“…from Generation to Generation. Amen.”

(from Eucharistic Prayer C, page 369 of the Book of Common Prayer)

For a long time, I’ve thought of St. Alban’s as an intergenerational church. After all, we have every decade represented, from young children to folks in their 80’s and 90’s and everyone in between… although we could use more people in their 20’s for sure – those college students don’t tend to stick around after graduation.

Recently though, I learned that we may be more of a multigenerational church than a truly intergenerational one. A multigenerational church has multiple generations represented in the congregation, but an intergenerational church is one in which those different generations intentionally interact with each other in meaningful ways. And while we do have wonderful examples of the different generations interacting in worship, service, formation, and fellowship, these have largely happened without much intentional effort. The key distinction here is the intentionality.

When I think of intergenerational experiences, events such as the Outreach Team’s Lifeline Meal Packing night or the Shrove Tuesday pancake supper come to mind. At these events, I have witnessed empty nesters and young parents get to know one another while scooping rice. I have seen seniors cheerfully offer their bingo prize to a wiggly child sitting at their dinner table. I have heard the voices of the Parish Choir and the Children’s Choir harmonize in song. So yes, we are not lacking in some intergenerational ministry. Beautiful moments like these listed above give me confidence that St. Alban’s has what it takes to become truly intergenerational, not simply multigenerational. We have a solid foundation, and I think we could do even more with some intentional thought, planning, and effort.

So, what would it look like to be a truly intergenerational church? Well, I don’t really know. But to imagine and explore this topic, the vestry has made the decision to apply for an Diocesan initiative called “Let the Children Come” that provides coaching and grant funds to parishes that have a desire to deepen their opportunities for intentionally intergenerational worship. The Diocese is able to offer this program thanks to a $1.25 million grant from the Lilly Foundation. If our application is accepted, we will be invited on a journey of dreaming, praying, and eventually implementing some new, yet-to-be-determined ideas. And even if our application is not accepted, we still would like to work on this topic as a parish. So stay tuned, stay open, and in the meantime, keep working to make connections and deepen relationships with people in our church family of a different generation—and I promise, the blessings will follow!

Yours in Christ,

Carmen