with Holy Cross
Looking back at our past
Presbyterians used to sing psalms …. What do we sing now?
We have our traditions, our likes ….. what do young people sing these
days?
Do we need to evolve our repertoire? But we have done this in the past
A concern is “zombie churches”: those who refuse to die so that resurrection
life can come! NB zombie church is not an age-related phenomenon
How can we bless and hand on our life of the spirit to a new generation?
Hope going forward
People WANT to consult with young families and build on what THEY
want to construct, something life-giving together
Youth-related questions
Where is Jesus in all this? Where is God’s work of redemption through
Christ? If we’re not telling that story to people (Deuteronomy)
To “get families and young people into church” what opportunities are
we seeing now (Monday – Saturday, as well as Sunday) that we can
respond to?
As well as “old” and “young” we have a middle population (Gen X) –
there is a large demographic there. Plus what BACKGROUNDS do we
represent? Who is not here? whose voices are we not hearing?
What attracts people, is the question “what can WE do for OTHERS”?
A lot of the things that draw people away from spirituality are TRAP-
PING them, e.g. technology
The church still has a respected place in society:
It can HELP people
It can provide SANCTUARY* (spirituality) (socially) in uncertain times
(for many people whose employment is unstable/insecure)
*the best thing the church has provided
Millennials are now turning 40
They are looking for spirituality and community and security, faced with
all the uncertainties BUT time is a scarce resource for many, so we are
going to need to compromise
The COMMUNITY is a sanctuary, not just the BUILDING! (but the
spiritual potential of the building is also a precious resource)
St Margaret’s News 5 August 2020