Dear Friends,
We live in a culture that increasingly separates people by age groups. Children (and adults) play sports with others in their own age group. Senior housing, while offering many benefits, can isolate older adults from other groups. As our society becomes more mobile, many grandparents find themselves far away from their grandchildren. We label the generations—Silents, Greatest, Boomers, Gen X, Gen Y, Millenials—and stereotype each other based on arbitrary age cut-offs.
In this context, churches, synagogues, mosques and temples play a unique role as intergenerational communities. At our best, we break down divisions, building relationships across generations, enabling connections between children, youth and adults of all ages. When we resist the societal inclination to separate generations, we discover the richness of gifts people of every age have to offer. We become surrogate grandparents and grandchildren, aunts and uncles and nieces and nephews to each other. We send each other cards and draw each other pictures. We tell stories and learn from each other.
This year, during Lent, we will honor the unique role our church is called to play as an intergenerational community. Our theme for the season is “Connecting Generations: Nurturing a Spirituality of Intergenerational Relationships.” We will celebrate the promises we make in our baptism and blessing ceremonies, to nurture one another on our faith journeys. We will experiment with “pew partners”—friends from different generations who sit together in church. We will tell stories in our daily devotional of intergenerational friendships. We will explore new ways to worship together, reflecting on shared experiences such as sports, music and baking that give fresh insight into our faith. We will do an intergenerational mission project, putting together backpacks for Syrians who are refugees in their own country. We will even hold a trivia contest!
Through all these special opportunities, I invite you to reflect on the intergenerational relationships in your life. When you were a child, what adult took time to talk with you in coffee hour? Did you have a mentor as a teenager? Is there a wise elder who inspires you? What special connections do you have with children or youth, young adults or seniors?
I look forward to this creative opportunity to connect across generations!
Peace, Debbie