Of young adults and the church



Yesterday I attended a meeting of the Council of the Diocese of Olympia, at which a young priest asked us about our knowledge of young adults and their relationship to the church. When I got home I checked Facebook to see this blogpost forwarded to me by a friend from Arkansas. I just sent it on to my Bishop and another clergy colleague and forwarded it to my own Facebook account. It's worth reading just for the way it directly addresses in a calm and direct way the anxieties of adults who wonder where the young people are. It is by a person who served as a campus chaplain.

I call attention to these quotes:

1. Be genuine. Do not under any circumstances try to be trendy or hip, if you are not already intrinsically trendy or hip. If you are a 90-year-old woman who enjoys crocheting and listens to Beethoven, by God be proud of it.

Amen to that! Here's more:

5. Stop looking for the "objective truth" in Scripture.

6. Start looking for the beautiful truth in Scripture.

I know I'm going to upset some people I know with approving of the above, but I'm not sorry about that. I think if we can't see the beauty in Scripture we're in no little trouble.

Here's something else I find true in my experience:

9. Do not shy away from lighting candles, silence, incense, laughter, really good food, and extraordinary music. By "extraordinary music" I mean genuine music. Soulful music. Well-written, well-composed music. Original music. Four-part harmony music. Funky retro organ music. Hymns. Taize chants. Bluegrass. Steel guitar. Humming. Gospel. We are the church; we have a uber-rich history of amazing music. Remember this.

Why, even yesterday a 25-year-old man -- ok, he may be 26 by now :) -- told me a big attraction to St. Paul's was the organ music.

One more, and then go there and read the whole thing for yourself:

15. Stop worrying about getting young people into the church. Stop worrying about marketing strategies. Take a deep breath. If there is a God, that God isn't going to die even if there are no more Christians at all.

Thank you, Tamie, in the merciful name of Jesus, for sharing this with us.

Comments

  1. KateMarch 5, 2011 at 6:04 PM

    I read this the other day (was it linked from your blog?) As I was reading.. i knew you embraced this idea. Sounds like St paul's. Great community.

    ReplyDelete

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