Dear Friends:
Our guest preacher last Sunday was Lutheran Pastor Anders Neilsen, Vicar of Chapel of the Holy Spirit, our Episcopal chaplaincy to Tulane and Loyola.
The Episcopal Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), the largest of the various expressions of Lutheranism in the U.S., entered into a Concordat several years ago which, among other things, provides that Lutheran and Episcopalian clergy may serve in parishes of either denomination. So we were blessed to welcome Pastor Anders into our midst and to hear his fine sermon. Please take time to read or listen to it.
He began with a story that I want to highlight for us because it speaks to an issue vital to the Church at large and particularly to Trinity in this season of discernment.
The issue is this: Where are all the young people? The answer is that they are mostly not in church.
Survey after survey indicates that over the last twenty years, church attendance has declined precipitously. The decline is particularly evident among the demographics known as Millennials and Gen Z.
At the same time, it is interesting to note that the latest Pew Report on Religion in America concludes, contrary to popular understanding, that religion in America is not declining but is actually on the rise. This does not mean that attendance/affiliation with Christian churches is on the rise as the report studies overall religious views, not specifically churchgoing.
“Spiritual but not religious” is a growing demographic; most Americans surveyed are willing to learn from other religious traditions; and Jesus is still highly regarded even among non-Christians. The list goes on.
While church membership seems to be stabilizing at around 20%, religious beliefs and spirituality are increasing.
In other words, Americans are becoming less secular, not more. Some churches seem to recognize this and are adapting, especially in reaching out to younger people. Many other churches, including many Episcopal churches, are more focused on current beliefs and attitudes of an aging membership.
As you read the following excerpts from Anders’s sermon, ask yourself how Trinity might respond to these young voices, voices who speak for the future.
Each Thursday during the school year at the Chapel we would host a dinner for students to enjoy food that wasn’t cafeteria food, be together, have conversation and grow in their relationship with one another.
We keep hearing that many in the college age and their peers are skeptical of the institution of the church and so I think they are a critical demographic of folks to listen to.
The task was simple, answer the following question anonymously and with as much brutal honesty as you would like:
“What would you say to the Church in America right now?”
Here are some of their responses.
The first one I read: “You guys really blow it sometimes. Sorry Pastor Anders.”
Others said:
“I would say that Christians should actually practice what they preach.”
“I would tell them to be better advocates for communities who have historically been oppressed and treated unfairly.”
“I would tell them to stop caring so much about their churches and status and start caring for God's people.”
“I would tell them that they should be more focused on heaven now than heaven later.”
And finally, the most straightforward of all: “Love better.”
Sounds like some pretty good advice. Actually… it is almost Gospel-like, isn’t it?
“Love better.”
“Practice what you preach.”
“Be better advocates for those less fortunate.”
Almost like those words are spoken and written verbatim in the Gospel.
“You guys really blow it sometimes.”
Also, like something that Jesus says. Not to shame, but to challenge because he knows that his disciples can do better—and subsequently so can we.
These are some wise words from these students for us to listen to—and then allow them to guide our thoughts, prayers, but ultimately our actions moving forward as the Church that Jesus Christ calls us to be.
What these young people are saying to the church is pretty simple. Until you start actually walking the Christian Walk instead of just talking the Christian Talk, we’re not interested.
They don’t want to just hear the gospel being preached. They want to be part of a community where the gospel is being lived out.
So younger leaders who are fluent in the hopes and concerns of the coming generations may be the best strategy for reaching younger people. What this means for a larger resource-size parish like Trinity is that a core strategic focus should be on adapting to this reality both internally and externally by supporting communities led by younger leaders.
Among other things, it will be important to attract a cohort of younger candidates who have a heart for evangelism along with candidates who may be older and more experienced but are particularly sensible of these changes and opportunities and are keen to avoid messaging that would suggest a desire to recreate the past.
To cite one recent example, St Martin’s, Houston, the largest parish in the Episcopal Church, and a very traditional one, just called a new rector who is 39 years old!
Trinity has important strategic visioning work to do in order to focus on attracting a diverse field of candidates who are mission oriented rather than maintenance oriented. The status quo will not do. Indeed, to be perfectly candid, the status quo means a slow but certain death.
Now, let me hasten to add the importance of maintaining tradition here at Trinity. I have been formed by the long and very rich tradition central to Anglicanism in general, and the Episcopal Church in particular.
Indeed, authority in Anglicanism is said to rest on a three-legged stool of Scripture, Tradition and Reason. The late church historian, Jaroslav Pelikan once observed that “Tradition is the living faith of the dead.”
We stand on the shoulders of all the saints who have gone before us and honor the faith they have handed on to us. Many of our traditions at Trinity are alive today and make this the vital community that it is. Our tradition is a precious gem that we will always treasure. The tradition of the Church is in my DNA.
There is another side to this, though, and that is what Pelikan called “traditionalism,” or the worship of the past. “Traditionalism,” he said, “is the dead faith of the living.”
When the past becomes frozen and static, when the past becomes an unchanging idol that we worship and place on a pedestal, then growth, new life, and new energy become stifled. The organism, whether it be an individual human being or a human institution, is starved of oxygen and soon begins to wither.
The good news is that there are so many here at Trinity, including our very capable, committed and energetic lay leadership and program staff, who are already looking to the future that God is dreaming for Trinity.
Both the means and the will are here to power such a godly vision. But it will take all of us—everyone—to commit ourselves with all the resources of time, skills, and financial capacity that we have to actuate God’s dream for Trinity.
While there is plenty of work to be done before Trinity is ready to call the next rector, it can be joyous and exciting work, work that will connect us ever more deeply with one another and with the Holy Spirit.
I, for one, am looking forward to the road ahead. I hope you are as well.
May God’s most abundant blessings be upon each one of you and all the ones you love,
Lex
