Involving Young people in the Church Through Environmental Care

Transcription

1 Involving Young people in the Church Through Environmental Care 1. Introduction 1. Goals 1. This isn't about increasing Young Adult membership but finding ways to effectively minister to them. I realize that this is kind of a chicken and the egg kind of thing; how do we minister to young adults if we do not have them. I think that by becoming a church that takes environmentalism as an important value, a church will be able to address the issues of young adults and make it attractive. 2. Understand issues facing Young Adults in the church and in their state of life. It is an interesting stage of life with many challenges that didn't exist a generation ago. When we know what they are we can better address them. 2. Information: How young adults interact with the church. 1. How do Young Adults relate to the Church? 1. Young Adults are unlikely to associate with Churches (this is self-evident but is worth mentioning). 1. Only 1/3 of Young Adults attend a weekly worship service. (this has stayed steady for people in mainline denominations like the UMC). 2. Young Adults are unlikely to make written commitments to the Church. This can confuse demographers. 3. Young Adults switch churches often. 20% change affiliation at least once. 1. The usual narrative is that people leave mainline denominations for other Christian groups because they are not hearing the gospel. This is untrue. In fact, that is the lease likely reason a person would leave the church % call themselves Christian but are not as active as they were in high school, drifting away from organized church. 1. Christian Piatt, an expert on young adults in the church has this to stay about the feeling of abandonment many young adults feel when they leave for college: When I went to college, I was contacted by fraternities, campus activity groups and credit card companies, but not one church. The only connection I had with religion was the ridiculous guy who (literally) stood on a box with a bullhorn in the union garden and yelled at us about our sinful ways. I could have used support in how to deal with my own finances for the first time. I could have used a built-in network of friends. I would have loved a care package, an invitation for free pizza at the local restaurant or help with my laundry. What I got was the goof with the bullhorn This quote makes it clear that churches are not doing a great job retaining people as they move from youth to young adults. 5. Young adults as a group do not see the need to make express written commitments to a congregation and will often change congregations and denominations. 2. Young Adults do not feel that churches speak to their needs. They also often state that churches do not do a good job creating lasting connections with Young Adults or keeping their attention.

2 1. From the Barna study I am working with, one-third said church is boring (31%). 2. One-quarter of these young adults said that faith is not relevant to my career or interests Sentiments include: 1. "I want to be a Christian without separating myself from the world around me" 2. "I feel stuck between the comfortable faith of my parents and the life I believe God wants from me." and 3. "I want to find a way to follow Jesus that connects with the world I live in," 1. Statements like these make it evident that Young Adults are willing to be a part of churches that do a good job connecting faith to the rest of the world around them. 2. These are good places to make sure our churches are teaching the social principles. We are a people of four books. The BOD gives Methodists a unique framework for relating faith to the world as a whole. While the book can be quite dense, its principles address some of the problems that Young Adults mentioned above about church not relating to life outside of its walls. The Book of Resolutions has made it clear that we are called to work toward a better environment: "The scale of human activity has grown so large that it now threatens the planet itself. Global environmental problems have become so vast they are hard to comprehend.... The vast majority of scientific evidence suggests that carbon dioxide from fossil fuels has already caused a measurable warming of the globe. Confronted with the massive crisis of the deterioration of God's creation and faced with the question of the ultimate survival of life, we ask God's forgiveness for our participation in this destruction." (2004 Book of Resolutions, "Environmental Justice for a Sustainable Future," 7) Young adults might not be familiar with the church's stance on such issues. I know that I wasn't as a very Young Adult. It is important to know and be familiar with our social teachings so that we can let Young Adults know that the church is concerned with connecting faith and the world. 3. Young adults believe that churches do a poor job of connecting science to faith. This is very important for a church that wants to engage in environmental action. 1. Three out of ten young adults with a Christian background feel that churches are out of step with the scientific world we live in (29%). Another one-quarter embrace the perception that Christianity is anti-science (25%). And nearly the same proportion (23%) said they have been turned off by the creation-versusevolution debate. As generations become more and more scientifically literate, they are not seeing what they have been taught mesh with their faith. 2. The growth in science related industries for Young Adults also means that they are looking for a way to connect science and religion. The study that I have been working from states: Research shows that many science-minded young Christians are struggling to find ways of staying faithful to their beliefs and to their professional calling in science-related industries. Barna, Six Reasons 3. A commentary by Gary B. Sherman, a veterinarian and research scientist that was found in the United Methodist New Service made clear what the church must do in light of these facts: These findings are a clarion call for The United

3 Methodist Church to be more accepting of science throughout all our ministries for the benefit of all God s children. Embracing an attitude of reconciliation and partnership with science will be essential if we hope to attract young people and keep them engaged in pursuit of a rich spiritual life rather than repelled from it in a modern world where science continues to reveal objective truths about the natural world. c=lwl4knn1lth&b= &ct= &notoc=1&utm_source=dlvr.it&u tm_medium=twitter 4. Methodists are already doing a good job attracting people who are attracted to science. In fact, people attracted to mainline denominations are more likely to be attracted to science: Groups-Views-on-Global-Warming.aspx.. 5. That does not mean that the work with science is over. We need to be familiar with science in general and the science behind climate change and other environmental issues. We need to be able to make the case that caring for the environment is a scientific and faith issue. Ways to answer skeptics: 2. Why Environmental Care helps the church be the church and minister to young people? How will it make them into better disciples. 1. Young people are looking for a way to connect faith and the issues that impact the world around them. Creating mature disciples requires that we treat the world, and our neighbors, fairly. 1. Christians have to counter the charge of hypocrisy leveled at them. Young Adults see people who are quick to condemn, but unwilling to affect the lives of those around them in any meaningful way. 2. Young adults are looking for churches where they do not have to choose between working in God s salvation of individuals, or working in God s salvation of creation; a mature disciple will be able to do both. John Wesley put this dichotomy well stating that: The gospel of Christ knows of no religion, but social. No holiness but social holiness. He made these statements and engaged in a great deal of social issues while at the same time maintaining his dedication to rigorous personal discipleship. If we are truly worried about the salvation of our young people, we must be able to teach them a holistic salvation which contains our love of neighbor and our love of the creation in which they rest, not a narrow one that only cares about going to heaven. 3. The Foundation Document of Renewing God s Creation has a pertinent example of how our misuse of creation can destroy our love of neighbor. It says this: In part of the Appalachian Mountains of the eastern United States, roughly one thousand metric tons of explosive are used every day to blast away the tops of mountains and ridges to reach coal seams underneath. Mountaintop removal (MTR) destroys animal and plant environments, causes landslides, floods, and toxic streams, and generates long-term threats to health and safety. At current rates, MTR will mine over 1.4 million acres in the United States by This is an area larger than the state of Delaware. There is no love for God and no love for neighbor when our desire for

4 more energy and more consumer items causes this kind of harm. And the church is harmed, and unable to reach out to young people when it does not see this. Young people can see the way actions affect the world around them. 2. The church offers a unique ability for allowing inter-generational interaction. We can be surprised by the lessons that people of different ages can learn from each other in the church. This is one of the greatest opportunities of the church. 1. An older lady at the church mentioned that she couldn't think of not recycling because she was taught to do so during WWII. Older generations have much to teach us. 2. the church is a place where people of different ages and experiences can gather together to bring about the kingdom. 3. Young Adult transition and the environmentally aware congregation. 1. Transitions that Young Adults go through 1. Place 1. Young Adults are more mobile than ever before. In the job market, many including my own family, move around frequently. 2. Churches are lucky in that they are geographically bound entities. This means they know about the environment around them. 3. Two ideas about how churches can help young adults who are new to an area through environmental action: 1. Farmer's markets 1. Part of a church that was often at Farmer's market. Helped meet people in the community. Learn about local things in the area such as the love of tomatoes. 2. The church helped me to be a better disciple by limiting my environmental impact and my impact on others. To feed a person for one year requires the equivalent of a 13-ton container of food being moved 60 miles (Confessions of an Eco-Sinner). 3. Bill McKibben speaks much about using food to build connections to the people around you, especially through farmer s markets. Getting to know the food gets you to know the people. 4. Helps Young Adults learn about an area they may be new to. 2. I was helped to find place through gardening. 1. Tell story about moving to Alabama and needing to make a flower bed. Church ladies taught me to feel a spiritual connection to God through gardening. 2. In what Christian Piatt calls Third Places, places outside of the regular meeting time and meeting place of the church, young adults can be reached Work and time management. 1. Even though Young Adults begin juggling longer hours with other commitments in life, they are still willing to give their time and energy to causes they feel are important. 1. Unlike boomers, Young Adults see time away from work as an important value. 2. They are also willing to volunteer. This is instilled from an early age. 80% of

5 young people learn to volunteer from school or parents between the ages of That is a value that they hold on to. 3. Young Adults are willing to volunteer for causes they find worthy. 2. Like I said from Christian Piatt's quote about being on your own and needing help doing finances, laundry and cooking, Young Adults need to do household things that they did not need to do before. I quickly learned that cooking for yourself is awful when I had been used to cafeterias and my parents' cooking. 1. Tell CSA story about getting kale and not knowing what to do with. Asked the people who cook in the church what to do with it. 2. Invite young people to cook local foods. It's better than having to cook when you get home. Don't have your Wednesday meal from 5-6, or lengthen the time for the meal to allow as many people as possible to come. Make them accessible for Young Adults. It does not have to be just for a group of nice old ladies who have always done it. 3. Worship 1. Any time someone goes to a new church, one has to understand new forms of worship. This is important because young adults are mobile and switch churches often. But this is an opportunity to teach theology, social principles, and discipleship duties of the church. 1. Sometimes the theological work that goes into creating a worship service is just as important as the service itself. 2. Invite young people to craft worship services and emphasize it as a way of connecting to God's creation. 3. I've been lucky enough to work on a worship service with Young Adults and seen the level of theological thought, engagement, and creativity that it inspires. Good worship opens us up to the depth of God's creation and other theological ideas. 1. I'll quote from a eco-justice Catholic bog that really encapsulates what good worship is in this sense. First, good liturgy paints an alternative vision of reality. Good liturgy (and good preaching) wakes us up to the sinful condition of the status quo, presents the way the world could be and hints at pathways toward that future. It inspires us toward a different way in which our future might be created. 2. Second, good liturgy presents a gathering of the community of communities. Folks who have been shaping in their day-to-day reality something of that world to come gather together. In sharing their stories, their common wisdom of what has happened and how they have experienced the sense of the sacred, my own eyes are opened. I am encouraged and inspired by the stories of others to approach the coming week with a freshness of spirit and new eyes. In so doing, I forge allies for the work ahead These two quotes get at the way that worship can create a vision that can be aimed toward, and a community to strive toward that vision. 4. By involving young adults in worship, they can help create that community. 2. There were several results of involving young adults in worship preparation. 1. Teaches about the traditions and theology of the church. Young adults often do

6 not grow up in the church and need new and exciting ways to learn about the history and meanings of the rituals of the church church. They can also learn about theological issues such as care for creation. 2. Gives young adults ownership in an important part of the life of the church. Become creators of liturgy rather than passive consumers. 1. Christian Piatt states that Young Adults often don't want to be talked to any more: Compare the passivity of reading your daily paper with the engagement a blog offers. We expect to be able to take part in the learning process now, rather than it being so one-sided. 3. Creates community through creation of liturgy. Baring your theological ideas bares your soul and requires you to learn about each other as you work toward a specific goal. 4. Worship can help those who hear it get past resistance to environmental action (think about the great creation based hymns and how no one complains that they are communist or too Democrat). Worship is a place where our usual prejudices are broken down. 5. Allows experiences of YAs to be shared (sermons, stories, work, etc.). I'm sure you've heard a story that no one under the age of 40 would have any idea what they meant. Eisenhower/Andy Griffith. It helps Young Adults build connection when they use the familiar. 3. A Creative idea: worship in the park. 1. Allowed worship to connect to creation in a way that we don't usually think about. 4. Marriage 1. Marriage has changed a lot within the last few years. 1. Here's a quote about changing marriage rates from the WJC: Marriage rates among young adults have been dropping for decades. But data released Tuesday by the Census Bureau show that for the first time the proportion of people between the ages of 25 and 34 who have never been married exceeded those who were married in % versus 44.9%, according to an analysis by Mark Mather, a demographer at the Population Reference Bureau, a non-profit research organization in Washington html 2. I m not out to demonize this, saying that young people should be getting married earlier. There are reasons that people are not getting married, longer time in college, greater debt, a poor economy and the fact that we are living longer means that there s less reason to get married early. It does mean that the church has to be able to minister to single Young Adults and to Young Adults who are marrying later 2. While Young Adults are marrying later, there is still a desire for deep relationships 1. Americans have a third fewer friends than they did 20 years ago Most young adults want to find areas of common ground with each other, sometimes even if that means glossing over real differences. Diversity and

7 community are important to Young Adults. Barna, Six Reasons 3. Churches can create programs for Young Adults to meet each other and make relationships. They don't have to be complex, they can be as simple as a walking group. 1. One Catholic Eco-Justice Blog: Walking can be an invaluable aid in personal transformation, a discipline in learning to live a life of trust and simplicity, a help on the way to wholeness: that place where the love that moves the sun and stars makes its nest snugly in the palm of your hand. 4. Finding ways around the distractions of modern technology and consumerism can help create community and relationship in a face-to-face way. 1. I often get stuck in social technology like Facebook and Twitter and find it difficult to unplug to make sure that I am cultivating real relationships. 2. The church is also called to be a place where relationships are formed. This is especially important for young people. The rigors of modern day school, going to college, and entering into the workforce scream for the kind of supportive relationships that the church provides. However, our destruction of the environment and our desire for consumer goods seriously impacts our ability to form lasting and meaningful relationships in the church. As a young person I can admit I struggle with this. Tell me if this sounds familiar. A while back I went to a midnight premier of a movie with a group of friends I hadn t seen in a while. Because the showing was sold out, we arrived about two hours early in order to get seats together and catch up. However, instead of talking, most of us pulled out our iphones and began games of Words with Friends, the popular, Scrabble-like game, with each other while we were sitting next to each other. It wasn t until the one member of the group without an iphone pointed out how ridiculous this was that I realized how consumerism can impact our relationships. The things that we buy, which deeply impact the planet and its inhabitants, can also cause harm to our relationships and threaten our ability to form them. Like my very wise friend, we must work to make the church an alternative community which values community over access to the latest consumer products. 3. Forming Young Adult gatherings away from technology can be invigorating. 2. Brainstorming other transitions. 1. These are ways that can affect young adults in three very important ways. 1. Builds connections with congregations and relationships within those congregations. 2. Foster discipleship and leadership abilities. 3. Alleviates the stress of young adult life. 2. Discussion questions 1. What kind of transitions do you know of or did you go through at the time of Young Adulthood. Let me know and I'll write them down. 2. What ways could having an environmentally committed church help with those transitions? 3. Discussion. 4. Closing. 1. Any questions.

8 2. List resources. 3. Ask someone to lead a closing prayer.