half-joked that old age was the reason for his departure.
“I will be retiring exactly 30 years since I started here,” he said. “I’m 72 years old, I don’t think I’m ready to quit quit, but I’ve been in the ministry for 46 years …. Jay Leno said, ‘Leave when the time is right,’ so I think that’s probably about time.”
He made his decision to retire nine months ago.
“It seemed like a long time away when I announced I was retiring in September …. Now, it seems like its coming faster and faster. It’s like a roll of toilet paper, the lower you get, the faster it goes,” he said.
An interim pastor will stay until a search committee is formed to find a more permanent replacement. The committee is formed by the church and the congregation has the final vote on Ault’s replacement.
To read the full story, see the Wednesday, June 17, edition of the Sedona Red Rock News.
