Young Exodus: Six Reasons Young People Leave the Church

Here are six reasons why young people leave the church adapted from a list by David Kinnaman in "You Lost Me: Why Young Christians are Leaving Church. . . And Rethinking Faith"
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1. Isolationism. One-fourth of 18-to 29-year-olds say church demonizes everything outside church including the music, movies, culture, and technology that defines their generation.

2. Shallowness. One-third call church boring, about one-fourth say faith is irrelevant and Bible teaching is unclear. One-fifth say God is absent from their church experience.

3. Anti-science. Up to one-third say the church is out of step on scientific developments and debate.

4. Sex. The church is perceived as simplistic and judgmental. For a fifth or more, a “just say no” philosophy is insufficient in a techno-porno world. Young Christian singles are as sexually active as their non-churched friends, and many say they feel judged.

5. Exclusivity. Three in 10 young people feel the church is too exclusive in this pluralistic and multi-cultural age. And the same number feel forced to choose between their faith and their friends.

6. Doubters. The church is not a safe place to express doubts say over one-third of young people, and one-fourth have serious doubts they’d like to discuss.

Young Exodus

Six in 10 young people will leave the church permanently or for an extended period starting at age 15, according to new research by the Barna Group. And for the generation now coming of age, it’s more than the usual “driver’s license to marriage license” joy ride, according to the pollsters. For church leaders, the question is, what will we do about it?

Today’s young adults are marrying later, if at all, are technologically savvy, and hold worldviews alien to their upbringing. Barna Research president David Kinnaman, after a five-year-study, declared that church leaders are unequipped to deal with this “new normal”.

Their response is mostly at the extremes, both dangerous. Many ignore the situation, hoping young adults’ views will be righted when they are older and have their own children. These leaders miss the significance of the shifts of the past 25 years, Kinnaman contends, and the needs for ministry young people have in their present phase – if it is a phase.

But the opposite reaction is just as problematic: “using all means possible to make their congregation appeal to teens and young adults.” This excludes older members and “builds the church on the preference of young people and not on the pursuit of God,” Kinnaman said.

Kinnaman prescribes intergenerational ministry. “In many churches, it means changing the metaphor from simply passing the baton to the next generation to a more functional, biblical picture of a body – that is, the entire community of faith, across the entire lifespan, working together to fulfill God’s purposes.

Source: Fusion

Why Millennials Are Coming To Church

This is an article by Andrew Stephens-Rennie, he loves pioneering responsive, contextual solutions to the challenge of being a church in the 21st Century. In a previous article Andrew discussed why Millenials are leaving the church, in this article he explores what makes Millennials want to come to church. 
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Earlier this week, in response to Rachel Held Evans’ post and my post from a Canadian point-of-view, the Rev. Mark Whittall of St. Albans Ottawa posted a blog of his own that asked Millennials at St. Al’s to respond to a number of questions.

I wonder if their responses resonate with you? Do they shock you? And what, if anything, can we take from the experience of one congregation that just happens to be connecting with this group of people? Here are some excerpts and follow-up questions:

We talk about stuff that matters 

“I decided to attend St. Albans not because of the modern music or digital bulletins but because members seemed incredibly genuine in their mutual attempts to understand God and what Jesus’s message means for their everyday realities.” 

Do our churches talk about things that matter? Do sermons engage the issues the community is facing? Do conversations in coffee hour go beyond the surface to what is really going on in peoples’ lives? Do small groups and other community activities create space for deep intimacy between us, Christ, and each other?

We can ask questions and explore answers together. 

“I guess what I was looking for was a feeling of shared curiosity and inquiry.  In university we are encouraged to rigorously question the evidence and biases behind claims, to have arguments on fundamental issues.  Through book studies, service discussion periods and one-on-one conversations with other members at St. Albans, I feel like I can exercise this curiosity without stepping on toes or being told just to have faith and be silent.”

We all have questions. So many Anglicans I know are proud of their intellectualism and curiosity. Do we explore these things together as a community? Do we learn from one another, lean on one another when we have deep questions, or moments of profound doubt? What does it mean to be Christian community in the midst of these things? How does your church fare in this area?

We get to participate and contribute.  

“Why do I come to church?  Because of the sense that everyone is welcome to share their opinions and ideas.  People are encouraged to participate in everything that goes on at the church.”

Is the life of the church merely a matter of consuming religious goods and services, or is it a deeply participatory endeavour? From worship, to evangelism, outreach, and works of justice, how is the whole community engaged? Do members of the congregation feel as though they are able to contribute to the life of the community? Are they stretched when asked to steward those gifts? Is it a safe place to contribute, to experiment, to fail, and to succeed?

This is a Christ-Centred church.  

“Ultimately though, the best and most important thing about Saint Albans for me is that it is a Christ-centered church.  It is a church that remembers what the point of everything is.  I saw this reflected in every aspect of church life.”

Does the life of the church hinge on the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ? Can we answer the question of why we gather, and why the Christian gospel is good news even beyond the walls of our church? If the Christian church’s final answer to the ‘why’ question isn’t ‘for the sake of Jesus,’ have we not missed the point?

Rev. Mark’s blog goes into a lot more detail. The responses he presents beg the question: why on earth aren’t more of our churches engaged in these things? These don’t sound like particularly “millennial” things. They sound like human things. They sound like Christian things. And at the end of the day, they sound like the things that the church should be on about, whether it consists primarily of 80-year-olds, 30-year-olds, or people of any age.

Source: The Community

New Jersey church offers ‘flash mob’-style Worship Without Walls

This article is about taking worship to the streets. St. Philip's own Father Jim wants to give this a try next summer and we would like to know who is interested in participating. Please read the article and let us know what you think. 
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Wearing a traditional black clerical shirt and collar, and less- traditional black shorts and sandals, the Rev. John Mennell sits near a portable altar, waiting for stragglers. About a dozen people — one with a leashed dog named Gideon at her feet — sit facing him in two rows of folding chairs. Backed by the sounds of diners chatting outside a nearby eatery and passing vehicular traffic, Mennell rises and greets worshipers at the corner of Church Street and South Fullerton in Montclair, New Jersey, to the July 28 Worship Without Walls.

From the weekends of Memorial Day through Labor Day, St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Montclair is holding 5:00 p.m. Sunday Eucharists in public, outdoor spaces.  Similar to “flash mobs,” participants are alerted to the location each week via text message. Passersby are encouraged to join.
“It’s fun to see different people’s reactions,” said Mennell, the church’s rector. “Last week, we ended up in the park in a walkway. … This one woman walked through with her dog, and her dog desperately wanted to join in the service.”

When the woman walked through a second time, Mennell invited her to join them. “She politely informed me how the dog leads her to the temple each Saturday.”

Such invitations, accepted or not, are among the points of Worship Without Walls, Mennell said. “Part of it is getting people used to inviting people in in ways that are uncomfortable.”

“In our beautiful Episcopal reticence,” he said, churchgoers don’t stand on street corners talking about Jesus. “This is about as close as people comfortably get.”

“If I told my congregation, ‘Go out on a street corner and witness,’ they’d run me out on a rail,” he said. But worshiping together publicly, “it’s really doing the same thing.”

On this particular Sunday, nearly 20 people ultimately joined the service, with a few passersby stopping briefly to check things out.

“As people come by and look curious, invite them into what we’re doing,” Mennell instructed the congregation. “We will sort of go with the flow.”

Mitch Goodrich was running an errand in town when he stopped and joined the service with his sons Henry, 8, and Calvin, 19 months. Turns out, he knew Mennell years ago at Church of the Redeemer in Cincinnati, before the Montclair priest attended seminary.

“This is fantastic. It’s so good to get out and let people see what’s going on and see who you are,” Goodrich said. “We need to do more of this in the Episcopal Church.”

One man in a baseball cap interjected comments several times during the service. Listening to the Old Testament reading on Abraham bargaining with God about the fate of Sodom, he announced: “We’re doomed.”

“No we’re not,” Mennell reassured him. “We’re saved.”

Later, during the sermon, the priest asked the congregation what stopped them from praying.
One woman replied that her concerns are “too small and insignificant.”

“Alcohol and chicks,” said the man in the cap.

“Different addictions often stand in our way,” Mennell replied.

“Guilt,” said another congregant.

“Satan,” added the man in the cap.

“Jesus has power over Satan,” said Mennell, spurring a brief dialogue over this theological point.
Such engagement, if sometimes challenging, is not unwelcomed.

“Part of breaking down walls [is] we can’t use the walls of the church as a barrier to keep people out and keep ideas out,” Mennell said later.

For the first time that summer, weather interrupted the service. With the onset of a rainstorm, the worshipers brought the prayers of the people to a speedy conclusion. Then about half of them headed to a nearby diner to conclude the service and eat together. They ordered food, then completed the Eucharist.

Source: Episcopal News Service

Fred Hiltz on Residential Schools 20 Years Later

August 06, 2013 - The following is a statement from Archbishop Fred Hiltz, Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of Archbishop Michael Peers' apology to the survivors of residential schools.
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On Friday, August 6, 1993 at the National Native Convocation in Minaki, Ontario, Archbishop Michael Peers offered an apology to all the survivors of the Indian residential schools. Shaped by his listening to their stories, and his devotion to healing and reconciliation, he said, "I want to take one step along that path here and now." And with that he said,

"I accept and I confess before God and you, our failures in the residential schools. We failed you. We failed ourselves. We failed God.

"I am sorry, more than I can say, that we were part of a system which took you and your children from home and family.

"I am sorry, more than I can say, that we tried to remake you in our image, taking from you your language and the signs of your identity.

"I am sorry, more than I can say, that in our schools so many were abused physically, sexually, culturally and emotionally.

"On behalf of the Anglican Church of Canada, I present our apology."

Not only did Michael say, "I am sorry," he also said,

"I know how often you have heard words which have been empty because they have not been accompanied by actions. I pledge to you my best efforts, and the efforts of our church at the national level, to walk with you along the path of God's healing."

That was twenty years ago-to this very day.

Then and there the apology was offered-quietly and prayerfully. The next day Vi Smith, speaking on behalf of the elders and participants, said, "It was offered from the heart with sincerity, sensitivity, compassion and humility... We offer praise and thanks to our Creator for his courage."

Here and now we give thanks to God for Michael's leadership.

Far-sighted and firm, it set our Church on a new trajectory of healing, reconciliation and new life from which we can never turn back. While Michael described the apology as "a step along the path," it was, in fact, a huge step.

It underscored the task of the Residential Schools Working Group and the mandate of the Anglican Healing Fund established in 1991 to provide funding for community-based healing projects. It was a great source of encouragement for the 1994 Covenant-A Journey of Spiritual Renewal for Indigenous Peoples and partnership into which they have invited us all in building "a truly Anglican Indigenous Church in Canada." In time the apology would influence a commitment on the part of the General Synod in 2001 to adopt "A New Agape"-a commitment to a new relationship with the Indigenous Peoples of Canada, principled by healing the wounds of the past, eradicating lingering social injustices, honouring desires for self-determination and working together in new ways.

The apology has been a constant point of reference for a number of significant developments in our Church, including the 2007 appointment of a National Indigenous Bishop and the 2010 enshrining of that office in the constitution of the General Synod. Building on that development, the General Synod adopted a canon on the National Indigenous Ministry that honours the work of the Anglican Council of Indigenous Peoples and the triennial gathering of the Sacred Circle, which brings together people from all the known First Nations, Métis, Inuit and urban Indigenous ministries across our Church.

The apology informs our commitment to anti-racism and our upholding of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. It inspired our devotion to the work of Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission and our full participation in its national, regional and community events.

As you can see, the apology-which has been translated into a number of Indigenous languages-has had far-reaching effects. Its twentieth anniversary is very significant. In marking the occasion I sought the counsel of the National Indigenous Bishop and the Anglican Council of Indigenous Peoples (ACIP). They offered two pieces of advice. First, that the Church take the opportunity to pay tribute to Archbishop Peers for his remarkable leadership. I am very pleased to announce that this recognition will take place at the November meeting of the Council of General Synod in Mississauga, Ontario. The second piece of advice was that I establish a commission enabling our Church to follow through on actions associated with the 2010 General Synod Resolution repudiating the doctrine of discovery. To that charge I have added two other-one to fully address the question posed by Mr. Justice Sinclair, chair of the TRC: "What is reconciliation?" and second, to renew our Church's commitment to addressing long-standing injustices borne by Indigenous Peoples in Canada. In consultation with ACIP, the commission will be named by me and Bishop Mark MacDonald. They will be installed at the November council meeting. Anglican Video, who has kept the ongoing story of healing, reconciliation and new life with so much devotion through the years, will be on hand to record the proceedings.

In the meantime we give thanks to God for this historic and sacred moment of apology. Apart from the actual video footage (a portion of which you can see here, there is no more moving account than this:

The great hall in this pine-beamed lodge is so quiet you can hear your heart hammering in your chest. More than 100 Indigenous Anglicans from across the country, men and women ranging in age from 18 to 80, are seated in a semi-circle around a white-haired man dressed in purple robes. His eyes are fixed firmly upon the floor; his attitude is almost prayerful; the weight of history is visibly pressing him down. Slowly, in carefully measured phrases, the Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, Archbishop Michael Peers, begins to speak-words he has laboured over, and painstakingly committed to memory. It is his apology, on behalf of himself and of the Church he represents, for the devastation wrought by the Anglican Church of Canada on the First Peoples through the residential schools.

When he has finished he is greeted with a profound silence from the assembly, broken here and there by muffled sobs. Some are staring at the floor with the same intensity as the Primate himself; others can't take their eyes off the man. All the people there, almost without exception, have been hurt and torn by those schools, have had their families and communities devastated by them. They know in their hearts, and understand in their souls, that this is an historic moment in the journey of healing, for themselves and for their Church.

Source: Anglican Church of Canada

Why Are Millennials Leaving the Church?

This is an article written by Andrew Stephens-Rennie, he loves pioneering responsive, contextual solutions to the challenge of being a church in the 21st Century. Appealing to young people is a common challenge faced by most churches. This article asks the question why is the millennial generation absent from church life and how do we encourage them to get involved.  
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On Saturday, post-evangelical blogger Rachel Held Evans explored “Why millennials are leaving the church” on the CNN Religion Blog. The majority of Held Evans’ writings address issues within the American Evangelical church.

In a follow-up post, she also acknowledges that “it’s not just evangelical churches losing young adults, but also Catholic churches, Orthodox churches, and Mainline Protestant churches…sometimes at even higher rates.”

Throughout my ministry, I’ve had opportunities to speak in a variety of churches, to run workshops, and host forums that focus on the role of young people in the church. At the end of these presentations, I’ve been confronted with all manner of disappointing responses:

• “So what you’re saying is that we should start a contemporary service…”
• “I expect young people to leave the church after confirmation, and not to return again until they’re married and have kids.”
• “Okay I hear you, but what program should we run to get them back?”

I’m sure these folks are well-meaning, but I wish they would hear what I’m saying. Here are the blunt answers to all three questions:

• No. That’s the last thing I’d tell you to do.
• Sounds like a losing proposition to me.
• There isn’t one.

Like Rachel Held Evans, my chosen response is to slowly bang my head on the podium. Here’s why: 

• We don’t need another mediocre rock band playing “Shine Jesus Shine.” That song wore out its welcome in the mid-90′s evangelical church. What makes 21st Century Canadian Anglicans think that a song about moths swarming the light will draw people to church?

• We need to do better for our young people than graduating them from church at confirmation, ignoring them for 20 years, and then hoping they’ll return. Oh sure, we’ll develop a “young families” ministry for them if they show up again at that point. And that’s a good start. But imagine what Christian discipleship might look like if we hadn’t ignored them for the past 20-years of their lives.

• There is no program that will save your church. None. No Alpha, no Messy Church, no Fresh Expression will suddenly fill your pews, fill the plate, and pay for that roof you’ve needed to repair for the past six years. It’s just not going to happen. And, to be blunt, it’s the wrong approach. The job of the church is to go out and make disciples, not increase the number of Individual Giving Units.

What would happen if we treated young people as if they mattered? What if we unleashed young people to passionately live their faith in daily life? What if we listened to their deepest passions, and found ways to encourage them in Christ’s name?

When I posted Rachel’s article on my Facebook wall, I immediately heard this comment from a Millennial I know:

I love this. The assumption that we 20-somethings don’t like church because it’s not “cool” enough is actually kinda ageist and offensive. We are grownups and we see the meaning of things beyond the surface.

And later during the discussion, they shared:

My experience of church is people not even bothering to ask the question, because we just assume that millennials aren’t interested. I was thinking about it this morning as I sat in a back pew, among 70-80 people where I was one of two millennials from what I could tell. My church wants to reach out to young families, to young children. There is an assumption that we should be doing what we can to make them feel welcome. But I’ve never heard anyone ask, what should we do to make the 20-somethings feel welcome?

So. What should we do to make Millennials feel welcome? And what should we do to get out of the way so that they can take ownership of what is their church, too?

I’d love to hear from Millennials, as well as from those who are actively engaging the Millennial generation.

Source: The Community 

Going Home: An Article by Laura Marie Piotrowicz

Here is an article by Laura Marie Piotrowicz in which she talks about the joy of going home. Piotrowicz is a priest serving a 5-point parish in the Diocese of Brandon. As she expains in her bio, she considers church to be a verb, and she is passionate about PWRDF, eco-theology, and youth ministry. She loves traveling, reading, canoeing, camping, food, and playing with her dog. 

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One of Leonard Cohen’s songs highlights the joy of going home – that when we do that, we can be just who we are, how we are, without any preconceived notions – and that the act of going home will help us to move past whatever might have happened so far. He sings: “Going home without my sorrow / Going home sometime tomorrow / Going home to where it’s better than before; Going home without my burden / Going home behind the curtain / Going home without this costume that I wore.”

I think it’s important for us to all have a spiritual ‘home’ where we can go to, where we can feel that complete acceptance and welcome. A place where the location and people and setting all bring us into closer communion with God. A place where we can simply be who God made us to be, where we can feel God’s love no matter what. A place where we can accept wholeheartedly that we are beloved children of God, where we are inspired to take action in the world because of that love and acceptance.

This past weekend, I went home.

My spiritual home is in a particular church. It’s a sacred space for me not just because it is consecrated ground, but because those walls hold a lot of memories for me. Significant events in my ministry took place there; important discerning conversations took place there; profound revelations of God’s love for me took place there; inspiring prayer took place there; invitations to journey alongside amazing people took place there. It’s a community where I really put down roots; I served there for a few years early in my ordained ministry.

And then I left. I left to serve in other parishes, in different ministry opportunities, in wonderful and exciting parishes. And wherever I am, that place is important – I am constantly being influenced and WOWed by where and with whom I am serving. And where I am becomes a type of home, where I love and serve and delight in God’s abundant blessings.

But there’s always the home home. The taproot. The ‘where I came from’ home. For me, it’s the Cathedral parish of St. John in Winnipeg. I love that place. The people, the history, the memories. The connection – I joke with a friend that when I step into the Cathedral to pray, it’s a local call. It’s home.

So this weekend I stopped in – unexpected, unannounced, a little unkempt after a day out and about with friends. And I was greeted – some of my delightful friends happened to be in the office, and we chatted. We shared laughter and anecdotes and prayer and hugs. It was a treat. It was home. Admittedly it’s not a perfect congregation, because no such thing exists. But I love them, and they love me, and I’m still welcomed as part of the family no matter how often I stop by. It’s always a joy to return, and there’s a hint of sadness to leave. But leaving is never ‘goodbye’, it’s ‘until next time’ – because it’s home.

And so I came back to the fabulously blessed parish I’m now serving, carrying a little bit of home with me in my heart. Knowing that the people I am serving have shared with me their feeling of ‘home’ for the churches we worship in, the fields they work in, the places where they feel closest to God. Knowing that we are gathering together to celebrate the community that we are today, giving thanks for the ‘home’s that have brought us to this place.

Where is your spiritual home? How does it continue to influence your spiritual growth and development? How often do you get to go home?

The New Prince and the Church of England

The new prince, son of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge was born into the House of Windsor on Monday July 22nd, he is third in line to the throne of Great Britain and Canada. When he assumes his role as Sovereign he will hold the title of  'Defender of the Faith and Supreme Governor of the Church of England'.

As explained in the official website of the British Monarchy, there is a strong connection between Church and State in Britain. This is symbolised by the fact that the 'Lords Spiritual' (consisting of the Archbishops of Canterbury and York and 24 diocesan bishops) sit in the House of Lords. Parish priests also take an oath of allegiance to The Sovereign.

When the new prince becomes king, his responsibilities will include being the head of the Anglican church. In Britain archbishops and bishops are appointed by The Sovereign on the advice of the Prime Minister, who considers the names selected by a Church Commission. They all take an oath of allegiance to The Sovereign on appointment and may not resign without Royal authority.

The General Synod (including the bishops, elected representatives from the clergy and the laity) is the supreme authority of the Church of England. The Sovereign opens the Synod after the elections in the dioceses every five years.

Since 1919, the Synod (formerly called the Church Assembly) has had the power to pass Measures on any matter concerning the Church of England.

Following acceptance of the Measures by both Houses of Parliament (which cannot amend them), they are submitted for Royal Assent and become law.

In addition to legislating for the Church by Measure, the General Synod has the power to legislate by Canon in its own domestic affairs such as worship and doctrine, but The Sovereign's assent is required for the promulgation of such Canons. Such assent is given on the Home Secretary's advice.

In his coronation oath, the Sovereign will promise to maintain the Church.

Image Credit: AFP