Aging in faith

Looking at elderhood is different now, ten years after I wrote "Invocation" (the prayer/poem below).  

When I wrote it I had been interviewing all the men over 55 active in one congregation, a small group but one with wider differences among its number than one might expect.

This is a group within that congregation who were, perhaps due to a becoming reticence, less often heard on the issues involved in becoming elders. We need to hear from these people and make their voices more audible.  How are they aware of the vocations of elderhood? How they are embraced by and within the context of congregational life? 

To hear experiences and perceptions of elderhood in their own voices, I have been asking older men active in one congregation a few questions.

How has your faith developed as you have gotten older?

How has the congregation participated in this growth?

What calls you now as a vital way to live out your faith?

How does the congregation embrace or celebrate it with you?

As I recall it now, the people who had already developed an active and thoughtful life of faith continued that into their senior years, and those with a definite sense of vocation were adept at describing where they were at in their life and faith and how they were with the congregation, and the congregation with them, in that place in life. Disappointingly some felt little sense of connection or support from within the congregation for this important life stage or transition. 

And that is probably part of what provoked "Invocation"... as I look back on it, now that I have passed my own "Social Security" birthday, the prayer feels just as relevant now as then.

INVOCATION

Creator, you called all into being; through your Word you brought all things to be that are, were, or will be. Creator, you called us into humanity; we are called to be your people. Creator, you called us into community; we are called to become people of praise, to glorify your Name. And you called us through your Son to become agents of reconciliation, working to bring the kingdom of heaven into being in this world.

You called us into the fullness of being, completed in the work of your Word and Spirit. And you called us to bring this completion of creation closer for all creatures, our fellow human beings, and to be stewards of all you have made.

You call each of us to become fully human, to become the persons whom you know and love in aspiration. Fulfill in each of us our common calling and the unique calling of each person. Help us to honor that communal calling – and that uniqueness – in one another.

You call each of us to journey through our life, closer to you, passing through, as you will, nascency, infancy, youth, adulthood, seniority, and the completion of life in death. Help us to become in each part of our lives fully your own people, as you have intended us to be.

Help us to rejoice in your creation as we develop in our capacity to serve and enjoy the world you have made. Guide each of us in times of folly and of wisdom; help us discern in each other and our selves how you would have us to be.

And at each stage of our lives you call us into ever-developing relationships with you and each other. May we in all our lives, together and alone, from beginning to end, grow into the fullness of life, gathered through Jesus your Word into the one community of heaven.

Amen.

https://tucson.com/lifestyles/aging-in-faith/article_6c7cb566-ede6-5079-b0ae-68929d51f758.html

(October 4, 2020)

aging resources

Embracing the Vocation of Elderhood within a Congregation:

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prayer

 

Creator you called all into being; through your Word you brought all things to be that are, or were, or will be. Creator you called us into humanity; we are called to be your people. Creator you called us into community, to be people of praise to glorify your Name. And you called us through your Son to become agents of reconciliation, working to bring the kingdom of heaven into being in this world.

You called us into the fullness of being, completed in the work of your Word and Spirit. And you called us to bring this completion of creation closer for all creatures, our fellow human beings, and to be stewards of all you have made.

You call each of us to become fully human, to become the persons whom you know and love in aspiration. Fulfill in each of us our common calling and the unique calling of each person. Help us to honor that communal calling – and that uniqueness – in one another.

You call each of us to journey through our life, closer to you, passing through, as you will, nascency, infancy, youth, adulthood, seniority, and the completion of life in death. Help us to become in each part of our lives fully your own people, as you have intended us to be.

Help us to rejoice in your creation as we develop in our capacity to serve and enjoy the world you have made. Guide each of us in times of folly and of wisdom; help us discern in each other and our selves how you would have us to be.

And at each stage of our lives you call us into ever-developing relationships with you and each other. May we in all our lives, together and alone, from beginning to end, grow into the fullness of life, gathered through Jesus your Word into the one community of heaven.

Amen.

Listening to your Elders

Student: What is the difference between just getting old and being an elder?

Teacher: An elder sees a vocation.

An elder, then, is a person who has perceived a calling – a calling related to their place in life, of not merely the passing of the years but the gaining of experience.

Congregations embrace the future in a variety of ways and through all their people: through the youngest members, all the way through to the oldest. Congregations embrace a multitude of generations – and of vocations. What God calls us to be – and how God calls us – may take different shape at different times in our lives. In later years, that calling may take the shape of an active wisdom – of elderhood.

Since the fall of 2008 I have been engaged in study toward the Doctor of Ministry degree. Currently I am working on my dissertation/project. Part of that project is understanding the nature of elderhood for men within the context of a multigenerational congregation – like Saint Alban’s.

How are they aware of the vocations of elderhood? How they are embraced by and within the context of congregational life?  

But – best to ask for elders’ own perceptions.

And so I have been asking older men active in the congregation a few questions.

·      How has your faith developed as you have gotten older?

·      How has the congregation participated in this growth?

·      What calls you now as a vital way to live out your faith?

·      How does the congregation embrace or celebrate it with you?

Having now listened to a dozen and a half of the older men active in the congregation, in leadership, worship or service. I am aware of how grateful I am for their participation and their presence in the congregation. As I prepare to evaluate what they have said to me, both common themes and unique perspectives, I look forward to honoring their voices.

—Father John

For the Gospel Grapevine, parish newsletter of St. Alban's Episcopal Church, Edmonds, Wash., October 2012.

A Heart of Wisdom

Our elders are growing in numbers. In the United States and other developed countries, the population is aging. In the 2010 U.S. Census, the number of people age 65 and over was 40.3 million persons (13.0 %) and grew at a faster rate (15.1 %) than the population under age 45. In 2010, the median age increased to a new high of 37.2 years, from 35.3 years in 2000, with the proportion of the population at the older ages increasing similarly. The population is growing at a faster rate in the older ages than in the younger ages.

In southwestern Snohomish County, the average age has increased from 36.1 in 2000 to 38.6 in 2011, with a projected increase to 39.8 in 2016.

Aging and caring for the aged is a growing concern for all Americans. For the churches the problem is not simply ministry to aging persons – it is ministry of and with our elders.

The future of the church is not just with the young - indeed as the population of America gains in elders we will be given the gift of many years of wisdom, experience, and care.

And so we seek insight into the spiritual issues and gifts connected with aging and later life – the later stages of the human life cycle. We want to help each other find the blessing – to come to a truthful understanding of what we are receiving – as we experience aging.

Among the joys of life in a multi-generational congregation is the mutual enjoyment of people of different ages and backgrounds. One of the things that we all enjoy is the presence of children and young adults in the congregation. Another is the presence of our elders.

What is the difference between just getting old and being an elder? I asked a mentor of mine.

His prompt reply: An elder sees a vocation.

Among the challenges of life is finding a calling for the changing circumstances we face over the years. Even in the gentlest of retirements or other life shifts, there is a faith shift to accompany it.

A new understanding of God may come with a change in one's place in life. Something new may be calling us; something old may be affirmed.

One thing we know: God is our companion and guide on the way, on the journey of life, through pain and plenty, sorrow and joy.

So teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom. (Psalm 90:12)

Emerging Elderhood: Coming into the Fullness of Our Years

The Third Age (Peter Laslett), older adulthood, stage 7 (Erikson), senescence (ouch! from the coiner of the less-unfelicitous “adolescence”), younger old age: the age whatever you call it when we make the major life-cycle transition from the middle years of mature adulthood into the final years of our lives in old age.

Ripening – is what it can mean.

Old age can fall like a blow. It can arrive suddenly. What was once strong is now weak. What was once reliable, taken for granted, is now fallible, uncertain.

Old age can arrive like a gift. It can be the gentle turning of leaves, the first red patch on a maple in late August along a summer river. It can be the ungentle remark of a child, my hair is brown, your hair is gray. 

Old age can arrive like a thank-you note. You have done a lot for me. I hear your story and I welcome it as wisdom. 

Before that – before that – we are not ready yet. We don’t want to go on this trip. Or we’re glad to.

We will explore here that great journey, together, that each of us may anticipate as the coming into fullness of our years.

http://eldermergent.com/