One thing I've noticed at some of the reunions I've visited (and some congregations as well) is the tendency to dwell in the rear-view mirror. It gets just too easy for some of our wise elders to get into the swing of reminiscing and praising the ancestors who made "this wonderful place possible."
Unfortunately, however true and right the things they're saying, the mood does get a tad nostalgic and the message heard by younger ears is closer to: those days were better, past is good, present is not, future is unlikely!
Those are NOT the messages we want planted in those young ears, believe me!
Sometimes it seems to take a real effort to get older eyes turned away from the past and focusing forward -- to the future to which we are called. I really appreciated Don Robb's efforts in the Erie Beach adult class to remind us that the real reason we're here is not to celebrate the past so much as to speak of our vision for a better future.
The message to be putting in front of all those youth and children who truly ARE here in our midst is one of hope and confidence that together, we and they, can indeed create the peaceable kingdom but it's going to take work. And we can do it, working together.
Youth love to hear testimonies of real experiences with the Divine in your past and in your present, and they need to hear your hope for the future. If we get too focused on the rear-view mirror exclusively, we may just find ourselves riding alone.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
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Hear, Hear!
ReplyDeleteI am thinking of the call in D.&C.163: "Community of Christ," your name, given as a divine blessing, is your identity and calling. If you will discern and embrace its full meaning, you will not only DISCOVER YOUR FUTURE, you will become a blessing to the whole creation.
That verse, and other recent documents, call us into the future. We do need to honor the wonderful contributions made by those who have gone before us, of course. But our primary task is to figure out what we are called to do and DO IT! As for the children and youth, they do need to know our stories, but it is the stories they will write with their lives that have the most powerful potential. 163:4c speaks directly to that.
I agree that we need to look to the future, but we learn by our mistakes. That is why we need to think of the past. Not only for how great a job our ancestors did, but learn from those stories. We need some of the very valuable past. Don't think for a minute that all of the future will be good only. I love and appreciate my past and my ancestors.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that we need to look to the future, and we have been called to do just that. But we also need to cherish our past, and share those stories. Its a challenge to speak with fondness of things that have not yet happened, but the stories of our past can excite people for the future. "Be respectful of tradition. Do not fail to listen attentively to the telling of the sacred story, for the story of scripture and of faith empowers and illuminates..." -Section 161:5
ReplyDeleteI firmly agree with this entry. My thought is this. If we don't proclaim our hopes for a future what would be the sense in attending, working or providing ministry since all would seem to be lost. If this is the message we send to youth especially, they will seek out places where there is declared hope. I think we are called to respect our past, work in our present but proclaim our future, a concept like Zion for instance. This is why I want to declare to youth and all that i believe "we share a future".
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