it matters to these young adults. So the strong compass that reli- giously affiliated young adults seem to possess includes both a relatively strong anchor point in religious tradi- tion, and (perhaps because of that strong anchor point) an openness to drawing the circle wider—find- ing insight and epiphanies in new and expansive interpretations of the ancient ritual and symbol systems. Liturgical theologian Gordon Lathrop described something like this approach as “strong center, open door.”
And Diana Butler Bass, an expert
in American religion, describes young adult-friendly congregations
as “communities of memory” where “spiritual nomads” who live in an age of distraction and forgetfulness seek to “locate themselves in a story” (Christianity for the Rest of Us: How the Neighborhood Church Is Trans- forming the Faith; HarperOne, 2006). Bass writes that today’s spiritual nomads aren’t seeking tradition because they desire “answers, author- ity, social order, or doctrinal purity,” but because they seek to receive and actively engage the wisdom of the ancestors as a living tradition, both for its deep roots and its adaptability in new times and cultures.” Of course there are many other important considerations for nurtur-
ing lively ministries with young adults today. But these three empha- ses in worship—identified by the millennials themselves—call us to central and profound tasks of worship renewal and reform: • Nurturing spirituality and depth in the worship lives of our teenagers. • Exploring the sacramental politics of baptism and the Lord’s Supper that run deeper than today’s conserva- tive hypocritical legalism and liberal therapeutic niceness. • Recovering knowledge of and appreciation for historic liturgical traditions while learning to impro- vise with them in a new key and a new day.
Leading through service works for some T
oday’s young adults don’t always enter the church the same way they used to, said Kristen Glass Perez. But the way they do enter is still very “Lutheran.” “There are a number of multiple entry points and one clearly is service,” said Glass, a chaplain of Augustana College, Rock Island, Ill., and former ELCA director for youth and young adult ministry. If young adults aren’t necessarily in the pews Sunday morning, Glass will tell you that doesn’t mean they aren’t serving—even leading—the church. And service— responding to the needs of others at home, work, school and church—is in keeping with the tradition of Martin Luther, she added. Two of the ways in which young adults serve the church happened this summer. First, every summer more than 3,500 young adults staff the church’s 145 outdoor ministry sites. Working at camps is the “largest annual gathering of young adults in the ELCA,” Glass said. Second, young adults made up the bulk of more than 1,500 volunteers at the 2012 ELCA Youth Gathering. “These volunteers give up a week of their employment” to work this event, she said.
And every year adults younger than 30 leave their comfort zones for another time zone to serve at sites worldwide through the Young Adults in Global Mission program. The program has grown from 10 the first year (1999) to 44 during the past year.
But Glass cautions against thinking such commitments
to service are the only ways in which millennials (born between 1980 and 2000) serve the church: “We need to look for other ways for ministry. Where are the places for local engagement?”
She sees those who are passionate about ELCA World Hunger and the ELCA Malaria Campaign. At last year’s Churchwide Assembly more than 10 percent of the vot- ing members were under age 30, surpassing the goal of a resolution passed in 2009. They’re even stirred by the church’s social statements and lead the church in inter- faith awareness and welcome, especially to the gay, les- bian, bisexual and transgendered community, and to those who say they have no religious background and no belief, Glass said.
“There are many outlets for young adults to engage in service; it doesn’t have to be through the church,” she said. “In the church, however, we have the opportunity to connect to service because of and through our tradition. “Connecting the ‘why’ we serve to the service itself is the gospel opportunity that we have in ministry with young adults, and many find this extremely compelling. ... However, there are many young adults who consider themselves to be a part of the church who never have attended a church service and maybe never will. It’s not a primary entry point for them. We need to learn to be com- fortable with what can feel like a real tension.”
Julie B. Sevig August 2012 25
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