An other good post over at Episcopal Cafe. This one is on GenX, Harry Potter, blogs, outreach and ecclesiology. It reminds me of a lot of good and interesting people I have known who want God in their lives, but really struggle with the church. It ties in, too, with the questions of church identity, growth and development that are tugging at Piskie blogs right now.
Here’s a snippit to tempt you.
…Gen X, are the translators [.] We are well equipped to understand social media, which is going to be the communications medium of choice for today’s young people. How is this changing the face of communications? My connections in the news media say it’s as revolutionary as Gutenberg and the moveable type printing press. Ignore this opinion at your peril, unless you think Luther’s revolution had nothing to do with Gutenberg’s (again, a hat tip to my friend for saying this; I hope he outs himself in the comments). Blogs are just a part of what that next generation is coming online with. We can speak their language. We can speak the Boomers’, too, though. Did I mention my teenage son? Yes? What about my aging parents? How’s your retirement portfolio?
So anyway, back to the matter at hand. Don’t skip Generation X. We’ve seen it more than once. We’ve heard you ask how to reach us, and seen you form committees hoping to find the magic pill that will get us back in the pews. To be honest, you might not. My fiancé has stalwartly avoided church services pretty much since he was old enough to say “no” to them. But cookouts, labyrinth walks, drum circles, soup kitchens, river clean-ups? He’s so there.
–Helen Thompson
wonderful exchange 