What They Told Us ...

At a conversation with people from their early-twenties to their mid-sixties, one of the most striking comments that was made - and one that nearly everyone present agreed with - was: "You have to be brave to walk into a church!"

The coming together was the result of some younger folks expressing a disconnect when they came to church on Sunday morning. When a "Home Group" of 50+ year-olds heard this, their first reaction was defensive. "How can this be?" "We love having them in church!" "Several of them are members of our Board of Trustees, or serve as ushers ..." "We have gone out of our way to make them feel welcome!" All true enough, but those realities did not alter the fact that some in our midst felt a "disconnect". So we decided to have supper together ... and talk.

There are some similarities. For example, it's not only the "young" who have to be brave; there are plenty of 50+ year-olds for whom walking into a church is a risk. The risks include the judgment of others, facing a whole host of assumptions people are making about us; and of course, there is the "style" - how we are "worshiping" (What does that word even mean - 'Worshiping'?).

Some of the things we have read in the research being done on young people and church bore themselves out. For example, it was noted that people in their 50s tend to "go" to church. People in their 20s just do it - they do church. This is not to say that older folks are not engaged in mission or acts of mercy and service. It is to say that younger people can do those things absent any felt need to attend a large gathering on a Sunday morning (or any other morning ...).

An interesting observation: Most everyone present 50+ were brought to church by their parents when they were younger. Most of the people in our youth program (teenagers) come from families where parents don't attend church, and in some cases the parents are antagonistic toward the church.

The key word, perhaps, is this: For the younger people "church" is organic rather than institutional. "Organic Spirituality" rather than "Religious Belief" - that's the paradigmatic disconnect that we are experiencing.

Another question arose from a 50+ year old: If the church is a barrier to people, what will be the point of entrance for those seeking to grow spiritually?

With relation to the Sunday Morning "experience", there are two facets - the Structural aspect ... that is, how the worship experience is scripted; and the Group Dynamic aspect ... that is, what kind of mindset people are in, how they feel about themselves and the people around them. It was noted that some people don't come to church because of who is already there.

The question: What's next? We did not arrive at a specific answer ... but I do believe there is a stronger commitment to know each other better. We acknowledge this project is essentially about God's expressed love for us through Jesus. It is essentially about our love for each other and our neighbor.

With regard to "worship" ... this coming Sunday is the First Sunday of Advent - the Christian "New Year" ... and I have an idea. I do have an idea ...