Advice to the pig in the python
(psst boomers... this is for you)
Why are we hanging on so hard?
New words, but no breakthroughs
____________________________________________________________________
(psst boomers... this is for you)
The image of a pig moving through the long digestive process of a python helps us visualize how the baby boom bulge is moving through our society.
The baby boom bulge first put pressure on hospital maternity units when the boomers were born. Then they overflowed the public school system. Next they gave a huge boost to college enrolment. When the boomers reached childbearing age, an echo-boom of births fuelled the success of the minivan, escalated the housing market in the early 1970s, and is now stimulating the price of recreational property.
The oldest boomers turned 60 in 2006. This is the leading edge of more than 10 million Canadians who will retire in the next decade or so. And, the arrival of the “pig” at retirement will significantly increase the sense, and reality, that we are an aging church.
Don’t apologize
At times we are apologetic about being an aging church. We talk disparagingly about it as something we need to “put up with.” This attitude will need to change. If the church is to remain active and vibrant, we will need to embrace our aging as a gift. If the presence of seniors is our strength for the foreseeable future, then we will need to affirm that strength and build on it.
Seniors and soon-to-be seniors need to be fully aware of the impact that their spiritual health – or the lack of it – will have on the future of the church. They will need to be intentional and pro-active in nourishing a positive and affirming spirit in church life. Younger families, young adults, youth, and children will come, stay, or go, depending on the spirit generated in the church by this group.
If seniors have not yet learned how to be proactively affirming, they will need to learn. They will need to err on the side of encouragement, rather than on the side of critical discouragement.
The financial health of our church will also depend on the generosity of seniors. If existing and beloved ministries are to continue, this group will need to be very intentional about its commitment to keep the church and its ministries strong.
Take the initiative
Initiatives and energy to assure intergenerational harmony in the church will need to come from the seniors. Whenever there is an imbalance of influence, initiatives for harmony must come proactively from the majority group – in this case, the coming bulge of senior boomers.
Seniors should not plan on putting up their feet too soon. The refrain we hear so often – “We’ve made our contribution, now it’s their turn” – will need to be more nuanced, less definitive, more flexible, and adaptable. The new refrain should be: “This is what the ongoing but creative ministry of the seniors in the church looks like.”
Studies show that seniors who have grandchildren in their congregation have a more positive and affirming attitude toward the participation of younger generations in the life of their church. However, an increasing number of seniors will not have grandchildren in their congregation. This means seniors will need to cultivate their capacity to embrace the children of other families and shower them with the same patience and love they would give their own grandchildren.
Clearly, the church should pay attention to the special pastoral needs of seniors. However, seniors should not see themselves primarily as consumers of benefits or entitled benefactors, but as gifted, positive contributors to the life and well-being of the church for others.
The church needs to be encouraged by the presence of the seniors – not only for what the church once was, but for what it can still become.
Why are we hanging on so hard?
“This addiction to longevity is especially evident in the area of medical care – and not just among those who have no faith, but especially among the most devout…. [T]he Los Angeles Times reported that a new study shows that ‘terminally ill cancer patients were nearly three times more likely to go on breathing machines or receive other invasive treatments if religion was an important part of their decision-making process.’ This was true even though such treatments didn’t improve a person’s long-term chances.”
New words, but no breakthroughs
“Aging research has gained such prominence that it has begun to spawn its own language – as ‘geroscience’ strives to understand the ‘wellderly’ and increase human ‘health span.’…. The challenge [for researchers] is to balance the rigours of credible research with the demands of a greying and impatient mass market… [C]autious scientists stress that no aging research has yet translated into a breakthrough… there is simply no intervention currently available to stop, slow or reverse the march of time.”
Why are we hanging on so hard?
New words, but no breakthroughs
____________________________________________________________________
(psst boomers... this is for you)
The image of a pig moving through the long digestive process of a python helps us visualize how the baby boom bulge is moving through our society.
The baby boom bulge first put pressure on hospital maternity units when the boomers were born. Then they overflowed the public school system. Next they gave a huge boost to college enrolment. When the boomers reached childbearing age, an echo-boom of births fuelled the success of the minivan, escalated the housing market in the early 1970s, and is now stimulating the price of recreational property.
The oldest boomers turned 60 in 2006. This is the leading edge of more than 10 million Canadians who will retire in the next decade or so. And, the arrival of the “pig” at retirement will significantly increase the sense, and reality, that we are an aging church.
Don’t apologize
At times we are apologetic about being an aging church. We talk disparagingly about it as something we need to “put up with.” This attitude will need to change. If the church is to remain active and vibrant, we will need to embrace our aging as a gift. If the presence of seniors is our strength for the foreseeable future, then we will need to affirm that strength and build on it.
Seniors and soon-to-be seniors need to be fully aware of the impact that their spiritual health – or the lack of it – will have on the future of the church. They will need to be intentional and pro-active in nourishing a positive and affirming spirit in church life. Younger families, young adults, youth, and children will come, stay, or go, depending on the spirit generated in the church by this group.
If seniors have not yet learned how to be proactively affirming, they will need to learn. They will need to err on the side of encouragement, rather than on the side of critical discouragement.
The financial health of our church will also depend on the generosity of seniors. If existing and beloved ministries are to continue, this group will need to be very intentional about its commitment to keep the church and its ministries strong.
Take the initiative
Initiatives and energy to assure intergenerational harmony in the church will need to come from the seniors. Whenever there is an imbalance of influence, initiatives for harmony must come proactively from the majority group – in this case, the coming bulge of senior boomers.
Seniors should not plan on putting up their feet too soon. The refrain we hear so often – “We’ve made our contribution, now it’s their turn” – will need to be more nuanced, less definitive, more flexible, and adaptable. The new refrain should be: “This is what the ongoing but creative ministry of the seniors in the church looks like.”
Studies show that seniors who have grandchildren in their congregation have a more positive and affirming attitude toward the participation of younger generations in the life of their church. However, an increasing number of seniors will not have grandchildren in their congregation. This means seniors will need to cultivate their capacity to embrace the children of other families and shower them with the same patience and love they would give their own grandchildren.
Clearly, the church should pay attention to the special pastoral needs of seniors. However, seniors should not see themselves primarily as consumers of benefits or entitled benefactors, but as gifted, positive contributors to the life and well-being of the church for others.
The church needs to be encouraged by the presence of the seniors – not only for what the church once was, but for what it can still become.
—Robert J. Suderman
____________________________________________________________________Why are we hanging on so hard?
“This addiction to longevity is especially evident in the area of medical care – and not just among those who have no faith, but especially among the most devout…. [T]he Los Angeles Times reported that a new study shows that ‘terminally ill cancer patients were nearly three times more likely to go on breathing machines or receive other invasive treatments if religion was an important part of their decision-making process.’ This was true even though such treatments didn’t improve a person’s long-term chances.”
—Mark Galli, “Man Up, Christians,” Christianity Today, March (Web-only)
____________________________________________________________________New words, but no breakthroughs
“Aging research has gained such prominence that it has begun to spawn its own language – as ‘geroscience’ strives to understand the ‘wellderly’ and increase human ‘health span.’…. The challenge [for researchers] is to balance the rigours of credible research with the demands of a greying and impatient mass market… [C]autious scientists stress that no aging research has yet translated into a breakthrough… there is simply no intervention currently available to stop, slow or reverse the march of time.”
—Carolyn Abrahams, “The quest for the test tube of youth,” The Globe and Mail, Jan. 10, 2009
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